The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Villanova Distance Shooting Downs Providence While Utah Upsets West Virginia

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

VILLANOVA – In the only local game on Tuesday’s schedule, a second straight night of limited activity also on the national card, Villanova was back at the second helpings portion of the Big East schedule here at home in Finneran Pavilion where the Wildcats (16-5, 9-3)  got off to another slow start but unlike getting swallowed Saturday at St. Johns they got their own digestive system adjusted with some torrid three-point shooting from freshman Brooke Bender off the bench behind leading scorer Jasmine Bascoe to take an 85-58 sweep of Providence (10-12, 3-8) and move a half-game ahead in second place behind No. 1 UConn, the remaining unbeaten team in the nation.

In the second go-round against the two teams, Villanova had dominated both in their first meetings.

Wildcats’ veteran coach and alum Denise Dillon alluded to the quirks that come with a roster still filled with a good portion of youth navigating conference play.

“In the second time, everybody knows everything about each other and makes adjustments,” she said alluding to the team getting a bit stunned off St. John’s start but then saying her group handled the start here much better.

For one, the assists on shots were more plentiful with Brynn Curry and Denae Carter each getting five of the 22 against the Friars.

“We talk about moving the ball, and it's a much better number today,” Dillon said. “We had only 9 assists in the game at St. John's and that's not Villanova basketball.

“I was happy that what we said in practice, they heard and moved the ball a little better. When you're moving the ball and getting uncontested shots, it makes it a lot easier out on the court.”

Villanova connected in a season high 15-of-34 from distance, also the most given up by Providence.

“We talked this week about having those shooters, we just got to do a better job of finding them,” Dillon said. “You've got to continue to take the shot when it's open and just feel good about it.”

That was the case with Bender, who had a career night with a perfect 6-for-6 beyond the arc for all 18 of her points in 19 minutes.

“I've been working on my shot all week, have the confidence and finding that again,” Bender said. “Just working on it all week and having the trust in myself that I was going to make those shots.”

“They found me, got me the ball in transition, inside out, they're doing a really good job of finding our shooters, and that was evident in this scheme,” Bender said.

‘Nova came out of a tight 40-35 lead at the half, which got even closer on an opening three from the Friars’ Orlagh Gormley, and then the Wildcats answered with a 12-0 run paced by a pair of 3-pointers from freshman Kennedy Henry and stayed in front the rest of the way.

Bascoe and Providence’s Sabou Gueye tied for game honors with 22 points each, Henry shooting 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, scored 16, and Brynn McCurry scored 11 with her first perfect night from the floor this season shooting 5-for-5.

The Wildcats, who had an easy night with DePaul earlier in Chicago, hosts the Blue Demons Saturday at 2 p.m. (ESPN+).

On Monday, there was just one local game, also, Rutgers (9-11, 1-8) at home falling 76-48 to No. 25 Washington (16-4, 6-3) in a Big Ten contest.

The Scarlet Knights’ lone conference win was a narrow victory on the road at Penn State, which is still winless in the Big Ten.

Freshman Brynn McGaughy scored 17 points for the Huskies of the Northwest, Avery Howell added 16 points, while Sayvia Sellers scored 11 and Yulia Grabovskaia had 17 rebounds.

Washington dominated the boards 51-30 and the paint 36-14.

Rutgers’ Kaylah Ivey and Imani Lester each scored 14 points and Lauryn Swann scored 11.

Looking Ahead Locally

The slate gets heavier Wednesday, Saint Joseph’s looking for a local A-10 sweep, is at La Salle at 6:30 p.m., (ESPN+), Temple off its two comeback wins last week is at Rice in an American Conference game at 8 p.m. (ESPN+), in the Big Ten, Rutgers, still home at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J., hosts Oregon at 7 p.m. (BTN), while Penn State State hosts Minnesota at 6 p.m. (B1G+) in Rec Hall, and in the Patriot League, Lafayette in a game moved from Monday due to snowstorm Fern, hosts Bucknell at 4:30 p.m. (CBSSN) in the Kirby Sports Arena in Easton, Pa., while nearby Lehigh hosts Army at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) in the Stabler Arena in Esston.

The National Scene

In Monday’s only game among ranked teams, No. 6 LSU (19-2, 5-2) broke away at home in Baton Rouge in the second half to win 89-60 against Florida (13-9, 1-6) as MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 15 points, Amiya Joiner scored 14, and Mikaylah Williams scored 12 in the Southeastern Conference.

The Tigers next host Arkansas Thursday.

On Tuesday, just two ranked teams played, both in the Big 12.

No. 14 Baylor (19-3, 8-12) held off a Houston rally to win 82-66 over the Cougars (6-14, 0-9) at home in Waco, Texas, as Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 25 points, and Bella Fontleroy had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bears next visit No. 22 West Virginia Sunday in Morgantown.

The Mountaineers (17-5, 7-3) will be returning home from a 71-64 upset loss at Utah (15-6, 6-3) in Salt Lake City.

The Utes were led by LA Sneed with with 15 points while Reese Ross had 12 points and 10 rebounds. The winners were in front wire-to-wire.

Jordan Harrison scored 18 points with eight assists for West Virginia.

Utah is at nearby BYU Saturday in Ogden.

On Wednesday, Washington is at No. 16 Maryland in College Park at 7 p.m. (B1G+) in the Big Ten, while No. 2 UCLA is at Illinois on the same network at 7 p.m.

In the Big East, unbeaten and defending champion UConn (21-0), the nation’s No. 1 team, hosts Xavier at 8 p.m. (Peacock). St. John’s is at Creighton in Omaha, Neb., at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).

No. 21 Texas Tech at home in Fort Worth hosts a Big 12 contest against Iowa State at 7 p.m.

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

The Guru’s National NCAAW National Weekend Roundup - II: South Carolina Drops Vanderbilt from the Unbeatens Leaving Only UConn

  

Note: No locals played Sunday due to the weather with most games moved to Saturday in the report under this post except Rutgers which plays Monday.

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

And then there was just 21-0 UConn.

The defending NCAA champions are the last unbeaten women’s team after No. 2 South Carolina (20-2, 6-1) took out its Thursday overtime loss at No. 16 Oklahoma on No. 5 Vanderbilt 103-74 at home Sunday afternoon at a Southeastern Conference game in Columbia at Colonial Life Arena as Florida State transfer Ta’Niya Latson, the nation’s leading scorer last season, collected 21 points and Tessa Johnson scored 20.

The Commodores (20-1, 6-1) had been off to their best start in program history and the 29-point win, the 19th straight in the series by South Carolina, was the Gamecock’s largest against an AP Top 5 opponent in the 50 years of the rankings begun in the 1976-77 season.

“I’m really impressed that we played connected basketball on both ends,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “I’m happy we responded to our loss.”

She said her players “know what the standard is, and we've got to keep them in a place where they play to that standard every night.”

Johnson added, saying, “We don't like to lose, but it was more how we lost. We were not ourselves at Oklahoma. We got back on our game today.”

Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph, a former UConn star and assistant coach, tipped her hat to the opposition, noting, “Credit to South Carolina because they played really well, maybe the best they've played all season.

“There just wasn't an answer today. For us, there's a lot we can take from it, but it also doesn't negate the fact that we've been really good up to this point.”

Vandy made it close as the first half ended, trailing by 11 points as reigning USBWA national freshman of the year Mikayla Blakes, who finished with 23 points, making a three-point play with 3.5 seconds remaining and after the Gamecocks threw a length of court pass out of bounds, Aubrey Galvan scored from deep ahead of the end of game clock.

But South Carolina then controlled the rest of the game.

The Gamecocks next are at Auburn Thursday night at 9 p.m. on the SEC Network while Vanderbilt the same night is at No. 18 Ole Miss in Oxford at 7:30 p.m. (SECN+).

Elsewhere in the SEC Oklahoma (16-4, 4–3) followed its win over South Carolina by winning 72-65 at Auburn (13-8, 2-5) as freshman Aaliyah Chavez scored 18 points.

The Sooners next host Texas A&M Thursday.

No. 23 Alabama (18-3, 4-3) won 85-78 at home in Tuscaloosa over Mississippi State (15-6, 2-5) as Jessica Timmons scored a career-high 28 points.

The Crimson Tide next are atGeorgia Thursday.

In the Big Ten No. 3 UCLA (19-1, 9-0) easily won 80-46 at Northwestern (8-12, 2-7) in Evanston, Ill., as Gabriela Jaquez scored 19 points and the Bruins will stay in the Midwest visiting Illinois on Wednesday.

No. 10 Iowa (18-2, 2-0) at home in Iowa City kept pace tied with UCLA for the Big Ten lead winning its eighth straight by a 91-70 score over No. 12 Ohio State (18-3, 7-2) snapping the Buckeyes’ seven-game win streak as freshman Addie Deal scored 20 points, Hannah Stuelke had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Ava Heiden scored 18 also for the Hawkeyes.

Jaloni Cambridge scored 26 for Ohio State with 10 rebounds while Chance Gray scored 16 points.

The Buckeyes host Wisconsin Thursday while the same night Iowa launches a two-game trip to Los Angeles visiting Southern Cal ahead of Sunday’s showdown at UCLA.

USC, a Top 5 team last season, has been struggling recently with the absence of reigning national player of the year JuJu Watkins, who suffered an ACL knee in the NCAA tournament.

On Sunday the Trojans (11-9, 3-6) fell in a close one 73-67 to No. 7 Michigan (17-3, 8-1) in Ann Arbor as Olivia Olson scored 23 for the winning Wolverines, who recovered in the game from blowing a 16-point lead.

Mia Holloway added 13 points with eight assists and six boards while Kara Dunn scored 26 points with 10 rebounds for USC.

Michigan next is at Indiana Thursday, the Hoosiers still winless in Big Ten play alongside Penn State.

Rutgers, with just a win over the Lady Lions in the conference, host No. 25 Washington Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. after the Scarlet Knights moved the game from Sunday because of the snowstorm which hit the Eastern seaboard.

On Monday night No. 6 LSU hosts Florida in an SEC game at 7 p.m. in Baton Rouge but the conference game featuring No. 17 Tennessee at No. 18 Ole Miss was postponed due to the weather with a new date yet to be determined.

In the Atlantic Coast Conference Sunday Clemson (14-7,5-4) won 65-58 at Notre Dame (13-7, 5-4) while North Carolina (17-5, 6-3) won 77-71 in overtime over visiting Syracuse (16-4, 6-3).

In a Bay Area rivalry game California (12-9, 3-5) won 78-71 in overtime over visiting Stanford (15-6, 4-4).

Taylor Johnson-Matthews scored 18 points for Clemson in its win over Notre Dame, which got 30 points from Hannah Hidalgo of South Jersey.

UNC’s Nyla Harris had 21 points and 11boards in the win over the Orange, whose freshman Uche Izoje had 27 points and 12 boards.

Lulu Twidale led Cal over Stanford with 24 points while the visiting Cardinal got 16 points each from freshman Lara Somfai and reserve Alexandra Eschmeyer.

In key ACC games Thursday, No. 8 Louisville is at Stanford at 8 p.m. (ESPN), No. 21 Duke is at Miami at 8 p.m. (ACCN) and Notre Dame is at California at 10 p.m. (ACCNX).

The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Weekend Rundup - I: Temple’s Historic Rally Carries Owls Over Charlotte; Drexel Completes CAA Weekend Sweep

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

PHILADELPHIA – The impending largest snowfall in a decade caused movement among enough locals on the weekend schedule into everyone playing Saturday except for Rutgers which shifted its Sunday home game vs. No. 25 Washington in the Big Ten to Monday 3 p.m. (B1G+) at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J.

The highlights were here at Temple where the Owls executed a comeback for the ages at the Liacouras Center winning 83-82 over Charlotte in an American Conference game as Tristen Taylor had a career-high 32 points several days after triggering a more modest comeback here on preseason favorite South Florida.

“It showed the resilience we had, it showed we weren’t giving up,” said Temple coach Diane Richardson. “They just rallied together, not looking at the score and executed. “I’m really proud of them.”

Later, moved on day earlier from Sunday over at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in West Philadelphia, Drexel completed a back-to-back sweep in the Coastal Athletic Association winning in a second straight wire-to-wire affair 68-45 over Towson.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic 10 on the road La Salle and Saint Joseph’s snapped losing streaks, La Salle winning 83-74 at St. Bonaventure in Olean, N.Y., while Saint Joseph’s, with Jill Jekot back from a two-week absence from a sprained ankle, won 72-53 over Duquesne in Pittsburgh.

The two local Patriot League rivals in the first of two this season met with Lehigh at home in the Stabler Center in Bethlehem, Pa., winning 62-48 over Lafayette.

On the road in the Ivy League Penn moved closer to the upper standings' neighborhood following Monday’s home triumph over Dartmouth in The Palestra winning 64-37 over Yale in New Haven, Conn., while No. 20 Princeton stayed perfect in league play with a 58-49 win at Brown in Providence, R.I.

Things did not go well, however, for Villanova which got routed 71-58 at St. John’s in Queens, N.Y., but stayed in second in the Big East in a tie break with Seton Hall which got slammed at home in South Orange, N.J., by top-ranked and defending NCAA champion UConn 92-52, one of two remaining unbeaten teams with No. 5 Vanderbilt which was visiting No. 2 South Carolina Sunday afternoon.

The Huskies are three up in first while the Wildcats and Pirates are one up in the loss column on fourth place Marquette.

Rider fell 55-46 at Saint Peter’s 55-46 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) contest in Jersey City, N.J., Penn State was still without a Big Ten win, losing 89-59 at Oregon in Eugene.

Let’s go to the tape.

Temple Gains Huge Comeback on Charlotte

The Owls (9-10, 3-4), which erased a 10-point deficit late in its win over USF, trailed by as many as 26 near the end of the third in this one as the 49ers (9-11, 3-4), shooting ten 3-pointers in the first half, built on a 15-point lead held at the break.

The comeback ties for second in the NCAA as well as shattering the best done by Temple.

“We needed to wake up, we needed to play better defense,” Richardson said. “Going into halftime, our rebounding was not there, they were getting second chance points.”

Suddenly, the Owls got hot both ends in the final period forcing Charlotte into 11 of its 17 turners and scoring 19 points in the first five minutes.

“it definitely started in transition, we started getting the ball up the court,” Turner said. “That’s when I scored and then Savannah (Curry) scored back-to-back. Then we also changed up our defense, thank we went to zone and stopped them from shooting threes.”

In the closing seconds, Taylor’s shot off a turnover brought Temple within a point with 17 ticks remaining.

Charlotte lost ball with with 13 seconds left, then Taylor gave it away but a second later Charlotte gave it right back.

Kaylah Turner, who finished with 17, missed a jumper with five seconds left but Taylor grabbed the offensive board and drew a foul with three seconds left and calmly sank both.

“I think I went 50% from the line in our last game,” Taylor said. “I've been in the gym a lot this week shooting free throws. When I stepped up there, I didn't have any nerves just from practicing.”

On Temple’s turnaround this week, Richardson said, “I Think we’re playing our best basketball right now.”

The Owls head for Texas Wednesday facing Rice (17-3, 3-0) at 8 p.m. (ESPN+).

Drexel Wins Third Straight

The 68-45 win by the Dragons (11-7, 4-3) was the widest margin in the series with the Tigers (11-8, 4-3) since 2019.

Molly Rullo, who shot 5-for-10 from the field for a game-high 16 points, confirmed Dragons coach Amy Mallon’s Friday night prediction that the schedule change could be more fun than what otherwise would have been the usual Saturday practice.

“Any chance you get to play another game, let alone at home, is a bunch of fun,” Rullo said. “We had a lot of alumni in the stands. ‘Coach said you just got to play for each other. Being a league game is a challenge, so being able to step up and do that tonight was a lot of fun.”

Amaris Baker added 13 points, Deja Baker scored 10, and Laine McGurk grabbed a career-high nine boards in the homecoming weekend attraction that also marked the 10th anniversary season of Drexel winning the WNIT.

The Dragons dominated the paint 32-14.

“Everyone is capable of doing something different for our team each game,” Rullo said. “I think that's what it's so good about our team is we have so much balance across the roster.”

Drexel limited Towson to its second lowest point total of the season.

“We're looking to tendencies on another team and what they want to do,” Mallon said. “That's where we're getting better.

“Going into today and seeing them carry over what we did yesterday with the same type of discipline and consistency in it is really important. And that's important for us heading into the end of January, into February.”

Drexel is on the road this weekend, playing Friday (7 p.m.) at Monmouth in West Long Branch, N.J., then heading to Boston to play Northeastern (1 p.m.). Both games will air on FloCollege.

La Salle and Saint Joseph’s Snap Back from Losses

Though the Explorers and Hawks were on the winning side, it will be short lived for one of them meeting each other Wednesday night (6:30 p.m., ESPN+) after Saint Joseph’s took the first in the series earlier this month on Hawk Hill at Hagan Arena.

La Salle (11-9, 4-5) parted with a five-game losing streak in the A-10 victory at St. Bonaventure (12-9, 3-6) as the Explorers surged to a 21-point lead at the half.

Aryss Macktoon and Ashleigh Connor led the way, Macktoon with 23 points and eight boards, shooting 9-18 from the field, including making both attempts from deep anda perfect 3-for-3 on the line while Connor also sizzled with 21points, 6-for-11 from the field, 4-for-7 from distance and 5-for-8 on the line.

Joan Quinn was also 6-for-11 with 16 points and Kiara Williams collected 10 points with six rebounds.

Saint Joseph’s (13-6, 4-4) was spurred with a second-half surge shooting 91.7 percent in the third quarter for a 27-13 advantage in the period over Duquesne (7-13, 0-9) and Gabby Casey had a career high 26 points shooting 9-for-12, including 5-of-7 makes from deep.

She also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Jill Jekot had 14 points matching her career high with four steals. Cecilia Kay had a career high with five blocks and Rhian Stokes had a personal best six boards.

Penn and Princeton Take Ivy Road Wins

At the top of the league No. 20 Princeton (17-1, 5-0) ended the 5-0 best home start in league play by Brown (11-6, 3-2) since the Bears went 7-0 ten seasons ago.

The Tigers have won 15 straight losing only in early November at nationally ranked Maryland.

Fadima Tall scored 12 for the visitors in the game at the Pizzitola Sports Center while Skye Belker scored11and Toby Nweke scored 10 against the Ivy’s top defensive team.

On Friday in a key match and revenge from last season Princeton hosts Columbia at 6 p.m. on ESPNU and Saturday Cornell visits Jadwin Gym at 5 p.m. (ESPN+).

Penn (12-6, 2-3) in the win at Yale (5-13, 1-4) gave coach Mike McLaughlin a birthday present with the largest win of the season against Division I Competition.

Simone Sawyer had a game-high 18 points shooting 7-for-11 from the field while Mataya Gaye scored 12 and Katie Collins had 10 points.

Penn reverses visit duties with Princeton hosting Cornell Friday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+, NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus) and on Saturday the Quakers welcome Columbia at 5 p.m.).

Elsewhere in the Ivies, Columbia’s Riley Weiss scored a program record 40 points scoring 15-of-23 from the field and 9-of-13 from deep leading the Lions (13-5, 4-1) to an 89-32 home victory in New York over Dartmouth (9-9, 0-5) setting a team record for fewest points allowed a Division I opponent.

Harvard (10-8, 3-2) won 84-38 at Cornell (7-11, 2-3) as reserve Mary Hollensteiner scored 22 points fueled by 8-for-11 from the field and 6-for-7 on 3-point attempts for a career day as did Olivia Jones also enjoy with her first double double with 17 points and 10 assists.

The Crimson next host Yale Friday at 7 p.m.

Patriot League: Lehigh Tops Lafayette and Navy Beats Army

The Mountain Hawks (10-8, 6-2) used a balanced attack to down the Leopards (7-12, 3-5) as Alana Reddy and Belle Bramer each scored 15 points, Reddy setting a new career high and Bramer matched her best.

Gracyn Lovette and Whitney Lind each scored 14 points.

Lafayette’s Teresa Kiewet scored 17 points and Sauda Ntaconayigize scored 11.

Lehigh next hosts Army Wednesday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+), the visiting Black Knights (15-4, 6-2) coming off a 60-44 loss at preseason favorite Navy (12-6, 7-1) which broke a tie shooting to first with the win.

Lafayette’s men’s and women’s doubleheader scheeuled for Monday due to the snow has been moved to Wednesday with the women tipping first against visiting Bucknell at 4:30 p.m.

Villanova Falls at St. John’s

Ahead of the snowstorm the Wildcats (15-5, 8-3) had plenty of trouble with the Red Storm (16-6, 6-5), who got 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting with eight boards from Brooke Moore, leading three other players in double figures.

Ryanne Allen scored 12 points, Jasmine Bascoe was held to 11, and Brynn McCurry scored 10.

Villanova next hosts Providence at Finneran Pavillion Tuesday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).

Rider Loses at Saint Peter’s

The Peahens (5-15, 4-7) got 26 points and nine rebounds from De’Naya Rippey in their win over the visiting Broncs (4-16, 2-9), whose Kristina Ekofo scored 11 and Aliya McIver scored 10.

“ We played OK in the first half, but not a good not second-half effort by us,” said Rider first year coach Jackie Hartzell.

 “Credit to Saint Peters, they played harder and played like they wanted to win. It's up to the players to figure out how to put a full 40 minutes together,” she continued.

 “We’ve been able to do it in spurts, but we can't go through these stretches where we can't score and have breakdowns on the defensive end. Hopefully it's something we can figure out soon.”

Rider next hosts Mount St. Mary’s Thursday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) at Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J.

Elsewhere in the MAAC the two heavyweights – two-time defending champion Fairfield and Quinnipiac won their games setting up another midseason match of conference unbeatens when the Bobcats visit the Stags Thursday at 7 p.m. (ESPNU) in Fairfield, Conn.

Penn State Dropped by Oregon

The slide continues for the Lady Lions (7-14, 0-10) and not on the snow in Happy Valley since they were out west in Eugene where the Ducks (15-7, 3-6) got 20 points from reserve Sarah Rambus, three other Oregon players scored in double figures and Ehis Etute grabbed 11 rebounds and Kate Fiso dealt 11 assists.

Freshman Nyla McFadden was the lone Penn State player in double figures scoring 15 points in a game in which Gracie Merkle did not play.

The Lady Lions next host Minnesota Wednesday at 6 p.m. (B1G+) in Rec Hall.

Indiana, whose football team went unbeaten to win the national title, in a reversal, is also winless in the conference.

Penn State’s closest loss recently was at home by four points to Rutgers, the only Big Ten win for the Scarlet Knights.

The National Scene

Sunday’s report coming later will have the rest of the weekend devoid of locals which were all handled here.

In UConn’s win at Seton Hall Sarah Strong scored 17 points, Blanca Quinonez scored 16 off the bench and Azzi Fudd had 14 points for the Huskies (21-0, 11-0), while Allie Ziebell had 11 of the visitors’ 45 bench points.

The Pirates haven’t won in the series since January 5, 1994, the year before the Huskies’ first of 12 national titles.

Geno Auriemma’s combined men’s and women’s all-time win record is now at 1,272.

UConn next hosts Xavier Wednesday.

The lone upset among ranked teams Saturday saw No. 11 Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference fall at home 72-67 in Lexington to Georgia (18-3, 4-3), which got 19 points each from Dani Carnegie and Rylie Theuerkauf.

Amelia Hassett and Asia Boone each scored 15 points while Tonie Morgan had 10 points and 12 assists and Penn transfer Jordan Obi had 12 points and nine boards.

Alabama is at Georgia Thursday while Kentucky id off until Sunday’s visit at Arkansas.

In the Atlantic Coast Conference No. 21 Duke (14-6, 9-0) easily won 95-41 at Pittsburgh (8-14, 1-7) as Toby Fournier and Arianna Roberson, a freshman, each scored 19 points and Roberson matched her best on the boards with 12 rebounds.

The Blue Devils are atMiami Thursday.

No. 8 Louisville (19-3, 9-0), tied with Duke, won 85-56 over visiting Boston College (4-18, 0-9), the Cardinals’ win streak at 12 games.

Mackenly Randolph tied her career-best with 13 points.

Louisville is at Stanford Thursday.

In the Big Ten No. 24 Nebraska (15-5, 4-5) at home in Lincoln held off former ranked team Illinois 81-75 as Britt Prince scored 20 for the Cornhuskers and Logan Nissley and Jessica Pierce each scored 15 points.

The visitors (15-5, 5-4) got 25 points from Cearah Parchment and 22 from Berry Wallace.

Illinois host No. 3 UCLA on Wednesday, the same day Nebraska hosts Northwestern.

In the Big 12, No. 9 TCU won 67-50 at UCF, No. 19 Texas Tech won 77-49 at Utah, and No. 22 West Virginia won 91-77 at BYU.

TCU hosts Kansas at home Thursday where the Horned Frogs have a nation-leading 37-game win streak. Texas Tech, which got 28 off the bench from Snudda Collins to snap a two-game losing streak, next meets Iowa State on Wednesday while West Virginia is at Utah Tuesday.