The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Villanova Wins 5th Straight and Saint Joseph’s Snaps Two-Game Slide

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

It was a grand night, Wednesday, so to speak, for Villanova sophomore Jasmine Bascoe while earlier in the day, Saint Joseph’s got back into the win column, and Lehigh won and Lafayette lost their respective Patriot League games on the local slate.

In the Big East, Villanova cruised at Xavier 78-38 in Cincinnati, winning its fifth straight game and inched its second-place lead up a half-game to 2.5 in front of Seton Hall and three over fourth-place  Marquette, which lost at home to Seton Hall.

With 2:16 left in the third period, Bascoe’s jumper made her the third sophomore in program history, behind the legendary duo of Shelly Pennefather and Maddy Siegriest, and 32nd player overall in program history to reach 1,000 points.

The Wildcats (20-5, 13-3) led wire-to-wire over the Musketeers (11-14, 4-12) and Bascoe finished with a game-high 18 points and dished seven assists, Brynn McCurry was 6-for-8 from the field, including making both attempts from deep to score 15 points, and Ryanne Allen scored 11.

Meri Kanerva scored 13 points for Xavier.

Villanova had a monster night on the boards with a 48-27 rebounding advantage.

The Wildcats stay in the Midwest for their next game, Sunday, visiting Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska, at 5 p.m. on TruTV.

Some were counting the Wildcats’ win as the 1,000th in program history but back in the day five came against junior college teams and don’t count in the AIAW/NCAA total.

Meanwhile, the contracts had yet to be signed, but the Villanova and Notre Dame men and women, with a blessing from the NCAA to start a day ahead of the official start next season, are likely headed to Rome to play each other where Pope Leo upon his selection last year became the most prominent Villanova alumnus.

Separate sources to The Philadelphia Inquirer and your Guru had confirmed the negotiations.

In the Atlantic 10, Saint Joseph’s (16-8, 7-6) in the annual school day game at Hagan Arena, snapped the Hawks’ two-game slide, rallied to beat George Washington 70-63, after the Revolutionaries built an early 7-0 lead in the contest.

It went on to become a tight contest and Gabby Casey’s second make from distance on the night put the Hawks up 51-45 at the outset of the fourth quarter.

GWU (13-13, 5-8) went on a 5-0 run to make it a one-point game but then Casey made as layup and assisted Faith Stinson and Aleah Snead to put the Hawks up by seven.

The visitors then moved within three but Casey made it 61-55 with her third 3-pointer of the game.

Two consecutive defensive stops and a 3-pointer from Emily Knouse made it  an nine-point advantage with 1:05 left and Saint Joseph’s used the free-throw line in the last minute to clinch the win.

Rhian Stokes was 10-for-14 on the line and scored 16 points for the Hawks, with four steals and two assists, while Casey did most of her productive work in the second half with 13 of her 15 points, shooting an overall 6-for-11 from the field, with five boards and five assists, and Snead scored 15 with six boards, four assists, and two steals. Knouse off the bench scored nine points, and Kaylinn Bethea had eight points and three boards.

Jaeda Wilson off the bench scored 20 points for George Washington.

The Hawks, who have won six straight in the series, are on the road Saturday, ironically in the Windy City and home of the Valentine’s Day massacre playing Loyola, Chicago at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

Lehigh (13-10, 9-3) in the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C. won 79-51 at American U. (6-18, 4-9) in Bender Arena as the third-place Mountain Hawks, behind preseason favorite Navy and Army, who both won, got an explosive night from Whitney Lind with 23 points and shooting 5-for-6 from deep.

Bell Bramer scored 14 points and Alana Reddy scored 13, each compiling three makes from beyond the arc.

Next is rival day on Saturday as Lehigh makes the short trip from its Bethelehem, Pa., campus to Easton to play Lafayette in the Kirby Sports Center at 2 p.m. (ESPN+).

The Leopards (8-16, 4-9) will be returning home from Wednesday’s 65-58 loss at Loyola, Md. (11-13, 7-6) in Baltimore in which the host Greyhounds outscored the visitors 37-29 across the third and fourth periods in the second half to win.

Three Lafayette players scored in double figures, Talia Zurinskas with 15 points, Teresa Kiewiet wth 14 points, and Maddison Krug with 10 points.

Lex Therien scored 16 points for the home team, which also got 12 points from Sydney Bass and 14 from reserve Amandine Amorch.

On Thursday, locally, Delaware is hosting New Mexico State in a Conference USA game at the Bob Carpenter Arena in Newark at 7 p.m., Rider in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference hosts Saint Perter’s at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) at Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J., and in the Big Ten, No. 20 Maryland hosts Penn State at 7 p.m. on Peacock.

Friday in the Coastal Athletic Association, Drexel hosts Elon at 6 p.m. on FloCollege in the Daskalakis Athletic Center while in the Ivy League its vengeance night each on the second go-round as Penn plays at 6 p.m. at Cornell in Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y., the home  of this season’s four-team Ivy Madness tourney, and No. 24 Princeton at 6 p.m. is at Columbia in Levien Gym off Broadway on New York City’s Upper West Side, both games airing on ESPN+.

The National Scene

No. 1 Connecticut (26-0, 15-0), the defending NCAA champions and sole unbeaten team this season to date, continued to chew up the Big East, winning at home 94-44 over Creighton (12-13, 8-8) at the Huskies’ campus Gampel Pavilion Arena in Storrs as Azzi Fudd had 19 points with three makes from deep becoming the 10th player in program history with 250 career 3-pointers.

Ashlynn Shade and Kayleigh Heckel, a transfer from Southern Cal, each scored 13 points, as UConn won its 53rd straight Big East contest.

Elizabeth Gentry scored 12 for the visiting Bluejays and Kennedy Townsend scored.points for Creighton.

The Bluejays play Villanova Sunday while UConn visits Marquette, which lost Wednesday at home in Milwaukee 70-58 to Seton Hall.

Zhara Bishop scored 20 points for the winning Pirates (16-8, 10-5) off the bench and Mariana Valenzuela had 19 points, while Ja’Kahla Craft grabbed 11 rebounds.

Reserve Skylar Forbes scored 17 for Marquette (16-9, 10-6).

In the Big 12 No. 19 West Virginia (21-5, 11-3) won easily 106,-56 at home in Morgantown  over visiting UCF (10-14, 2-11) as Butler transfer Riley Makalusky scored 20 points off the bench and Kierra Wheeler scored 18.

The Mountaineers next are at No. 17 TCU Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas.

In the Big Ten, No. 2 UCLA (24-1, 14-0) increased its 2.5 lead in first over idle Ohio State (22-3, 11-2) by winning 86 -63 at No. 13 Michigan State (20-5, 9-5) as Lauren Betts shot 10-14 from the field and scored 22 points with seven rebounds and dealt five assists, and Kiki Rice scored 18 shooting 7-for-8 from the field.

Gabriela Jaquez added 13 points and  five boards while Utah transfer Gianna Kneepkens had 12 points.

Rashunda Jones  scored 15 for the Spartans who Sunday are at in-state rival and No. 7 Michigan in Ann Arbor while the Bruins on Sunday are back home in Los Angeles at Pauley Pavilion hosting Indiana.

No. 15 Iowa (19-5, 10-3) in Iowa City got 21 points from Chazadi Wright while Hannah Stuelke had her seventh season double-double with 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in a 65-56 win over No. 25 Washington (18-7, 8-6), which got 19 points from Elle Ladine.

The winning Hawkeyes next are at Nebraska in Lincoln while Washington on Sunday hosts Oregon, the visiting Ducks coming to play one of their former PAC-12 rivals.

In the Atlantic 10, first-place Rhode Island (22-2, 13-0) at home in Kingston easily won 85-42 over VCU, thriving off a 29-6 first quarter and moving on to Saturday’s visit to defending league tournament champion George Mason in Fairfax, Va.

There were several overtime games, host Youngstown State winning 69-62 over Robert Morris; Longwood winning 75-73 at High Point; Cleveland State winning 83-82 at home over Green Bay.

On Thursday in the ACC, No. 21 North Carolina hosts SMU at 6 p.m. on the ACC Network while No. 9 Louisville hosts Wake Forest at 7 p.m. on ACCNX.

In the SEC, No. 5 Vanderbilt hosts No. 4 Texas at home in Nashville, Tenn., at 7:30 p.m. on SECN+; No. 22 Tennessee at home in Knoxville at 6:30 p.m. on SECN+ hosts Missouri as former Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper makes her first return to her alma mater; No. 18 Kentucky hosts Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network; No. 10 Oklahoma hosts Florida in Norman at 7 p.m. on SECN+; and No. 14 Ole Miss hosts Arkansas at 9 p.m. in Oxford on the SEC Network.

A showdown in the Big 12 has No. 12 Baylor at home in Waco, Texas, hosting No. 17 TCU at 7 p.m. on ESPN; and in the Big Ten, No. 7 Michigan is at Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., at 9 p.m. on Peacock. 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Ineffective Offense Costs Temple; No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Vanderbilt Win Ahead of Thursday Showdown

 By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsgurux

In a lite schedule Monday and Tuesday, one local game on Tuesday saw Temple (10-13, 4-7) drop its American Conference road trip meeting 52-43 at UTSA (12-11, 7-5) in San Antonio.

For the visiting Owls it was a mix devoid of offense, shooting 29.6% from the field, but solid defense that took then into final period trailing the Roadrunners by just two points.

However, unlike several recent games in which Temple’s best work was in the final period, that was not to be on this short trip.

The Owls also had to play without one of their better scorers Jaleesa Molina, sidelined with an undisclosed injury.

Saniyah Craig had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds while Kaylah Turner scored 12 points.

Temple next is back home in the Liacouras Center hosting East Carolina Saturday at 2 p.m. (ESPN+).

On Wednesday, Saint Joseph’s looking to get back on the winning side in the Atlantic 10 will host George Washington at Hagan Arena in a school day game at 11 a.m. (ESPN+) while Villanova in the Big East with a two-game lead on Marquette in second place will be in Cincinnati playing Xavier at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+) at the Cintas Center going for a series 2-0 sweep and the program’s 1,000th victory.

In the Patriot League Lehigh will be in the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., at Bender Arena at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) visiting American U., while Lafayette will be visiting Loyola, Md., in Baltimore at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).

The National Scene

On Monday, two major games in the Southeastern Conference saw No. 4 Texas at home in Austin down No. 18 Kentucky 64-53 while Vanderbilt, which moved back up to 5th several hours earlier in the latest Associated Press women’s poll, now in its 50th season, at home in Nashville, Tenn., handled No. 10 Oklahoma 102-86.

In the win by Texas (23-2, 8-2), Justice Carlton had 17 points in a game that was still undecided late until the Longhorns extended the nation’s longest home victory streak to 40 straight at the Moody Center.

Kentucky (18-7, 5-6) was down by 14 points just ahead of the mid-mark of the third quarter before rallying within a point with 6:23 left in regulation. But the Longhorns thrived at the foul line the rest of the way.

Asia Boone had 16 points and Clara Strack 14 for the Wildcats who committed a season-high 23 turnovers.

Kentucky hosts Texas A&M Thursday the same night Texas visits Vanderbilt (23-2, 9-2), which had an explosive night Monday in the win over Oklahoma (17-6, 5-5) as Mikayla Blakes out of Somerville, N.J., scored 34 points.

Aubrey Galvan, whose previous high was 20 points last month in a win over No. 7 Michigan in New Brunswick, N.J., scored 30 against the Sooners, while Justine Pissott had 16 points and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda scored 13 with nine rebounds.

The Commodores mined 26 points off 21 Sooner turnovers.

Raegan Beers, who previously played at Oregon State, had her 62nd career double-double with 19 points and 11 boards for Oklahoma, which hosts Florida Thursday.

On Tuesday, the sole ranked game was in the Big 12 where No. 16 Texas Tech (23-3, 10-3) at home in Lubbock edged Kansas 70-65 as Bailey Maupin scored 23 points and reserve Snudda Collins scored 17 while Krista Gerlich picked up her 100th victory coaching her alma mater.

A steal and two foul shots by Maupin put the Raiders up 65-60 with 24.2 left in regulation on the Jayhawks (15-11,5-9), who then answered from deep by from Brittany Harshaw followed by Maupin with going 1-2 at the line with 19.7 left.

Kansas then turned it over on an illegal screen and Maupin claimed two more points on the line to seal the win.

S’Mya Nichols scored 15 for the visitors and Jaliya Davis had 12 of her 14 points in the first half.

Both teams next play Saturday, Kansas hosting Houston in Lawrence while Texas Tech visits Oklahoma in Stillwater.

On Wednesday, No. 1 UConn in the Big East hosts Creighton at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs at 7 p.m. on Peacock, while Marquette hosts Seton Hall at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+ in a game between the two teams trailing Villanova.

In the Big 12 No. 19 West Virginia hosts UCF in Morgantown at 7 p.m. (ESPN+) while in the Big Ten No. 2 UCLA is at No. 13 Michigan State at 8 p.m. on Peacock and No. 25 Washington is at No. 15 Iowa at 7:30 p.m. (B1G+).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        

 

 

 

The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Drexel Nipped at End of Second OT; South Carolina Rout of Tennessee Makes History on Both Sides; UCLA Edges Michigan; TCU and Alabama Suffer Upsets

 By Mel Greenberg @ womhoopsgurux

PHILADELPHIA – Just two teams locally played on NFL Super Bowl Sunday afternoon, a tough at the finish of final double overtime 62-60 loss here by Drexel (14-8, 7-4) at the Dragons’ Daskalakis Athletic Center in a Coastal Athletic Association game to Monmouth, ending a six-game win streak and giving the visiting Hawks (15-7, 8-3) a two-game sweep of the season series.

Up the road in the Big Ten, Rutgers (9-15, 1-12) lost 63-52 to Minnesota (18-6, 9-4) at the Scarlet Knights’ Jersey Mike’s Arena and fell back into a last place tie with Penn State but ahead of the Lady Lions off the four-point win earlier this season at State College.

One local squad had the best day, though idle, and that was Villanova (19-5, 12-3), which gained a half-game to a two-game lead in second in the Big East over Marquette (16-8m 12-5), which succumbed to a rally and overtime win 80-74 by host Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska.

Drexel had recently beaten Monmouth 56-53 in Central Jersey, only to have the Hawks here win the battle of the boards 46-40 including Divine Dibula’s offensive putback for the game-winner with four seconds left in the second overtime.

The Dragons had enough time to get down the court to try for a miracle finish, but Amaris Baker’s 3-point attempt was off the mark.

“It was a battle, we knew it was going to be, against a good team, it was going to come down to possessions, and it did today,” said Drexel coach Amy Mallon.

“Our team battled today, they fought, they showed what they showed what Drexel teams were made of. I’m proud of the effort.”

Dibula was a destructive force scoring 24 points with 15 rebounds for Monmouth besides drawing 10 fouls enabling her to be nearly perfect at the line shooting 10-for-12.

Gigi Campbell was also in double figures for the visitors, scoring 11 points.

Drexel did have some miracle work, ultimately negated, by Laine McGurk, who had a game-high 25 points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in regulation to force the first extra period, while becoming her 12th point of the fourth quarter.

That came on a play starting with Spaniard Julia Garcia Roig taking a long shot that missed but Grace O’Neill grabbed the offensive board and fed McGurk, who connected to get the game extended the first time.

Baker was Drexel’s other scorer in double digits, collecting 22 points, including 3-for-5 from deep.

Dana Evans in foul trouble was costly in the rebounding battle.

“She was out in the overtimes, and we needed her on the floor,” Mallon said, “But I give my team credit, they put us in position to go into overtime and did some things we needed to do. For us, in the future, that’s really going to help us.”

Drexel will still be home for the Dragons’ next game, this Friday at 6 p.m. (FlowCollege) when Elon (11-12, 6-5), a game-behind in the standings following Sunday’s 75-52 home win over William & Mary, visits the DAC.

Rutgers in its game against the Golden Gophers was competitive in the first half, leading 25-22 at the break, but was never able the rest of the way to overtake Minnesota, which erupted for a 23-12 advantage in the third quarter.

The visitors’ Sophie Hart had 17 points and 10 boards, while Tori McKinney scored 16 points, and Mara Braun scored 12.

The Scarlet Knights’ Nene Ndiaye was explosive, shooting 10-for-21 from the field, including 5-for-9 on 3-point attempts, while Zachara Perkins, shooting 7-for-11 from the field, was the other Rutgers player in double figures with 18 points.

Rutgers next after being off all week travels Saturday to Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., playing the Boilermakers at noon on B1G+.

The local schedule is dark Monday and there’s just one game Tuesday, Temple at UTSA in an American Conference game in San Antonio, Texas, at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+).

The National Scene: South Carolina and UCLA Highlight Ranked Wins

Never on Sunday may be the new theme for No. 19 Tennessee, which a week after a 30-point non-conference loss at No. 1 Connecticut was plundered 93-50 in a Southeastern Conference visit to No. 3 South Carolina (24-2, 10-1) at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia.

It’s Tennessee’s worst defeat in the program’s history and the 43-point differential is the largest victory margin for South Carolina against an Associated Press Top 25 team, besting the 41-point win last season against Oklahoma on January 19.

Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks, who won three prior meetings with the Lady Vols (15-6, 7-2) by single digits and have won nine straight in the series, set a program mark in conference play, shooting 36-for-52 for 69 percent from the field, led by Florida State transfer Ta’Niya Latson, who led the nation last season in scoring, with 21 points.

“In my 26-year career I don’t think I’ve played more zone than today,” Staley said afterwards of her defense. “But I’m not stubborn enough to not go with what’s working. So, it was working today and we stayed with it and I thought it impacted the game.”

Joyce Edwards added 20 points for the winners, while Madina Okot had 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Tennessee’s Talaysia Cooper, a former Gamecock, had 17 points.

Staley, without her hometown Philly Eagles to cheer for in Sunday’s Super Bowl, wore a Seattle No. 3 jersey of rookie defensive back Nick Emmanwori, an AP All-American in college at South Carolina.

“We just had a lot of quit in us tonight,” said Tennessee second-year coach Kim Caldwell. “And that’s just something that’s consistent with our team. When we’re not comfortable, and things aren’t going our way, the team will just quit on you, and you can’t do that in big games, any time in SEC games, and you certainly can’t do that in a program like this.

“That’s a question for them, why you can’t stick together. They have to fix it. I do know we don’t have the player leadership we need. We’ve talked about it for a couple of weeks. Consistency has been a big problem for this team right now.”

As for any message to her squad, Caldwell matter-of-factly said, “Win your next game. We’re embarrassed. Win your next game.”

The Lady Vols host Missouri Thursday night, marking the return of previous Tennessee coach and former player Kelly Harper, while the Gamecocks are off until a Saturday night showdown visit to No. 5 LSU in Baton Rouge, La.

Meanwhile, No. 2 UCLA (23-1, 13-0) in a key Big Ten contest at No. 8 Michigan (20-4, 11-2) in Ann Arbor, edged the Wolverines 69-66 to take a two-game lead in the conference as Lauren Betts had 16 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and three blocks for the Bruins, who have won 17 straight overall since their only loss to No. 4 Texas in Las Vegas in November.

It’s the first time this season the winning Bruins did not reach 70 points.

The home team trailed by 11 with under two minutes left in regulation and made a run that fell short of a potential tie when Syla Swords’ attempted 3-pointer became an airball with 2.2 seconds left in regulation.

UCLA has a nation-leading nine wins over Associated Press Top 25 women’s teams.

In the loss, Michigan parted with a school-record, nine-game win streak.

Kiki Rice scored 20 points for the visitors, while Gabriela Jaquez had 13 points and Utah transfer Gianna Kneepkens scored 12.

Michigan’s Olivia Olson scored 20 points, Mila Holloway scored 15, and Te’Yala Delfosse scored 10 but Swords, one of the Wolverines’ leaders, was held to eight points, missing 10 of her 13 attempts from the field.

A season-high 6,108 fans attended the game at the Crisler Center.

The Bruins stay in the Midwest, visiting No. 12 Michigan State on Wednesday, while Michigan is at Northwestern on Thursday.

Elsewhere in the conference among ranked teams, No. 24 Washington (18-6, 8-5) was forced into overtime before winning 91-86 at Wisconsin (13-11, 5-8) as Avery Howell of the visiting Huskies of the Northwest had a career-high 34 points, eight in the overtime, and 14 rebounds, while Sayvia Sellers scored 23.

Elle Ladine added 16 points.

Wisconsin’s Destiny Howell had 28 points propelled by five makes from deep, while Gift Uchenna scored 24 points with 12 rebounds and three steals.

Washington visits No. 10 Iowa Wednesday, the same day Wisconsin is at Illinois.

No. 9 Ohio State (22-3, 11-2) had an easier day, winning 80-64 over Oregon (18-8, 6-7) as Elsa Lemmila had a career-high 23 points for the Buckeyes, who have won four straight and 11-of-12.

Jaloni Cambridge added 19 points, passing her 1000th career score, wile Chance Gray, who played two seasons at Oregon, had eight points and five rebounds.

Ari Long had four made 3-pointers for most of her 16 points for the host Ducks, who won four straight prior to Sunday. Oregon was forced into 23 turnovers.

Ohio State is off a week until Maryland’s visit this Sunday while Oregon is also off the same span before traveling up to play Washington, the Ducks’ former rival when both schools were in the PAC-12 prior to last season.

In two other Big Ten games of note, Southern Cal (15-9, 7-6) won 70-62 over Illinois (16-8, 6-7) in Champaign as freshman Jazzy Davidson scored 27 points for the visiting Trojans, who host Indiana Thursday at 10 p.m. in Los Angeles at the Galen Center on BTN.

The Hoosiers (14-11, 3-10) won their third conference game 74-59 at home in Bloomington over Purdue to move into a 14th-place tie with the Boilermakers as Shay Ciezki, who played two seasons ago at Penn State had a near triple double for Indiana with with 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

In two other ranked games in the SEC, No. 5 LSU (22-3, 8-3) came off its previous loss at No. 4 Texas to win 77-44 at Auburn (13-12, 2-9) as ZaKiyah Johnson scored 16 points and Mikaylah Williams scored 12 points.

The Tigers are off until Saturday’s visit from South Carolina.

In an upset, off the only game in the nation that tipped at 6 p.m. or after, No. 21 Alabama (20-5, 6-5) suffered a narrow 72-69 upset loss at Texas A&M (9-10, 2-8), the winning Aggies getting 20 points from Ny’Ceara Pryor and 12 points and 15 boards from Fatmata Janneh.

Jessica Timmons scored 19 points with eight rebounds, Ta’Mia Scott scored 18 points, and Essence Cody had 13 for the Crimson, who next host No. 11 Oklahoma on Sunday at 4 p.m. on the SEC Network, while Texas A&M on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network is at No. 16 Kentucky in Lexington.

Kentucky is involved with one of two SEC games on Monday, the Wildcats visiting No. 4 Texas at 7:30 p.m. in Austin on the SEC Network, while No. 7 Vanderbilt, home in Nashville, Tenn., hosts Oklahoma at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.

In the Big 12’s only Sunday game, No. 14 TCU (21-4, 9-3) fell by a point 80-79 at Colorado (16-8, 7-5) in Boulder as Jade Masogayo executed a three-point play with two seconds left in regulation, the stunning upset ruining the Horned Frogs move to a first place tie with No. 15 Baylor.

TCU had gone ahead 79-77 on Donovyn Hunter’s layup with five seconds left followed by Masogayo taking a sideline inbounds pass, driving the lane on the right side for a short bank shot and then, with Kennedy Basham called for a foul on the play, stepping to the line and sinking the and-one for the winning point.

Masogayo had a career-high 23 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field and 9-of-10 on the line, while Desiree Wooten had 19 points, Logyn Greer scored 17, and Zyanna Walker scored 15 points.

Notre Dame transfer Olivia Miles equaled her season best with 21 points for TCU, California transfer Marta Suarez had 20 points and Hunter scored 17.

TCU is at Baylor Thursday in Waco, Texas, while Colorado is at Houston Wednesday.

In the Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 17 Duke (18-6, 13-0) at home in Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., did not suffer any letdown from its prior triumph over No. 6 Louisville, winning easily 95-36 over SMU (8-16, 1-11) for the Blue Devils, who have won 15 straight overall and 13 straight in the conference, bests in coach Kara Lawson’s five seasons at the helm.

Duke’s Arianna Roberson, a freshman center, had career-highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds off the bench and Toby Fournier added 26 points, while Delaney Thomas had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Ashlon Jackson had 11 points and 10 assists.

The Blue Devils are off until Sunday hosting No. 25 North Carolina, which first hosts SMU on Thursday.

The Tar Heels (20-5, 9-3) on Sunday won 84-56 at Wake Forest (13-12, 3-10) in Winston-Salem, N.C., as Nyla Brooks scored 21 points and Nyla Harris scored 19 .

Louisville (22-4, 12-1) bounced back from its one-point loss to Duke, snapping the Cardinals’ 14-game win streak, dominating wire-to-wire 84-65 at Syracuse (19-5, 9-4) in upstate New York as Saint Joseph’s transfer Laura Ziegler scored 22 points and Mackenly Rudolph and Imari Berry each scored 15 points.

Next up for the Cardinals is a Wake Forest visit on Thursday.

In three other ACC games of note, N.C. State (17-7, 10-3) stayed near the conference leaders, winning 82-62 at Virginia Tech (18-7, 8-5) in Blacksburg as Khamil Pierre and Zoe Brooks each scored 25 points while Pierre also grabbed 12 rebounds.

The Wolfpack next after a week off visit Notre Dame on Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPN.

The Fighting Irish (15-9, 7-6) on Sunday fell 81-70 at Virginia (17-7, 9-4) in Charlottesville.

Kymora Johnson had 29 points for the winning Cavaliers, who visit California Thursday, while South Jersey’s Hannah Hidalgo had 24 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for Notre Dame, which is also off all week until the N.C. State visit.

Georgia Tech (11-14, 6-7) at home in Atlanta won 74-52 over Stanford (16-9, 5-7) as L’Nya Foster had 25 points and shot 5-for-8 from deep for the Yellow Jackets and Lara Somfai had 19 points for the visiting Cardinal.

The winners next visit Clemson on Thursday at 8 p.m. on the ACC Network while Stanford the same night back home in Palo Alto, Calif., host Virginia Tech at 10 p.m. on ACCNX.

NYU Sets DIII Win Streak Mark

The Violets (20-0) coached by Meg Barber, who was on one of Dawn Staley’s early Temple staffs in Philadelphia, beat Carnegie Mellon 69-58 on Sunday to break a tie with rival Washington University of St. Louis and set the new Division III win streak record at 82.

The previous record of 81 was set from 1998 to 2001.

“Thrilled we beat Wash U for that record,” Barber said in an interview with the Associated Press following the victory.

“I’m a competitive person and wildly respect this league and to have any type of streak is incredible.”

The overall all-time streak is 111 set by the Division I UConn women, who also had a run of 90 straight triumphs.

Caroline Pepper scored 27 points for NYU, which is the two-time D-III defending champions.

A week ago Carnegie Mellon nearly ended the run, losing by a point, the closest any team has come to topping the Violets this season, less than the previous small margin of 12 points in any game.

The only teams besides that game that were within single digits during the streak were Chicago, losing by six points; Whittier within eight points, and Case Western also by eight two days ago.

NYU now looks to win a fifth straight UAA Conference title and third straight national championship.

Washington U won four straight national titles from 1998 to 2001.