NO. 2 UConn opens season with 86-32 win over Boston University
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Jana El Alfy had 17 points and 11 rebounds and fellow freshman Sarah Strong had 17 points and six steals as No. 2 UConn opened its season with an 86-32 win over Boston University on Thursday night.
Paige Bueckers had 13 points, seven assists and five steals while Ashlynn Shade added 10 points for the Huskies.
UConn had runs of 11-0 and 15-0 before the Terriers made their second basket of the game.
Alex Giannaros made a pair of 3-pointers as BU (1-1) scored nine straight points in the third quarter. She led the Terriers with 13 points.
The Huskies are still without Caroline Ducharme, Azzi Fudd, Aubrey Griffin and Ayanna Patterson. Fudd warmed up with the team before the game and is close to returning after being limited to two games during the 2023-24 season before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
NO. 8 IOWA STATE 64, INDIANA STATE 42
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Audi Crooks scored 16 points, Addy Brown had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 8 Iowa State beat Indiana State.
Crooks scored in double figures for the 34th straight game and had eight rebounds. Brown, a sophomore, had the 11th double-double of her career.
Sydney Harris added 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting for the Cyclones (2-0). Emily Ryan was scoreless but had eight rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and two steals.
Keslyn Secrist and Deja Jones each scored 12 points for Indiana State (0-2).
NO. 11, DUKE 83, LIBERTY 67
LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Ashlon Jackson scored 10 of her 22 points in the third quarter to help No. 11 Duke pull away for a victory over Liberty.
Duke (2-0) turned a two-point lead at halftime into a 64-50 advantage by the end of the third quarter. Jackson sank all three of her shots with two 3-pointers and handed out three assists to help the Blue Devils outscore the Flames 25-13 in the period.
Jackson made 7 of 10 shots from the floor, including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc, and 3 of 4 free throws for Duke. Reigan Richardson and reserve Toby Fournier both scored 13. Jordan Wood added 10 points off the bench.
Asia Boone had 15 points to lead Liberty (1-1). Emma Hess scored 11 and Elisabeth Aegisdottir grabbed 10 rebounds.
Jackson had eight points and Wood scored six to help Duke take a 29-15 lead after one quarter.
NO. 12 BAYLOR 85, INCARNATE WORD 33
WACO, Texas (AP) — Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting and Aaronette Vonleh added 16 points to help No. 12 Baylor beat Incarnate Word.
Jana Van Gytenbeek added 10 points and five assists for Baylor (1-0). Jada Walker had 10 assists to go with six points and Bella Fontleroy grabbed 14 rebounds and scored nine points.
Littlepage-Buggs made a layup that gave Baylor the lead for good amid a 12-3 run to close the first quarter and make it 17-10. The Bears outscored Incarnate Word (0-2) 21-9 in the second quarter and hit three 3-pointers in a 15-0 third-quarter run before taking a 64-28 lead into the fourth.
Brynn Lusby led Incarnate Word with 10 points.
NO. 13 KANSAS STATE 82, BELMONT 56
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Temira Poindexter scored 23 points, Kennedy Taylor added 18 and No. 13 Kansas State rolled to a win over Belmont.
The senior transfers combined to go 15 of 26 from the field. Poindexter, from Tulsa, was 5 of 10 from 3-point range, and Taylor, from Missouri State, was 6 of 8 from the foul line. Zyanna Walker added 14 points and Jaelyn Glenn had 10 for the Wildcats (2-0).
Kendall Holmes had 12 points for the Bears (0-1) with Tuti Jones, Emily La Chapell and Jailyn Banks all scoring 10.
Poindexter hit all five her her shots, including three 3s, for 13 points in the second quarter and 19 in the first half, which ended with the Wildcats up 42-24.
K-State had a 13-point run in the first quarter, with two Poindexter 3s and another from Glenn, for a nine-point lead, but the Bears got the last six points and only trailed 19-16.
NO. 15 NORTH CAROLINA 77, UNC WILMINGTON 50
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Lexi Donarski scored 21 points and made five 3-pointers to lead No. 15 North Carolina to a victory over UNC Wilmington.
Donarski, a transfer from Iowa State who averaged 14 points last season, shot 8 of 14 from the floor and 5 of 11 from long range. Reniya Kelly added three 3s and finished with 14 points for North Carolina (2-0).
Blanca Thomas grabbed 10 of the Tar Heels’ 50 rebounds and Grace Townsend had eight assists. Alyssa Ustby, who entered with 965 career rebounds and 38 double-doubles, finished with nine rebounds and seven points on 2-of-13 shooting against the Seahawks.
Taylor Henderson scored 15 points and made two 3-pointers for UNC Wilmington (0-2), who shot 30% (17 of 57) from the field.
The Tar Heels opened on a 12-2 run, outscored the Seahawks 20-6 in the second quarter and led 40-16 at the break. Kelly had nine points on three 3s and Maria Gakdeng scored all eight of her points in the first half.
The Tar Heels lead the series 6-0.
NO. 18 MARYLAND 70, COPPIN STATE 47
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Kaylene Smikle scored 20 points and No. 18 Maryland used a big second quarter to cruise to a home-opening win over Coppin State.
Smikle, an All-Big Ten selection at Rutgers last year, hit four 3-pointers for the Terps (2-0), who had 10 new players on their roster, including seven transfers Sarah Te-Biasu, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year at VCU, added 12 points. Saylor Poffenbarger, a transfer from Arkansas, had 10 rebounds.
Laila Lawrence led the Eagles (1-1) with 16 points.
Maryland blew the game open by outscoring Coppin State 25-4 in the second quarter to lead 40-16 at the half. The Terps went 8 of 14 from the field with three 3s and 6 of 6 from the foul line. In 15 shots the Eagles hit a 3 before missing their last 13 shots and made 1 of 2 free throws.
Smikle it a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in the first quarter to give her 11 points and Maryland a 15-12 lead. The score was 17-15 with nine minutes to go in the second quarter before the Terps closed on a 23-1 run. Poffenbarger had a pair of 3s, her only baskets of the game, and Te-Biasu another in the first 15-0 burst.
ILLINOIS 83, NO. 19 FLORIDA STATE 74
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Adalia McKenzie and Makira Cook each scored 20 points and Kendall Bostic scored 14 of her 18 points in the first half to help Illinois beat No. 19 Florida State.
Florida State made just 3 of 16 from the field and committed six turnovers to open the game as Illinois jumped to a 16-6 lead. Bostic was 6-of-6 shooting before the break as Illinois led by as many as 17 points before taking a 43-34 lead into halftime.
Makayla Timpson made a jumper that cut Florida State’s deficit to five points with just under six minutes to play but Cook answered with a layup. McKenzie followed with an offensive rebound and putback to make it 74-55 with 4:33 remaining and the Seminoles got no closer.
Ta’Niya Latson scored 27 points and Timpson had 22 and 14 rebounds for Florida State (1-1), which set a single-game program record for points in its opener, beating North Florida 119-49.
NO. 22 KENTUCKY 70, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 41
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Freshman center Clara Silva scored 18 points, Clara Strack had 15 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists and No. 22 Kentucky beat Northern Kentucky.
Strack started a 10-3 run to close the first half that gave Kentucky a double-digit lead it would not relinquish. She also scored six points during a 11-2 run to begin the fourth quarter for a 64-37 lead.
Northern Kentucky made just 3 of 16 shots in the fourth quarter.
Silva, from Portugal, was coming off a 6-for-6 performance on Monday to become the first Kentucky player to be perfect from the field – with at least five field goals – since Makayla Epps in 2014. Silva’s debut was Kentucky’s first game under head coach Kenny Brooks — and it ended in the second largest margin of victory in a season opener (55 points) in program history.
Kentucky (2-0) has won the last seven meetings with Northern Kentucky, dating to 1980.
NO. 24 ALABAMA 84, ALABAMA A&M 59
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Sarah Ashlee Barker scored 19 points, Zaay Green added 14 and No. 24 Alabama rolled to a win over Alabama.
Barker was 9-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds for the Crimson Tide (2-0). Green had six rebounds, five assists and three steals against Dawn E. Thornton, her former coach at Arkansas Pine Bluff who is in her first year with the Bulldogs. Aaliyah Nye contributed 12 points.
Kaila Walker scored 13 points to lead Alabama A&M (1-1).
Barker and Green combined for 25 points in the first half as the Crimson Tide went up 46-25. They made 12 of 16 shots in the second quarter to 4 of 17 for A&M to stretch a 20-15 lead to 19. Green, who had 10 points in the quarter, had six in a 13-0 run that made the lead 39-19 with 3:06 remaining before the half.
Despite going 5 of 16 in the fourth quarter, Alabama shot 56.5% (35 of 62), going 8 of 15 from 3-point range.
The Bulldogs shot 34% (19 of 56).
HARVARD 72, NO. 25 INDIANA 68, OT
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Harmoni Turner scored 24 points, former Hoosier Mona Zaric had a game-saving block and two game-clinching free throws in overtime and Harvard upset No. 25 Indiana.
Turner opened the overtime with a pair of layups and led the rest of the way as the Hoosiers had five turnovers, giving them 27 for the game. The last turnover was losing a held ball with three seconds left and Zaric, a senior who transferred after her sophomore season, made two free throws with 2.4 to go.
The Hoosiers barely led until a 7-0 run of free throws made it 60-57 with 3:43 to play, which was the largest lead for Indiana. Alayna Rocco hit a wide-open 3-point from the right corner with 19 seconds left in regulation to pull Harvard into a tie at 63 and then Zaric blocked Chloe Moore-McNeil’s layup attempt with a second left.
Elena Rodriguez had 15 points for the Crimson (2-0), who pulled the game out despite having 32 fouls to 19 for Indiana. Harvard was 10 of 16 from the foul line and had eight 3-pointers.