NO. 1 CONNECTICUT 90, NO. 23 TEMPLE 45
HARTFORD, Conn. -- After a closer than expected three-point victory at Tulane, top-ranked Connecticut had a bit of motivation to play well against newly ranked Temple.
Napheesa Collier scored a career-high 31 points and the Huskies routed the No. 23 Owls 90-45 on Wednesday night to extend the program's record winning streak to 102 consecutive games.
"I tried to come out really strong, we all did coming off that game with Tulane," Collier said. "I think we were all just really focused coming in."
Katie Lou Samuelson added 19 points for the Huskies (27-0, 14-0 American), who clinched their fourth consecutive American Athletic Conference regular-season championship. The Huskies have never lost a conference game, either in the regular season or the conference tournament.
UConn led by 22 points at halftime of this one and scored the first eight points of the second half.
Sophomore Gabby Williams chipped in with 15 points, giving her 1,003 for her career.
Williams picked up three first-quarter fouls, but Collier hit her first six shots from the floor and the Huskies led 23-11 after 10 minutes. The sophomore forward was 13 of 14 from the floor and pulled down 13 rebounds. It was her 11th double-double this season.
"The kid never takes a bad shot," said UConn Coach Geno Auriemma. "She doesn't force shots. She doesn't throw stuff up there with no intention of making it. She doesn't waste opportunities."
Feyonda Fitzgerald and Donnaizha Fountain each had 12 points for the Owls (21-6, 11-3) who lost for the first time in six games.
UConn outscored Temple 42-4 in the paint and 21-4 on the fast break.
"We knew if we could take care of the basketball and limit transition baskets and not give up second chance points, then we might stand a chance," said Temple Coach Tonya Cardoza. "But to start the game we were giving them easy transition points."
UConn guard Kia Nurse missed her second consecutive game with a stress injury in her right ankle. She is expected to be held out until the postseason. Nurse had been averaging just under 13 points a game. She is the Huskies most experience starter and considered the team leader.
SOUTHLAND WOMEN
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 78,
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 64
A dominant first half that included 29 consecutive points led the Central Arkansas women to another victory and moved the Sugar Bears one step closer to a regular-season Southland Conference title.
UCA scored 30 points in the first quarter, then held Southeastern Louisiana to five points in the second in the victory Wednesday night in Hammond, La.
Kierra Jordan scored 20 points to lead the Sugar Bears (22-4, 14-2) to their 13th consecutive victory, extending what was already their longest streak since moving to Division I in 2006. Abilene Christian also won Wednesday to keep UCA’s conference lead at onehalf game.
Maggie Proffitt added 17 points and Taylor Baudoin had 12 for UCA, which shot 50 percent (32 for 64) from the floor and forced 19 Southeastern Louisiana (5-22, 3-13) turnovers.
Jordan, Proffitt and Baudoin each scored in a 10-0 run to close the first quarter, capped by a Bhrea Griffin layup that made it 30-15 heading into the second quarter. UCA scored the first 19 points of the second to extend its lead to 49-15 after a Raquel Logan jumper with 2:20 left.
Southeastern Louisiana was 0-for-9 from the floor in the second quarter and missed 13 consecutive shots over a period that began with 2:16 left in the first quarter and ended 47 seconds into the third.
UCA, which hosts Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, led 66-37 heading into the fourth quarter.
SOUTHLAND MEN
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 87, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 70
Central Arkansas couldn’t keep up with one of the Southland Conference’s worst offenses and lost its third consecutive game Wednesday.
Southeastern Louisiana built an 11-point lead in less than 11 minutes and cruised to an 87-70 victory over UCA on Wednesday night in Hammond, La.
It was the Bears’ third consecutive loss, all coming on the road, and dropped them into a tie for eighth in the Southland standings. The top eight teams reach the Southland Tournament, and UCA has two games remaining. Jordan Howard scored 19 points for the Bears (8-21, 7-9) and made two three-pointers to break the single-season record he set last season. He now has 96 three-pointers. Darraja Parnell added 13 for the Bears, and Thatch Unruh had 12. The Lions (15-14, 8-8) started the game on a 10-2 run, and after the Bears closed to within 17-14 on an Unruh three, the Lions embarked on an 18-2 run to go up 35-16 with less than seven minutes left in the first half.
Marlain Veal had 28 points for Southeastern Louisiana, while James Currington had 16 and Eddy Polanco had 13. The Lions shot 57.6 percent from the floor (34 for 59), including 60 percent (18 for 30) in the first half to build a 46-29 lead at halftime.
Sports on 02/23/2017