Williams scores 29 as UConn rolls

Connecticut's Aaliyah Edwards, left, drives to the basket past DePaul's Kiara Dallmann (42) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Connecticut's Aaliyah Edwards, left, drives to the basket past DePaul's Kiara Dallmann (42) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

CHICAGO -- Christyn Williams scored a career-high 29 points, Paige Bueckers added 22 points and personal-best 10 assists, and No. 3 UConn bounced back from a rare loss to beat No. 17 DePaul 100-67 on Sunday afternoon.

The Huskies (11-1, 9-0 Big East) haven't dropped consecutive games in 28 years. And they weren't about to let it happen this time, after losing at No. 19 Arkansas on Thursday.

UConn used a dominant second quarter to build a 14-point halftime lead. The Huskies remained in control the rest of the way and improved to 19-1 all-time against DePaul (9-4, 6-2) -- 19-0 under Hall of Fame Coach Geno Auriemma.

"It's just lousy playing basketball this time in their lives," Auriemma said. "There's nothing to get excited about. This is just glorified practice, except you're playing against another team. There's no crowd. There's no energy. People think, 'Well, what's the difference?' It's a huge difference. Basketball is meant to be played with the emotion of the game.

"These games that I see are devoid of emotion, so you have to create your own," he said. "And I thought we did that today."

Williams (Central Arkansas Christian) made 12 of 15 shots. Bueckers nailed a personal-best 5 of 7 three-pointers. The star freshman also had seven rebounds and just one turnover.

Evina Westbrook scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. The Huskies shot about 58% and finished six points shy of their season high in a matchup between two of the nation's most prolific scoring teams.

Sonya Morris scored 19 for DePaul, which had won four in a row since a loss at UConn. Lexi Held added 16 points.

NO. 4 SOUTH CAROLINA 87,

ALABAMA 63

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Zia Cooke scored 12 of her 21 points in the third quarter as South Carolina won its 18th in a row over Alabama and 28th in a row over SEC opponents.

Cooke, the team's leading scorer, struggled to find her touch early on with just four points at the half as the Gamecocks (14-1, 9-0) trailed. But Cooke, the lightning quick 5-9 sophomore, got it going in a major way after halftime as she led a 15-5 surge that put South Carolina ahead for good.

Alabama (12-4, 5-4) looked for a while like it was ready to end its long losing streak to the Gamecocks, who last lost to the Crimson Tide in 2008 before Coach Dawn Staley arrived.

NO. 6 STANFORD 74,

WASHINGTON 48

SEATTLE -- Hannah Jump matched her season-high with 15 points off the bench and Stanford used a fast start beat shorthanded Washington.

The Cardinal (14-2, 12-2 Pac-12) led by 19 after scoring a season-high 28 points in the first quarter and were never threatened in completing a three-game sweep of the Washington schools this week. The Cardinal defeated Washington State twice before knocking off the Huskies to complete the extended road trip.

Lexie Hull and Kiana Williams both added 12 points for the Cardinal.

Quay Miller led Washington (4-8, 1-8) with 14 points.

NO. 8 TEXAS A&M 60,

NO. 22 GEORGIA 48

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- N'dea Jones had 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead Texas A&M to a victory over Georgia.

The Aggies (16-1, 7-1) added 13 points from Kayla Wells and 10 from Ciera Johnson.

Gabby Connally had 18 points for Georgia (13-4, 5-4) and Que Morrison added 12.

NO. 9 BAYLOR 85,

IOWA STATE 77

AMES, Iowa -- Nalyssa Smith scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Baylor held on to beat Iowa State and remain alone atop the Big 12 standings.

The Lady Bears (12-2, 7-1 Big 12) had lost their last two meetings with the Cyclones, including a 75-71 defeat on Jan. 6.

Baylor had not lost three in a row against a Big 12 rival since Oklahoma put together a four-game winning streak against the Lady Bears from 2005 to 2007.

Dijonai Carrington contributed 17 points to the Bears' victory. Moon Ursin added 11 points and 15 rebounds.

Ashley Joens led Iowa State (11-6, 7-3) with 25 points and seven rebounds.

NO. 15 KENTUCKY 61,

MISSOURI 55

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Rhyne Howard scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Kentucky closed the game with an 11-2 run to defeat Missouri.

In the final three minutes, after the Tigers scored nine consecutive points to take a 53-50 lead, the Wildcats were 9 of 10 from the foul line while Missouri went 1 of 4 from the floor, missed two critical free throws and had a shot clock violation.

Dre'Una Edwards added 10 points and nine rebounds with the first four points in the closing run for the Wildcats (13-4, 6-3). KeKe McKinney had two free throws with 15.7 seconds left to make it a two-possession game.

Ladazhia Williams scored a career-high 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting for Missouri (6-6, 3-5).

NO. 16 INDIANA 79,

MICHIGAN STATE 67

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Mackenzie Holmes led a balanced attack with 17 points and Indiana took over in the second half to defeat Michigan State for the 800th victory in program history.

Ali Patberg added 15 points, Aleksa Gulbe 14 points and Jaelynn Penn 13 for the Hoosiers (10-4, 8-2 Big Ten).

Indiana trailed by as many as 10 in the first quarter before cutting the deficit to two and were down 41-33 at the break.

Nia Clouden paced Michigan State (9-5, 4-4) with 19 points

NO. 20 TENNESSEE 79,

FLORIDA 65

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tamari Key had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots as the Volunteers turned aside a challenge from Florida.

The 6-5 sophomore from Cary, N.C., had a career-high for points on 10-for-12 shooting, and the 10 blocks are a best by one, and two shy of Kelly Cain's single-game record set in 2010.

Key scored nine points and blocked four shots in the fourth quarter when the scrappy Gators came as close as 60-59. The Lady Vols called a quick timeout and then scored 10 consecutive points and closed out the quarter on a 19-6 pace.

Rae Burrell added 21 points with nine rebounds for Tennessee (12-3, 6-1).

Kiara Smith and Lavender Briggs each scored 23 points for the Gators (9-8, 2-7).

TOP 25 MEN

NO. 6 HOUSTON 70, SMU 48

HOUSTON -- Marcus Sasser scored 19 points and No. 6 Houston beat SMU for its eighth consecutive win.

Justin Gorham had nine points and 17 rebounds for Houston (15-1, 10-1 American Athletic), which won its 20th consecutive home game. Reggie Chaney added 10 points.

The Cougars won despite shooting only 34%.

Kendric Davis led SMU (9-4, 5-4) with 11 points. Feron Hunt and Yor Anei each scored 10 points for the Mustangs, who made 32% percent of their shots.

NO. 13 OHIO STATE 79,

MICHIGAN STATE 62

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- E.J. Liddell had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead Ohio State past skidding Michigan State.

Justin Ahrens added 17 for the workmanlike Buckeyes (14-4, 8-4 Big Ten), who have won three in a row and six of seven.

Joshua Langford led the Spartans (8-6, 6-2) with 14 points. Michigan State was coming off an embarrassing 30-point loss to Rutgers on Thursday that followed a long covid-19 layoff.

Connecticut's Paige Bueckers (5) shoots over DePaul's Jorie Allen during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Connecticut's Paige Bueckers (5) shoots over DePaul's Jorie Allen during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Connecticut's Christyn Williams (13) scores past DePaul's Deja Church, left, and Evina Westbrook during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Connecticut's Christyn Williams (13) scores past DePaul's Deja Church, left, and Evina Westbrook during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Connecticut's Aubrey Griffin holds her face after being injured during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the DePaul Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Connecticut's Aubrey Griffin holds her face after being injured during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the DePaul Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Connecticut's Aubrey Griffin is surrounded by her teammates as she holds her face after being injured during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the DePaul Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Connecticut's Aubrey Griffin is surrounded by her teammates as she holds her face after being injured during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the DePaul Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Connecticut's Olivia Nelson-Ododa is pressured by DePaul's Deja Church (3) and Darrione Rogers during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Connecticut's Olivia Nelson-Ododa is pressured by DePaul's Deja Church (3) and Darrione Rogers during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Connecticut's Olivia Nelson-Ododa is pressured by DePaul's Deja Church (3) and Darrione Rogers during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Connecticut's Olivia Nelson-Ododa is pressured by DePaul's Deja Church (3) and Darrione Rogers during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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