Williams continues strong play
NO. 1 CONNECTICUT 83, XAVIER 32
CINCINNATI — Connecticut celebrated its return to No. 1 earlier this week. Now, the Huskies can celebrate another Big East championship.
A combination of UConn’s 83-32 victory over Xavier and a loss by DePaul on Saturday allowed the Huskies (18-1, 15-0 Big East) to clinch a share of the title in their first season back in the conference after seven in the America Athletic Conference. The Big East regular-season title was UConn’s 19th.
“That’s always the first order of business, no matter what league you’re in,” Coach Geno Auriemma said. “You want to win the regular-season championship. This hasn’t been a normal season. Not everybody is playing the same number of games. I don’t know how they can give out a championship trophy this year.”
Christyn Williams (Central Arkansas Christian) scored 22 points as the Huskies breezed to their eighth consecutive win.
“Going into the end of February and early March, we’re obviously playing a little bit differently than earlier,” Auriemma said. “Defensively, we’re better. Offensively, we’re in a better flow. Maintaining that isn’t always the easiest thing to do.”
Williams has scored at least 16 points in each of her last three games after going scoreless against Seton Hall on Feb. 10.
“I’m just in a good space mentally,” the junior guard said. “I just had a bump in the road. There was a lot going on. I had a little bit of an ankle problem, too. The ankle is better. I’m just trying to keep the momentum going forward.”
Carrie Gross scored 10 points to lead Xavier (4-7, 1-6), which set a season low in scoring.
NO. 9 MARYLAND 94, MINNESOTA 62
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Ashley Owusu scored 24 points and No. 9 Maryland completed a season sweep of Minnesota.
Diamond Miller added 20 points with three steals and Katie Benzan finished with 17 points for the Terrapins, who have won five consecutive games by an average of 35 points.
Maryland (16-2, 12-1 Big Ten) stifled Minnesota with its pressure scored 23 points off 13 turnovers.
Kadi Sissoko led Minnesota (7-11, 6-10) with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Maryland beat Minnesota 90-73 on Jan. 14 and has won all six games in the series.
Chloe Bibby added 10 points for the Terrapins, who shot 55%.
NO. 12 SOUTH FLORIDA 78, TULANE 69
TAMPA, Fla. — Bethy Mununga scored 17 points and grabbed 17 rebounds and No. 12 South Florida pulled away from Tulane.
The Bulls (13-1, 10-0 American Athletic) have won three in a row following a stretch of seven postponements and one cancellation due to covid-19 protocols.
Jerkaila Jordan scored 29 points for Tulane (14-7, 10-6).
NO. 16 GONZAGA 69, SAN DIEGO 47
SAN DIEGO — Jill Townsend scored 16 points, Kayleigh Truong added 13 and No. 16 Gonzaga bounced back after its first loss in more than two months with a victory over San Diego.
Melody Kempton had 10 points for Gonzaga (19-3, 14-1 West Coast), which has won 10 in a row in the series. Jenn Wirth had 12 rebounds.
Steph Gorman had 13 points for the Toreros (12-6, 9-4) and Myah Pace added 11.
CREIGHTON 83, NO. 19 DePAUL 72
CHICAGO — Emma Ronsiek scored 27 points, Temi Carda added 18 and eight assists and Creighton became the first unraked team to beat DePaul this year.
Carly Bachelor added 13 points for Creighton (7-8, 6-5 Big East), which has won three in a row and beat a ranked team for the first team since winning at DePaul last season.
Lexi Held and Sonya Morris scored 17 points apiece and Jorie Allen had 16 with seven rebounds for the Blue Demons (135, 10-3), who had their four-game winning streak end.
NO. 19 WEST VIRGINIA 81, TCU 78
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Esmery Martinez scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and West Virginia overcame a 38-point performance by Lauren Heard and held on to defeat TCU.
Heard, whose previous career high was 34 when West Virginia won the first meeting 79-70, kept the Horned Frogs in the game but after Kirsten Deans made 1 of 2 free throws with 11 seconds left, TCU couldn’t get off a potential tying shot.
Deans scored 15 points and Kysre Gondrezick, who had 30 in the last meeting, added 14 for the Mountaineers (17-3, 11-3 Big 12).
Tavy Diggs added 13 points for the Horned Frogs (8-11, 3-11) and Michelle Berry 10.
NO. 23 S. DAKOTA STATE 69, N. DAKOTA STATE 60
FARGO, N.D. — Tylee Irwin scored a career-high 31 points to help shorthanded South Dakota State complete the road sweep of North Dakota State.
Irwin passed the 1,000-point milestone on a three-pointer with 7:59 left in the fourth quarter and set a career high for the second straight night. She scored 25 for South Dakota State (19-2, 12-0 Summit) in Friday night’s 86-78 win over the Bison (14-6, 9-5).
NO. 24 NORTHWESTERN 67, WISCONSIN 54
EVANSTON, Ill. — Sydney Wood and Lindsey Pulliam scored 14 points each and Northwestern snapped a two-game skid with a win over Wisconsin.
Veronica Burton was only 1-of-8 shooting but made all 10 of her free throws and scored 13 points with nine assists for the Wildcats (12-5, 10-5 Big Ten).
Sydney Hilliard scored 15 points with five assists for the Badgers (5-15, 2-15).
NO. 25 MISSOURI STATE 75, BRADLEY 52
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Brice Calip scored 17 points, Abby Hipp had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Missouri State beat Bradley for its 11th consecutive win.
Sydney Wilson added 13 points and Jasmine Franklin (Fayetteville) had 10 for Missouri State (15-2, 11-0 Missouri Valley), which is off to its best MVC start since going 11-0 in 2004. The Bears had a 12-0 conference start in 1996.
Gabi Haack scored 24 points to lead Bradley (12-10, 8-7).