Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Connecticut rebounds; Williams contributes 12
HOUSTON — Katie Lou Samuelson had 19 points, Napheesa Collier added 18 points and No. 1 Connecticut rebounded from a rare regular-season loss with an 8161 victory over Houston on Sunday.
Megan Walker had 14 points and 7 rebounds, Crystal Dangerfield had 13 points and 6 assists, and Christyn Williams (Central Arkansas Christian) had 12 points for UConn (12-1, 1-0 American), which had its streak of 126 consecutive regular-season victories snapped in a 68-57 loss to No. 8 Baylor on Thursday.
Octavia Barnes had 15 points, Serithia Hawkins added 10 points and Tatyana Hill added 9 points for Houston (6-8, 0-1).
UConn started the second quarter on a 13-2 run to open up a 37-23 lead on Samuelson’s layup 3½ minutes into the quarter.
Houston scored the next five points to cut the lead to nine on Hill’s layup with five minutes remaining, but UConn finished the half with a 14-2 run to take a 51-30 halftime lead on Dangerfield’s jumper.
Houston got no closer than 16 in the second half.
The Huskies shot much better against Houston and were able to find the open shooter with good passing, finishing with 17 assists. UConn controlled the paint, holding a 42-16 advantage and controlled the defensive boards. The Huskies committed 18 turnovers.
In other Top 25/SEC women’s games Sunday, Jessica Shepard scored 19 points, mostly on layups, and No. 2 Notre Dame strengthened its case for the top spot in the Top 25 by overpowering Georgia Tech 76-55. … Arica Carter had career highs of 23 points and 7 three-pointers to help No. 3 Louisville beat Duke 73-51. … Sabrina Ionescu extended her NCAA record to 15 triple-doubles and Ruthy Hebard scored a career-high 34 points to help No. 5 Oregon race past Washington State 98-58. … DiJonai Carrington knocked down a key jumper with 24 seconds left and scored 30 points, Alanna Smith hit consecutive three-pointers during a key third-quarter burst, and No. 6 Stanford rallied past scrappy UCLA in the second half, winning 86-80. … Anriel Howard had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Chloe Bibby added 18 points and No. 7 Mississippi State beat No. 16 Kentucky 86-71. … Freshman Queen Egbo had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 8 Baylor followed its victory over top-ranked Connecticut with a 73-56 victory against Texas Tech in its Big 12 opener. … Kiara Leslie scored a career-high 31 points and No. 9 North Carolina State cruised to a 85-69 victory over Boston College, raising its record to 15-0 for the best start in school history. … Sophie Cunningham scored 20 points and Haley Troup added a career-high 16 points as Missouri edged No. 10 Tennessee 66-64 for its fifth consecutive victory. … Destiny Slocum scored a career-high 30 points, including a career-best-tying 5 three-pointers, and No. 11 Oregon State never trailed in its 78-67 victory over Washington. … Brandi Beasley scored 18 points and Illinois closed the game with an 11-2 run to rally for a 66-62 upset over No. 12 Minnesota. … Sug Sutton scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and Destiny Littleton had 3 three-pointers in the pivotal third quarter and No. 13 Texas defeated West Virginia 70-58. … Tiana Mangakahia scored 27 points, including the tie-breaking three-pointer with 1:37 left in overtime, and No. 14 Syracuse held on for a 75-73 victory over Virginia Tech. … Jaelynn Penn scored 17 points including a go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute to give Indiana a 68-64 victory over No. 15 Michigan State. … Kristine Anigwe had 21 points and 16 rebounds to help No. 18 California hold on for a 66-59 victory over USC. … Khayla Pointer scored 16 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter and LSU outscored No. 21 Texas A&M 12-0 over the final three minutes for a 63-52 victory. … Kianna Ibis scored 27 points and No. 22 Arizona State opened the fourth quarter with 13 consecutive points to overcome Colorado 76-70. … Mikiah Herbert Harrigan had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks and No. 23 South Carolina forced turnovers on Alabama’s last three possessions to give the Gamecocks a 62-59 victory.
SEC WOMEN ARKANSAS 85, MISSISSIPPI 55
Chelsea Dungee scored 17 points and led four players with at least 13 points in a rout of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., on Sunday.
In addition to Dungee, Jailyn Mason had 16 points and 6 rebounds, Malica Monk had 16 points and Kiara Williams finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Razorbacks (12-4, 1-1 SEC).
The Razorbacks led 17-13 after the first quarter, 42-25 at halftime and 6036 after three quarters.
Arkansas shot 47.8 percent (32 of 67) from the floor, 9 of 11 from the foul line, and had 11 turnovers to Mississippi’s 15.
Crystal Allen led the Rebels (6-10, 0-2) with 13 points. La’Kanis Saller came off the bench to scored 11.
The Rebels shot 32.8 percent (21 of 64) from the floor and made 10 of 13 free throws.