No. 4 UConn dominates Virginia, extends streak

TOP 25 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL NO. 4 UCONN 83, VIRGINIA 44

HARTFORD, Conn. — Megan Walker scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half and No. 4 UConn blew out Virginia 83-44 on Tuesday night.

Christyn Williams added 17 points for the Huskies (4-0), who extended their home winning streak to 96 games.

Kyla Irwin had a careerhigh 13 points, and freshman Anna Makarut had her best game as a Husky with 10.

Jocelyn Willoughby scored 13 points for Virginia (2-3), which was coming off a threepoint loss at home to No. 13 Kentucky.

The Cavaliers took an early lead, going up 9-5 on a 3-pointer by Lisa Jablonowski, who had just two of those all last season on 20 attempts.

But that was the last field goal Virginia would get for 10 minutes.

UConn scored the next 17 points, taking the lead for good on a driving layup by Williams. The Huskies led 2610 after the first quarter and scored the first seven points of the second quarter.

Virginia had just two field goals, both from 3-point range, in the second quarter and trailed 42-17 at halftime.

NO. 2 BAYLOR 58,

NO. 22 SOUTH FLORIDA 46

WACO, Texas — Queen Egbo had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Nalyssa Smith added 12 points and No. 2 Baylor survived its first true test this season. The defending national champion Lady Bears finally pulled away late in a win over No. 22 South Florida.

After winning their first three games by an average margin of nearly 71 points, the Lady Bears (4-0) had only a one-point lead midway through the third quarter.

Egbo made her second start in place of preseason AP All-America post Lauren Cox, who is out with a right foot injury. There is no timetable for the return of the 6-foot-4 senior.

Bethy Mununga led South Florida (4-1) with her fourth double-double this season, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Elisa Pinzan scored 14 points with four 3-pointers.

Te’a Cooper also had 12 points for the Lady Bears and Juicy Landrum had 10, including their only 3-pointer with just over a minute left in the game.

NO. 14 NC STATE 62, MAINE 34

RALEIGH, N.C. — Elissa Cunane had 12 points and 10 rebounds for her second straight double-double and No. 14 North Carolina State beat Maine for its ninth straight 4-0 start to a season.

NC State opened the game on a 12-2 run and added a 9-0 run in the second quarter for a 31-10 lead at the break. The lead never dropped below 19 points in the second half and was as high as 34.

Jada Boyd added eight points, a career-high 16 rebounds, three assists and two blocks for NC State. The Wolfpack made 13 of 15 free throws compared to Maine’s one attempt.

NC State entered ranked third nationally in field-goal percentage defense and held Maine to 25% on 14-of-57 shooting.

NO. 15 MICHIGAN STATE 76, OAKLAND 56

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Taryn McCutcheon scored 16 points, Mardrekia Cook added 14 and No. 15 Michigan State defeated Oakland.

The Spartans (4-0) trailed the entire first quarter. McCutcheon hit two 3-pointers 45 seconds apart to open the second quarter that began a 9-0 run, and Michigan State led the rest of the way.

The Spartans went up by double figures for good with just under four minutes in the third and opened the fourth with an 8-0 run to push the lead to 22.

Kayla Belles added 11 points and Nia Clouden 10 points and six assists for the Spartans.

NO. 23 TENNESSEE 73, STETSON 46

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Rennia Davis scored 15 points and Rae Burrell had a doubledouble as the 23rd-ranked Lady Volunteers rolled to a victory over Stetson.

Burrell had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Tennessee (5-0). Jordan Horston scored 14 points, Jazmine Massengill had 12 and Kasiyahna Kushkituah added 11.

The Lady Vols broke open a close game by going on a 17-2 spurt midway through the contest. Tennessee scored the last nine points of the second quarter to grab a 39-24 halftime edge and then opened the third period with an 8-2 run.