Houston continues to streak with win

No. 9 Cougars too much for Huskies

DeJon Jarreau had 18 points and seven assists to help visiting No. 9 Houston win at Connecticut, 71-63, for its ninth victory in a row.

Armoni Brooks added 12 points for the Cougars (24-1, 11-1 American Athletic). They opened the second half with a 17-4 run to take control.

Christian Vital had 15 points for Connecticut (13-12, 4-8). The Huskies have lost three in a row since a knee injury took out scoring leader Jalen Adams.

Jarreau’s driving layup gave Houston a 17-point lead with just over 7 minutes to go. Connecticut cut it to 61-55 after a 3-pointer by Sidney Wilson and a free throw from Christian Vital.

Another driving layup by Jarreau, followed by a steal and two foul shots from Cedrick Alley Jr. brought the lead back to double digits.

The Huskies failed to capitalize on 21 Houston fouls, going 14 of 25 from the line.

The Cougars’ bench, led by Jarreau, outscored Connecticut’s 42-9. Chris Harris Jr., Cedrick Alley Jr. and Brison Gresham were a combined 9 for 9 from the floor.

Iowa

Megan Gustafson scored 27 points and added 17 rebounds to become the Big Ten Conference’s all-time leader in double-doubles while leading No. 14 Iowa (20-5, 11-3) to an 88-66 win against visiting Illinois (1015, 2-12). Gustafson, who was 9-of-11 shooting from the field and the foul line, had her 78th career double-double to break a tie with former Ohio State standout Janel Lavender.

Ohio State

Adreana Miller had 14 points with three 3-pointers and Carly Santoro scored 12 points as visiting Ohio State dominated No. 23 Rutgers for a 59-39 upset. The Buckeyes (11-12, 7-7 Big Ten) never trailed in the game and closed the first quarter on a 17-1 run to lead 23-6 at the end of the period. From there, the Scarlet Knights (17-7, 9-4) got no closer than 38-24 midway through the third quarter.

Texas A&M

Kayla Wells scored 16 points, N’dea Jones grabbed 15 rebounds and No. 22 Texas A&M beat LSU, 59-55, at College Station for the Aggies’ eighth win in their past nine games. Chennedy Carter added 15 points and Ciera Johnson chipped in 12 for Texas A&M (19-5, 8-3 SEC). Khayla Pointer led LSU (14-9, 5-6) with 21 points, Faustine Aifuwa scored 12 with 11 rebounds and Ayana Mitchell finished with 12 boards as the Tigers outrebounded Texas A&M, 44-35.

Maryland

Kaila Charles scored 22 points, Blair Watson added 17 and host No. 7 Maryland used a big third quarter to roar past Nebraska (11-14, 6-8 Big Ten), 89-63, for its eighth victory in a row. Standing alone atop the conference, the Terrapins (23-2, 12-2) face No. 14 Iowa on the road Sunday with first place on the line. The Hawkeyes are one game back with four to play.

Clemson

Kobi Thornton was 8 of 11 from the field and finished with 19 points to lead four Clemson players in double figures as the Tigers beat visiting No. 21 Florida State (1114, 6-8 ACC), 73-68. Danielle Edwards had 17 points on 5of-8 shooting, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range, for Clemson (16-9, 7-5).