Siegrist scores 31 as ’Nova handles Butler
No. 19 Villanova 78, Butler 58: Maddy Siegrist scored 31 points, her 10th 30-point game of the season, Christina Dalce had a double-double and Villanova (20-4, 11-2 Big East) rolled to a win over host Butler (7-16, 2-12).
Behind Siegrist’s 13-of-19 shooting, the Wildcats shot 68% in the first half and remained over 60% well into the fourth quarter until finishing at 53%. The Bulldogs shot 37%.
Lucy Olsen scored 18 points for Villanova. Dalce had 13 points and 12 rebounds for her second-straight and third career double-double.
Sydney Jaynes scored 16 points for Butler, which lost its sixth straight. The Bulldogs lost the first meeting 68-58 when Siegrist had 36 points.
Siegrist has scored at least 20 points in every game this season, the 24 games the second-longest streak to start a season in the last 20 years. Washington star Kelsey Plum did it in all 35 of her games in the 2016-17 season. Siegrist is 73 points behind the 1,546 of Boston College’s Sarah Behn as the most scored in Big East games.
No. 17 Gonzaga 78, San Francisco 56: Kaylynne Truong had career highs of seven 3-pointers and 27 points and added six rebounds, five assists and three steals in Gonzaga’s (22-3, 12-1 WCC) win over host San Francisco (15-9, 5-7).
McKayla Williams made 3 of 4 3-pointers and scored 17 points for Gonzaga. Yvonne Ejim added 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Bulldogs remain tied for the league lead with Portland heading into next Saturday’s game in Spokane, Washington.
Jasmine Gayles scored 14 points for the Dons. Kennedy Dickie added 12 points.
No. 20 Oklahoma 93, West Virginia 68: Skylar Vann came off the bench to score 16 points with eight rebounds, three steals and three assists and host Oklahoma (18-4, 8-3 Big 12) used a hot start to race to a win over West Virginia (14-7, 5-5).
Ana Llanusa and Liz Scott added 15 points for the Sooners, who opened league play with a 98-77 win over the Mountaineers. Nevaeh Tott scored 12 points and Madi Williams had 12.
The Sooners, who entered the game third nationally in scoring (86.1) and assists (20.4), had 28 assists on 36 baskets, their fourth game with more than 25 assists.
Ja’Na Quinerly scored 24 points and Madisen Smith added 12 for the Mountaineers, who were outrebounded 41-26 and outscored 22-8 on second-chance points. The Sooners hit 7 of 14 3-pointers and shot 61% overall in racing to a 55-37 halftime lead.
UTSA 58, No. 21 Middle Tennessee 53:
Jordyn Jenkins scored 20 points and had 16 rebounds and Elyssa Coleman scored 18 points and host UTSA (6-16, 4-9 Conference USA) upended Middle Tennessee (18-4, 11-2).
Kyra White grabbed 13 rebounds and distributed eight assists for UTSA. The Roadrunners have won two of three. The Lady Raiders beat UTSA 80-41 at home on Jan. 5.
Courtney Whitson scored 13 points for MTSU and Savannah Wheeler 11.
MTSU dropped its second straight following a 16game winning streak. UTEP beat Middle Tennessee 6562 on Thursday night.
No. 25 South Florida 65, SMU 63: Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu scored 21 points, Sammie Puisis had a double-double, and South Florida (22-4, 11-0 AAC) rallied past host SMU (14-7, 5-4).
USF coach Jose Fernandez won for the 119th time in the American Athletic Conference and passed UConn coach Geno Auriemma for first place on the conference list.
A quick 7-0 run capped by Marina Asensio’s 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter put the Bulls up 57-55, their first lead of the second half. Upset-minded SMU responded with two 3-pointers from Jasmine Smith and the Mustangs led 63-59 with 4:07 remaining but would not score again.