Burdick leads Lady Vols’ win
Utah men whip Southern California
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s Cierra Burdick has a simple explanation for her recent surge.
Burdick scored a careerhigh 24 points and had eight rebounds and six assists to help the sixth-ranked Lady Vols beat No. 18 Mississippi State 79-67 on Sunday.
Burdick’s big performance came three days after a 16-point effort in a 73-72 victory at No. 10 Kentucky.
“I’ve just been playing with a lot of passion and energy,” she said. “There’s no formula to what I’ve been doing. I’ve just been trying to keep things simple. I think when I play with my heart, that’s when I play my best. That’s just what I’ve been doing.”
Burdick’s contributions went beyond her impressive statistics. Tennessee coach Holly Warlick praised the leadership that the senior forward showed after the Lady Vols’ 15-point, second-half lead had shrunk to five.
Tennessee (19-3, 9-0 SEC) responded with six straight points to put the game away.
“She got in the huddle and she was so positive, to keep our team together, rally around each other,” Warlick said.
“Everything was positive. That’s what you need from a player. We weren’t doing some things really well, and she stepped in and gathered her troops together and kept it positive.”
Bashaara Graves added 17 points, including nine straight during an 11-0 run early in the second half, as Tennessee won its 17th straight home game.
The Lady Vols shot a season-high 56.9 percent against Mississippi State (22-3, 7-3), which had allowed only three other opponents to shoot over 45 percent. Tennessee made 11 of its first 12 shots in the second half.
“We gave up a lot of uncontested shots,” Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer said. “That’s really unusual for us.”
No. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA
77, OLE MISS 59: In Oxford, Miss., Bianca Cuevas scored a career-high 21 points and the Gamecocks ((21-0, 9-0 SEC) beat the Rebels (14-8, 4-5).
No. 2 UCONN 83, TEMPLE
49: In Philadelphia, Breanna Stewart scored 17 points and coach Geno Auriemma got career win No. 899 as the Huskies (20-1, 10-0 AAC) beat
the sixth AuriemmaOwls head (10-12, coachcan 6-3). becomein Divisionthe I to women’sreach 900 basketballwins with historya win TuesdayFormer Tennesseeagainst Cincinnati.coach Pat Summitt’swins. leads with 1,098
58: No. In 3 BAYLORWaco, Texas,66, KANSAS Nina DavisLady Bearshad 22 (20-1, points 9-0 and Big the 12) won game, their beating 19th the consecutive Jayhawks (12-10,No. 3-6).4 NOTRE DAME 92, WAKE Bend, FORESTInd., Jewell63: In South Loyd scored 20 points, Lindsay Allen added 18 and the Fighting Irish (21-2, 8-1 ACC) forced 30 turnovers in a win over the Demon Deacons (10-13, 1-8).
No. 5 MARYLAND 93, No. 20 IOWA 88: In College Park, Md., Brionna Jones scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half and had 15 rebounds to help the Terrapins (19-2, 10-0) extend their winning streak to 13 games with a victory over the Hawkeyes (17-4, 8-2).
No. 10 KENTUCKY 80, No. 21 GEORGIA 72: In Lexington, Ky., Jennifer O’Neill scored 21 points to lead the Wildcats (17-5, 6-3 SEC) over the Bulldogs (17-5, 5-4).
No. 11 ARIZONA STATE 58, UTAH 48: In Salt Lake City, Katie Hempen and Promise Amukamara scored 11 points apiece and the Sun Devils (202, 9-1 Pac-12) held off the Utes (7-14, 1-9).
AUBURNNo. 12 45: TEXAS A&M 78,
In College Station, Texas, Courtney Williams scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Aggies (17-5, 5-3 SEC) over the Tigers (9-13, 0-9).
TCU 65, No. 14 TEXAS 59: In Forth Worth, Veja Hamilton scored 16 points and the Horned Frogs (13-7, 5-4 Big 12) broke a tie with seven straight points down the stretch to upset the Longhorns (15-5, 4-5).
Men
No. 11 UTAH 67, SOUTHERN
CAL 39: In Los Angeles, Jakob Poeltl had 14 points and nine rebounds, and the Utes (17-4, 7-2 Pac-12) crushed the Trojans (9-12, 1-8 Pac-12). Utah was up 32-12 at halftime and led by as many as 29 points in the second half.
FLORIDA STATE 55, No. 23 MIAMI 54: In Tallahassee, Fla., Montay Brandon scored 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting, and the Seminoles (12-10, 4-5 ACC) rallied from a 16-point, first-half deficit to beat the Hurricanes (14-7, 4-4). Miami’s Sheldon McClellan missed a floater in the lane as time expired.