UConn fends off Maryland for 87th straight win; No. 2 Irish upset
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Katie Lou Samuelson scored 17 of her 23 points in the second half as top-ranked UConn held off No. 4 Maryland 87-81 on Thursday night for its 87th consecutive win.
Kia Nurse contributed 19 points and Gabby Williams fought through foul trouble to add 16 for the Huskies (12-0), who tied an NCAA women’s record with their 30th consecutive road win.
After taking a 36-31 lead at halftime, Connecticut opened the second half with a 14-0 run to seemingly take control. Nurse started and ended the spree with 3-pointers.
The Terps (12-1) closed to 75-70 with 3:40 left before a layup by Napheesa Collier blunted the comeback. N.C. STATE 70, (2) NOTRE DAME 62: In Raleigh, N.C., Dominique Wilson scored 18 points to help North Carolina State upset Notre Dame (12-2), snapping the Fighting Irish’s 35-game winning streak against ACC foes.
Miah Spencer added 17 points for the Wolfpack (11-3) in the conference opener for both teams.
(3) BAYLOR 87, KANSAS STATE 57: In Waco, Texas, Kalani Brown had 22 points and 12 rebounds to help Baylor open Big 12 play with a victory over Kansas State.
The Lady Bears (12-1) outrebounded Kansas State 56-28, and that turned into a 25-5 edge in second-chance points. Kindred Wesemann led Kansas State (10-3) with 16 points.. (8) LOUISVILLE 91, (25) SYRACUSE 76: In Louisville, Ky., Asia Durr scored a career-high 36 points, including 18 during Louisville’s 36-point third quarter, and Mariya Moore had a triple-double as the Cardinals (13-2) rallied past Syracuse to open ACC play.
Moore had 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the seventh triple-double ever by a Louisville player.
Alexis Peterson had 31 points for Syracuse (9-5).
(7) FLA. STATE 81, (11) MIAMI 66: In Coral Gables, Fla., Imani Wright and Leticia Romero each scored 19 points as Florida State pulled away after halftime to beat Miami in another ACC opener.
Shakayla Thomas scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Seminoles (13-1), who have won 12 straight. Jessica Thomas had 20 points for Miami (11-2).
(12) WEST VIRGINIA 83, TCU 61: In Fort Worth, Tynice Martin scored 21 points and Teana Muldrow added 19 as West Virginia remained unbeaten with a victory over TCU in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Chania Ray matched a careerhigh with 17 points and had nine assists for the Mountaineers (130). TCU is 8-4.
(15) DUKE 69, (17) KENTUCKY 54: In Durham, N.C., Lexie Brown hit four 3-pointers and scored 24 points, and Duke used a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter for a win over Kentucky for the Blue Devils’ eighth straight win.
Rebecca Greenwell had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Duke (12-1).
Taylor Murray had 18 points for the Wildcats (9-4).
(16) TEXAS 67, TEXAS TECH 47: In Austin, Texas, Brooke McCarty scored 16 points and Joyner Holmes had a double-double as Texas (7-4) opened Big 12 Conference play with a win over Texas Tech (8-4).
(21) CAL 74, ARIZONA 64: In Tucson, Kristine Anigwe and Penina Davidson each had double-doubles as Cal (13-0) beat Arizona (9-3).
(24) OKLAHOMA 84, KANSAS 54: In Lawrence, Kan., Nancy Walton had career highs of 14 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks as Oklahoma (10-4) won its 12th straight Big 12 Conference opener. Kansas is 6-6.
COLO. STATE 57, UNLV 37: In Las Vegas, Nev., Sofie Tryggedsson had 19 points and six rebounds to lead the visiting Rams (9-4) past the Rebels (9-4) in the conference opener for both schools.
UNLV was held to 24.6 percent from the floor (14-for-57).
SAN JOSE STATE 107, NEVADA 84: In San Jose, Calif., the Spartans’ Dezz Ramos scored 40 points to lead SJSU (4-9) past Nevada (6-6) in their MWC opener.
WYOMING 66, AIR FORCE 54: In Air Force Academy, Colo., Marta Gomez scored a team-high 17 points to lead the visiting Cowgirls (9-3) past the Falcons (2-9) in another league opener.
BOISE STATE 76, UTAH STATE 56: In Boise, Idaho, the Broncos’ Shalen Shaw scored 19 points to lead BSU (10-1) past the Aggies (7-5) in their conference opener.