No. 8 Aggies hold off Georgia
COLLEGE STATION — N’dea Jones had 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 8 Texas A&M to a 6048 victory over No. 22 Georgia on Sunday.
The Aggies (16-1, 7-1 in SEC) added 13 points from Kayla Wells and 10 from Ciera Johnson 12 to complement Jones’ 12th double-double of the season.
Gabby Connally had 18 points for Georgia (13-4, 5-4), and Que Morrison added 12.
A&M leaned on defense to build a 57-44 lead as Georgia missed 11 of 12 field goals. Turnovers told the tale as the Aggies scored 21 points off 18 Lady Bulldogs turnovers. The Aggies had the same number of turnovers, but Georgia scored only three points of them.
Texas A&M took control of the game in the third quarter with an 8-0 run for a 39-30 lead capped by a Jones’ jumper. Wells added a layup in the spurt with Jones scoring two layups.
The Aggies scored the last five points of the first half for a 22-22 tie as Johnson had a three-point play and added another free throw as did Aaliyah Wilson. Georgia took its biggest lead of the half on back to back 3-pointers by Morrison and Connally to make it 20-15 with 3:14 left.
NO. 3 UCONN 100 NO. 17 DEPAUL 67
Christyn Williams scored a career-high 29 points, Paige Bueckers added 22 points and personal-best 10 assists, and the Huskies bounced back from a rare loss to beat the Blue Demons.
The Huskies (11-1, 9-0 Big East) haven’t dropped consecutive games in 28 years. And they weren’t about to let it happen this time, after losing at No. 19 Arkansas on Thursday.
UConn used a dominant second quarter to build a 14-point halftime lead. The Huskies remained in control the rest of the way and improved to 19-1 all-time against DePaul (9-4, 6-2) — 19-0 under Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma.
NO. 4 SOUTH CAROLINA 87 ALABAMA 63
Zia Cooke scored 12 of her 21 points in the third quarter as the Gamecocks won their 18th straight over the Crimson Tide and 28th in a row over SEC opponents.
Cooke, the team’s leading scorer, struggled to find her touch early on with just four points at the half as the Gamecocks (14-1, 9-0 SEC) trailed. But Cooke, the lightning quick 5-foot-9 sophomore, got it going in a major way after halftime as she led a 15-5 surge that put South Carolina ahead for good.
NO. 6 STANFORD 74 WASHINGTON 48
Hannah Jump matched her season-high with 15 points off the bench and the Cardinal used a fast start to beat the shorthanded Huskies for a fourth straight win.
The Cardinal (14-2, 12-2 Pac-12) led by 19 after scoring a season-high 28 points in the first quarter and were never threatened in completing a three-game sweep of the Washington schools this week. The Cardinal defeated Washington State twice before knocking off the Huskies to complete the extended road trip.
NO. 9 BAYLOR 85 IOWA STATE 77
Nalyssa Smith scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Lady Bears held on to beat the Cyclones and remain alone atop the Big 12 standings.
The Lady Bears (12-2, 7-1 Big 12) had lost their last two meetings with the Cyclones, including a 75-71 defeat on Jan. 6.
Baylor had not lost three in a row against a Big 12 rival since Oklahoma put together a four-game winning streak against the Lady Bears from 2005 to 2007.
Men NO. 13 OHIO STATE 79 MICHIGAN STATE 62
E.J. Liddell had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the Buckeyes in a rout of the skidding Spartans.
Justin Ahrens added 17 for the workmanlike Buckeyes (14-4, 8-4 Big Ten), who have won three in a row and six of seven.