No. 7 Tennessee routs East Tennessee
No. 7 Tennessee 112, East Tennessee 58: Sara Puckett came off the bench to score 19 points and Tamari Key added 16 to lead host Tennessee to a convincing victory over East Tennessee on Monday night.
Keyen Green contributed 13 points, Kaiya Wynn had 12 and 10 rebounds, Alexus Dye had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Karoline Striplin scored 10 for the Lady Volunteers (10-1), who rebounded from Saturday’s loss to Stanford with the conquest.
Jakhyia Davis scored 17 points and Aaliyah had 12 for East Tennessee (1-11). Davis, at 6-foot-3, was the only Buccaneer taller than 6-foot. That allowed 6-6 Key to have several opportunities down low.
Tennessee had a pair of 15-0 runs – one late in the first quarter and into the second quarter, and the other to start the third quarter – that put the game well out of reach.
The Lady Vols struggled from the perimeter, hitting 6 of 20 (30%) from behind the arc.
No. 18 South Florida 77, West Virginia 55: Elena Tsineke scored 20 points, Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had 14 points and 12 rebounds and South Florida (9-3) beat West Virginia (6-3) in the West Palm Beach Invitational.
South Florida snapped a sevengame losing streak in the series, getting its second victory over West Virginia in nine meetings. USF took the first meeting, 66-56, on Feb. 25, 2006.
Maria Alvarez also scored 14 points and Bethy Mununga had 10 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for USF, which has won four straight and six of seven. Mununga leads the American Conference, and is ninth in the nation, averaging 11.9 rebounds per game.
The Bulls shot 58.3% from the field, going 8 of 13 from distance, and outrebounded West Virginia 31-17.
Madisen Smith led West Virginia with 15 points. Kirsten Deans added 13 points with five assists.
Both teams continue tournament play on Tuesday with USF facing Mississippi and West Virginia going against Michigan State.
No. 21 LSU 70, Clemson 56: Khayla Pointer had 20 points and eight assists, Faustine Aifuwa had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and LSU beat Clemson in the West Palm Beach Invitational in West Palm Beach, Fla.
LSU (10-1) has won nine straight games to surpass last season’s win total. The Tigers were 9-13 last season, sparking a coaching change that brought in Kim Mulkey.
Alexis Morris had 12 points and five assists for LSU, which plays Texas Tech on Tuesday. LSU scored 24 points off of 21 Clemson turnovers.
LSU entered leading the SEC by shooting 47.8% from the field but was held to 41.4 against Clemson. The teams combined to go 6 for 26 from 3point range. LSU was 19 of 33 (57.6%) from the free-throw line and Clemson made 11 of 14.
Kiara Lewis scored 13 points and Delicia Washington had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Clemson (6-5), which plays Dayton on Tuesday.
No. 23 Texas A&M 77, UTSA 51: Aaliyah Patty had 20 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks, Destiny Pitts added 14 points and host Texas A&M (10-2) beat UTSA (3-8).
Patty scored 14 of her points in the first quarter as Texas A&M built a 14point lead. The Aggies extended it to 44-22 at the break. Patty had 16 points and 11 rebounds in the first half, securing her double-double with eight minutes left.
Qadashah Hoppie had 13 points and Sydnee Roby added nine points and eight rebounds for Texas A&M, which hosts Vanderbilt on Dec. 30. Starters Kayla Wells, averaging 17.5 points per game, and Jordan Nixon, 14.5 ppg, did not play for undisclosed reasons.
Mass finished with 14 points for UTSA. Jadyn Pimentel added 10 points and Elena Blanding grabbed 10 rebounds.