NCAA women’s basketball wraps: UCLA rolls past Pepperdine
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Janiah Barker had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Lauren Betts had 17 points and 12 rebounds as No. 5 UCLA rolled past Pepperdine 91 – 54.
The Bruins (3-0) started the game with an 18-0 run. Ornela Muca, who led Pepperdine (1-2) with 20 points, made a 3-pointer to stop the run.
Betts made all six of her shots in the first half and didn’t miss until the third quarter.
UCLA outrebounded Pepperdine 56-22.
NO. 7 LSU 117, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 44
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Mikaylah Williams scored 25 points and Aneesah Morrow had 21 points and 20 rebounds to lead No. 7 LSU to a victory over Charleston Southern.
Flau’jae Johnson added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (3-0), surpassing 1,000 points for her career. Arizona transfer Kailyn Gilbert had 14 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds, and Arkansas transfer Jersey Wolfenbarger contributed 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Catherine Alben led the Buccaneers (0-4) with 15 points.
NO. 12 OHIO STATE 94, CHARLOTTE 53
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Chance Gray scored 14 of her career-high 31 points in the third quarter and she tied a program-best with nine 3-pointers to help No. 12 Ohio State beat Charlotte.
Gray finished 9 of 14 from 3-point range to top her previous best of six makes. She tied Kelsey Mitchell’s record of nine 3-pointers set on Jan. 15, 2015.
Gray scored 11 points in the first half after making all three of her 3-pointers to help Ohio State build a 43-17 lead. Charlotte was just 5 of 24 from the field (21%), including 10 straight misses spanning the first-quarter break to trail 31-8.
Charlotte scored nine straight points early in the third quarter to get within 19 points. But Gray made four 3-pointers in the final 5:10 of the third quarter, capped by a wide-open shot in transition in the closing seconds to extend Ohio State’s lead to 26 points. Gray also opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with her eighth 3-pointer.
Ajae Petty added 12 points and Cotie McMahon scored 11 for Ohio State (2-0).
Alexis Andrews scored 15 points for Charlotte (1-2), which was coming off a 60-41 loss to Wake Forest on Thursday.
NO. 14 NORTH CAROLINA 66, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 47
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Laila Hull scored 11 of her 14 points in the second half and No. 14 North Carolina pulled away from North Carolina A&T.
The Aggies were tied with the Tar Heels in the second quarter before falling behind 35-21 at halftime. They were within nine midway through the third quarter. It wasn’t until Lanie Grant closed the third with a 3-pointer for a 47-34 lead and a 7-0 surge to start the fourth quarter that the Tar Heels put the game away.
Lexi Donarski added 10 points for North Carolina (3-0), which plays at No. 2 UConn on Friday night. Hull, a freshman who had two points coming in, was 5-of-8 shooting with four 3s.
Paris Locke had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead North Carolina A&T (0-3). Jordyn Dorsey added 12 points, less than half of her early season average.
NO. 15 WEST VIRGINIA 82, PITTSBURGH 54
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — JJ Quinerly scored 17 points, Jordan Harrison added 14 and No. 15 West Virginia beat Pittsburgh.
West Virginia (3-0) has won seven straight contests over Pittsburgh (2-1).
Quinerly scored 11 points in the first half despite making just 4 of 16 shots, including 0 of 7 from 3-point range. The Mountaineers led 35-25 at the break despite shooting just 38%, going 2 of 14 behind the arc.
Quinerly capped a 7-0 run midway through the third quarter that gave West Virginia a double-digit lead for good. West Virginia took its first 20-point lead after starting the fourth on a 14-2 run, with six points from Sydney Shaw.
Shaw finished with 14 points for West Virginia, which was coming off its third highest scoring win in program history when it beat Niagara 110-41 last week.
Khadija Faye had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Pittsburgh. Lauren Rust scored 12.
NO. 18 LOUISVILLE 86, UT MARTIN 64
MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) — Nyla Harris led a balanced attack with 16 points and No. 18 Louisville defeated UT Martin.
Harris was 6-of-8 shooting for the Cardinals (2-1), who shot 71% (17 of 24) in the second half and 57% (31 of 54) for the game despite finishing 4 of 14 on 3-pointers.
Olivia Cochran had 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals for Louisville, which plays at No. 20 Kentucky on Saturday. Tajian Roberts scored 13 points and Imari Barry had 10 points and nine rebounds as 12 of 13 players scored and all of them had a rebound.
Kenley McCarn had 21 points to lead the Skyhawks (0-3), who shot 30%. Anaya Brown added 12 points and Shae Littleford had 11.
NO. 20 KENTICKY 76, WOFFORD 42
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Dazia Lawrence made all of her shots in the first quarter to score 15 points and finished with 19 as she ignited No. 20 Kentucky’s win over Wofford.
Clara Strack scored 16 points, grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and had five assists and four blocks for the Wildcats (3-0). Teonni Key had 11 points and a career-high 13 boards and Georgia Amoore had 11 points with seven assists. Kentucky had 10 blocks, pushing their nation leading total to 38.
Maddie Heiss topped the Terriers (2-1) with 11 points. Evangelia Paulk and Indiya Clarke both had 10.
NO. 25 OREGON 66, NORTH TEXAS 35
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Elisa Mevius and Nani Falatea each scored 11 points and No. 25 Oregon North Texas for its fourth straight victory.
Mevius scored the final four points of the first quarter to give Oregon a 14-4 lead as North Texas was just 2 of 11 from the field. Falatea made the first field goal of the second quarter for a 17-6 lead and the Ducks led by double figures the rest of the way.
Oregon improved to 4-0 to begin a season for the seventh time under 11th-year head coach Kelly Graves. It’s the 97th week under Graves that Oregon has been in the AP Top 25, and 177th week in program history.
Tommisha Lampkin scored a team-high six points for North Texas (2-1). The Mean Green were just 12 of 49 (24.5%) from the field.
UNT won the American Athletic Conference regular-season title last season and were picked to finish second in the preseason coaches’ poll.
The Ducks were coming off a 76-74 victory over then-12th-ranked Baylor on Sunday to snap a 14-game skid against Top 25 opponents. Oregon continues its six-game homestand on Monday against Grand Canyon.