EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Oluchi Okananwa scored 23 points, and the No. 22 Maryland women pulled away in the second half for an 86-70 win over No. 12 Michigan State on Wednesday.
Maryland (18-6, 6-6 Big Ten) led 43-33 at halftime and broke the game open in the third quarter.
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Okananwa went 8 of 13 from the field and added four rebounds, five assists and a steal as the Terps shot 49% as a team.
Yarden Garzon added 16 points and five assists, Kyndal Walker scored 14, and Saylor Poffenbarger finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Maryland forced 20 turnovers, which led to 23 points, while holding Michigan State to 4 of 15 from 3.
The Terps pushed the margin to 72-55 early in the fourth on Poffenbarger’s 3-pointer. Okananwa scored seven straight points soon after, including a layup and a deep 3-pointer that stretched the lead to 84-68 with under two minutes left. Maryland never allowed the Spartans to get within single digits in the final quarter.
Grace VanSlooten led Michigan State (19-4, 8-4) with 19 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Kennedy Blair had 15 points and seven assists, while Jalyn Brown scored 13.
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No. 1 UCONN 86, DEPAUL 40
CHICAGO (AP) — Azzi Fudd scored 25 points, and UConn won its 40th straight game dating to last season, routing DePaul.
Fudd made four 3-pointers. Sarah Strong added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, and the defending national champions made it look easy yet again.
The Huskies (24-0, 13-0 Big East) have won 19 straight by at least 25 points, the longest streak by a Division I team over the past 25 years. All but one of their games this season have been decided by double digits.
Coming off a 30-point blowout over Tennessee and the most lopsided win in their storied rivalry, there was no letdown against DePaul (5-20, 2-12). The Huskies wasted no time burying the Blue Demons, outscoring them 31-10 in the first quarter.
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UConn shot 60.7% in the game and made 7 of 14 3-pointers. The Huskies dominated in the paint 54-20 and turned 18 turnovers into 28 points.
Kate Novik and Michelle Ojo scored 10 apiece for DePaul, which shot 27.8% overall and was just 4 of 23 on 3-pointers.
NO. 8 MICHIGAN 88, NEBRASKA 76
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Syla Swords scored 28 points and Olivia Olson had 21 to help Michigan pull away and beat Nebraska.
The Wolverines (20-3, 11-1 Big Ten) went on a 15-6 run to take a nine-point lead early in the fourth quarter and turned what was a closely contested game into a double-digit victory.
Michigan has won a school-record nine straight Big Ten games.
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That streak will be put to a test Sunday at home against UCLA, the second-ranked team in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll.
Michigan has been a top-10 team for a program-record 11 consecutive weeks. The Wolverines have reached the 20-win mark for the 20th time, including 12 seasons with coach Kim Barnes Arico.
The Cornhuskers (16-7, 5-7) fell to 0-6 against AP Top 25 teams this season.
Nebraska’s Britt Prince and Amiah Hargrove scored 16 each and Petra Bozan added 12 points.
NO. 14 TCU 90, HOUSTON 45
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Olivia Miles scored 25 points, Marta Suarez had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and TCU routed Houston for the Horned Frogs’ 39th straight home win.
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TCU (21-3, 9-2 Big 12) entered tied with Texas for the nation’s longest home winning streak. The Horned Frogs’ unbeaten run at home began on Feb. 24, 2024, with a 59-49 victory over Houston. It was TCU’s first of 32 double-digit home victories.
Suarez hit three of the Horned Frogs’ seven 3-pointers and Miles had six of their 19 assists. Donovyn Hunter added 15 points for TCU, which shot 58% (34 of 59) from the floor.
TCU had a double-digit lead with Suarez’s driving layup two minutes into the second quarter, and the Horned Frogs built a 44-25 advantage at the break. TCU had a 30-point lead late in the third and outscored the Cougars 24-7 in the fourth.
Kierra Merchant scored 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting to lead Houston (7-15, 1-10), which has lost 10 of its last 11. Amirah Abdur-Rahim made Houston’s only two 3-pointers. The Cougars were outrebounded 46-22.
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NO. 15 BAYLOR 76, CINCINNATI 70
CINCINNATI (AP) — Taliah Scott scored 26 points and made five 3-pointers, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Baylor beat Cincinnati.
Baylor (20-4, 9-2 Big 12) secured its 26th consecutive 20-win season — the second-longest streak in Division I behind Connecticut. The Bears have also won 17 of their last 20 road games, dating back to the 2023-24 season.
Scott scored 11 of Baylor’s 25 second-quarter points to go ahead 36-33 at the break. Then Jana Van Gytenbeek scored 11 of their 20 points in the third quarter, capped by a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left for a 56-54 lead.
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Scott made a driving layup with 50.9 seconds left in the fourth to extend Baylor’s lead to 72-65. She added two free throws with 33.6 left on their next possession to regain a seven-point lead.
Van Gytenbeek tied her career high with 19 points for Baylor, which won for the fourth straight time in the series. Bella Fontleroy added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Mya Perry led Cincinnati (8-15, 3-8) with 20 points. Caliyah DeVillasee added 14 points and Joya Crawford had 11.
