NEW YORK (AP) — Christyn Williams scored 21 points and Paige Bueckers added 20 to help No. 1 UConn cruise to a 77-32 win over St. John’s on Wednesday night.
UConn (17-1, 14-0 Big East) moved up to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 on Monday for the first time this season. It’s the 246th week since the 1994-95 season that the Huskies have held the top spot. They have been No. 1 for at least one week in each of the past nine seasons. The next closest active streak is two years in a row.
The Huskies had a brutal schedule to start February with five games in 10 days, but looked refreshed after a couple days off.
The Red Storm (6-12, 3-9) had more turnovers — seven — then points or made baskets in the quarter. They tried to slow the game, working the shot clock down on many possessions. That resulted in either tough shots to beat the buzzer or a shot-clock violation.
No. 9 MARYLAND 103, ILLINOIS 58
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Katie Benzan scored 22 points, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range, to lead Maryland to a rout of Illinois.
Chloe Bibby had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Terrapins, who extended their winning streak to four games. Ashley Owusu added 17 points and seven assists, while Diamond Miller had 11 points and seven assists for Maryland (15-2, 11-1 Big Ten).
The Terrapins lead the nation with 91.7 points per game, but their defense was just as impressive, smothering the Illini (3-14, 1-13).
No. 12 SOUTH FLORIDA 69, CINCINNATI 65, OT
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Sydni Harvey scored eight of her 23 points in overtime, Bethy Mununga had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and South Florida beat Cincinnati.
Elisa Pinzan added 11 points and nine assists for USF (12-1, 10-0 American Athletic Conference). The Bulls have won 11 in a row overall and 10 straight conference games, both program records.
Jada Scott made a layup to give Cincinnati (4-14, 3-11) a 65-64 lead with 1:26 left in overtime but Mununga hit two free throws 21 seconds later and the Bearcats didn’t score again.
IImar’I Thomas had 23 points, six rebounds and seven points for Cincinnati.
No. 19 DEPAUL 83, XAVIER 75
CHICAGO (AP) — Lexi Held scored 25 points, Sonya Morris added 22 points and Dee Bekelja had 20 as DePaul beat Xavier in the Musketeers’ first game since Jan. 23.
DePaul led by as many as 15 points in the second half, but Xavier got within 65-62 early in the fourth quarter. The Blue Demons answered with a 7-2 run, with four points from Morris, to rebuild a two-possession lead they would hold the rest of the way despite only making one field goal in the final four minutes.
Held also had six assists and five steals, Morris had six rebounds and seven assists and Bekelja grabbed six rebounds for DePaul (13-4, 10-2 Big East Conference). Morris reached 1,000 career points on a layup in the fourth quarter.
Kae Satterfield had 16 points and seven rebounds for Xavier (4-6, 1-5),
NEBRASKA 71, No. 24 NORTHWESTERN 64
Kate Cain matched a career-high with 22 points, Isabelle Bourne had 21 points and a career-best 17 rebounds, and Nebraska pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Northwestern.
Nebraska (10-9, 8-8 Big Ten) ended a four-game losing streak despite committing 28 turnovers, and swept the season series against Northwestern (11-5, 9-5). The Cornhuskers won the first meeting 65-63 on Sam Haiby’s buzzer-beating putback.
Cain scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and Bourne added eight as Nebraska outscored the Wildcats 31-20. Haiby finished with just five points on 1-of-12 shooting but had eight rebounds and seven assists.
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