UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Aaliyah Edwards had 19 points and 15 rebounds to lead No. 7 UConn to its 10th consecutive conference tournament title with a 67-56 victory over 10th-ranked Villanova in the Big East Tournament title game Monday night.
Dorka Juhasz added 16 points and Lou Lopez Senechal scored 14 for the top-seeded Huskies (29-5), who earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. UConn has now won 21 Big East Tournament crowns, including the last three since reentering the conference in 2020.
Villanova was cold from the field at the start, making just 6-of-25 (24%) in the first quarter, including missing all 10 of its 3-point attempts. The Wildcats trailed 19-14 at the end of the first despite having 10 offensive rebounds. They finally hit a 3-pointer to open the second and went on an 8-2 run to take the brief lead. Then UConn took over.
Maddy Siegrist led the Wildcats (28-6), who moved up to 10th in the AP poll Monday for the school’s best ranking ever, with 22 points.
NO. 16 GONZAGA 79, BYU 64
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Yvonne Ejim had 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for her ninth career double-double, Brynna Maxwell made four 3-pointers and scored 18, and Gonzaga beat BYU to advance to the championship game of the West Coast Conference Tournament.
Gonzaga (28-3) was coming off a 58-51 win over BYU on Feb. 25 to win its 18th WCC regular-season title. The Bulldogs have now won four straight in the series.
Kaylynne Truong added 13 points and seven assists with just one turnover for Gonzaga. Kayleigh Truong, Kaylynne’s twin sister, played in just her seventh game this season because of injuries and finished with six points in 21 minutes.
Nani Falatea, averaging 15.1 points, scored 13 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter to lead BYU (16-16). Falatea didn’t make her first field goal of the game until a steal and fast-break layup with 3:51 left in the fourth quarter. Emma Calvert added 13 points and Lauren Gustin, coming off a 27-rebound performance against San Francisco, had nine points and nine rebounds.
NO. 21 UNLV 84, NEVADA 47
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Justice Ethridge and Essence Booker scored 16 points apiece and UNLV rolled to its 20th straight victory by beating Nevada in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
The top-seeded Lady Rebels (29-2), who posted an 18-0 record in conference play, advance to Tuesday’s semifinals.
Ethridge made 6 of 10 shots from the floor with three 3-pointers for UNLV. She added five rebounds and three assists. Booker sank 6 of 11 shots, including 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. Alyssa Brown pitched in with 10 points and six rebounds. Kiara Jackson, voted the MWC’s top substitute, came off the bench to contribute nine points, five assists and four rebounds.
Megan Ormiston scored 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting to pace the Wolf Pack (10-21). Lexie Givens scored 16 on 6-of-7 shooting with two 3-pointers.
___
AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
