Women’s Top 25 capsules: No. 1 UConn rallies in fourth to beat No. 3 Notre Dame 80-71

Katie Lou Samuelson scored 18 points and top-ranked UConn rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat No. 3 Notre Dame 80-71 on Sunday in the Jimmy V Classic in Hartford, Connecticut.

The Huskies (7-0) trailed 65-54 early in the fourth before scoring 21 of the next 26 points, much to the delight of the sellout crowd of 15,558 fans.

Stevens had 10 of her 17 points during the game-changing run. Her layup gave the Huskies a 69-68 lead – their first since the second quarter. Kia Nurse had seven points during the burst, including hitting her 13th consecutive 3-pointer over the past three games.

Nurse’s layup with 3:51 left gave UConn a 71-70 advantage after Arike Ogunbowale had briefly given the Irish (7-1) a 70-69 advantage. Nurse then had another layup off a tip from Stevens and the Irish couldn’t recover. Ogunbowale’s basket was the lone points for the Irish until she hit one free throw with 16 seconds remaining that made it 77-71. The Irish only had one basket in the final 7:48 of the game.

UConn extended its home winning streak to 69 games – tied for third longest in NCAA history.

Marina Mabrey scored 21 points, and Ogunbowale added 19 for the Irish.

(2) Texas 81, Georgia 53: Ariel Atkins had 17 points and nine rebounds, Jatarie White added 13 points and the Longhorns (7-0) cruised past the the Lady Bulldogs (7-1) in Athens, Georgia.

Brooke McCarty and Lashann Higgs each scored 12 points as the Longhorns dominated on both ends of the floor. Texas’ defense kept Georgia from getting to the rim and from generating any momentum beyond the arc. Mackenzie Engram had 17 points for Georgia.

(4) Louisville 68, South Dakota State 64: Asia Durr scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half and the Cardinals (8-0) overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to beat the Jackrabbits (6-2) in Brookings, South Dakota.

Arica Carter added 14 points and Myisha Hines-Allen had 10 for the Cardinals in their lowest-scoring and worst-shooting game of the season. Last season, Louisville won the matchup by 53 points.

Macy Miller and Myah Selland led the Jackrabbits with 14 points apiece.

(5) South Carolina 72, (14) Duke 52: Alexis Jennings had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Gamecocks (8-1) past the Blue Devils (6-2) in Columbia, South Carolina.

The Gamecocks were missing two senior guards because of injuries, and Duke packed it in, hoping to force someone other than All-American A’ja Wilson to beat them.

So when the double teams came, Wilson and her teammates were able to find their quieter frontcourt starter Jennings, and she cleaned up their misses. The junior had eight offensive rebounds.

Wilson also got her shots, scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 rebounds to start a new double-double streak. The Gamecocks scored 54 of their 72 points in the paint.

(6) Mississippi State 79, Oklahoma State 76: Victoria Vivians scored a season-high 30 points and had eight rebounds to help the Bulldogs (8-0) beat the Cowgirls (6-2) in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in Starkville, Mississippi.

Oklahoma State guard Loryn Goodwin had 35 points and played all 40 minutes. She also had 10 rebounds and four steals.

Roshunda Johnson, a transfer from Oklahoma State, had 18 points for the Bulldogs against her former school. Morgan William added 15 points.

(7) UCLA 74, UC Santa Barbara 44: Monique Billings had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Jordin Canada added 14 points to lead the Bruins (7-1) against the Gauchos (1-7) in Los Angeles.

UCLA won its fourth consecutive game since a home loss to top-ranked Connecticut.

The Bruins controlled the game from start to finish and used a stifling defense to keep UC Santa Barbara out of the paint and force outside shots.

UC Santa Barbara lost its seventh consecutive game. Gauchos leading scorer Drew Edelman, who missed the previous game at Fresno State with an injury, was back and scored 12 points.

(8) Ohio State 83, Maine 70: Stephanie Mavunga scored 26 points, and Sierra Calhoun added 16 to lead the Buckeyes (8-2) in a win over the Black Bears (4-4) in Columbus, Ohio.

Mavunga made 11 of 12 field goals and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Buckeyes.

Julie Brosseau had a career-high 29 points for the Black Bears, shooting 10 for 18 from the field and making seven 3-pointers. Tanesha Sutton had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

(9) Baylor 81, (16) Stanford 57: Kalani Brown had 28 points for the Bears (7-1), scoring the game’s first nine points and leading throughout Baylor’s win over the Cardinal (5-4) in Waco, Texas.

Brown was 12 for 16 from the floor and beat the Cardinal with postups, drives to the basket and shots from the top of the key. Lauren Cox and Kristy Wallace added double-doubles for Baylor. Cox had 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Wallace had 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Shannon Coffee led Stanford with 14 points.

(11) West Virginia 70, (18) Texas A&M 56: Teana Muldrow had 24 points and seven rebounds to lead unbeaten the Mountaineers (7-0) past the Aggies (6-2) in College Station, Texas.

Chania Ray added 16 points for West Virginia, and Kristina King had 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. The defending Big 12 Tournament champion Mountaineers have won 12 of their last 13 games dating to last season.

Chennedy Carter led Texas A&M with 20 points.

(12) Tennessee 104, Alabama State 51: Mercedes Russell scored 18 points in 13 minutes during Tennessee’s 61-point first half and the Lady Vols (8-0) routed the Lady Hornets (1-7) in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Russell played only eight minutes in the second half and finished with 22 points. Meme Jackson added 19, and Rennia Davis 18. Mya Milner scored 17 points for Alabama State.

(13) Florida State 79, James Madison 63: Shakayla Thomas scored 26 points and the Seminoles (8-0) beat the Dukes (2-5) in Harrison, Virginia.

Thomas scored 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the third quarter when the Seminoles went from a one-point halftime deficit to a 10-point lead.

Kelly Koshuta scored 19 points for James Madison.

(20) Kentucky 82, Tennessee Tech 54: Maci Morris had 16 points, and Tatyanna Wyatt added 12 to lead the Wildcats (7-1) in a victory over the Golden Eagles (1-6) in Lexington, Kentucky.

Morris had a perfect half shooting with 11 points on four baskets, including a 3, and four free throws. The Wildcats shot 61 percent (17 for 28) and held Tech to 31 percent (9 of 29).

Yaktavia Hickson had all 16 of her points in the second half for Tennessee Tech.

(25) Villanova 79, Saint Joseph’s 44: Kelly Jekot scored 18 of her career-high 27 points in the first half to lead the Wildcats (7-0) past the Big 5 rival Hawks (5-2) in Philadelphia.

The Wildcats took care of this one early with Jekot scoring eight in the first quarter, including six in a 16-2 run on the way to a 20-6 lead.

Adashia Franklyn had 10 points for Saint Joseph’s.