Women’s Top 25 capsules: No. 4 Louisville cruise past UT Martin 91-56
Myisha Hines-Allen scored 16 points and No. 4 Louisville broke away early to cruise past UT Martin 91-56 on Tuesday night in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Cardinals (9-0) are off to the second-best start in program history. The 2006-07 team started 15-0.
Louisville closed out the first quarter on a 16-2 run to build a 29-9 lead in the final minute of the period. It was a spurt spurred by reserves as the Cardinals scored 14 points after coach Jeff Walz made three substitutions with 4:24 left in the quarter.
The Cardinals shot 17 of 32 after halftime in extending their lead. Asia Durr and Jazmine Jones each added 14 points for Louisville, which had five players finish in double figures.
Chelsey Perry led the Skyhawks (3-5) with 15 points.
(5) South Carolina 69, College of Charleston 43: A’ja Wilson had her eighth double-double this year with 26 points and 15 rebounds, and the Gamecoacks (9-1) put away the Cougars (2-6) in Columbia, South Carolina.
It was the third straight victory for the Gamecocks since their lone loss to No. 3 Notre Dame on Nov. 26. South Carolina now takes an almost two-week break – and early on, it looked like it had begun the time off just a bit early.
The Gamecocks opened 2 of 12 shooting with three turnovers and were only up 8-3 over the struggling Cougars. That’s when Wilson got going with four straight baskets to build a double-digit lead that South Carolina would not relinquish.
Wilson, the 6-foot-5 senior, was no match for College of Charleston. She reached double figures in points and rebounds in her first 12 minutes.
The Cougars, who made only three field goals the opening 20 minutes, used a 12-2 start to the third quarter to cut a 24-point deficit to 36-22. Wilson, once more, pushed the Gamecocks forward with two foul shots and a pair of baskets to restore the 20-point margin.
Wilson, the two-time Southeastern Conference player of the year, made 10 of 20 shots. She also had three steals and a block as the Gamecocks beat Charleston for a ninth straight time.
Alexis Jennings had 12 points for South Carolina while freshman guard Bianca Jackson had 10 rebounds.
Darien Huff had 10 points to lead Charleston.
(8) Baylor 105, North Dakota 43: Kalani Brown scored 21 points in 12 minutes to lead five players in double figures for the Lady Bears (8-1) in a victory over the Fighting Hawks (4-3) in Waco, Texas.
Lauren Cox added 15 points for the Lady Bears. Natalie Chou had 13 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.
Fallyn Freije scored 11 points of her 13 points during a first quarter in which North Dakota led by as many as four. But Baylor responded with a 10-0 run to end the first quarter with a 27-17 lead, then outscored North Dakota 30-5 in the second.
Freshman Alexis Morris had 15 points and Dekeiya Cohen finished with 10 for Baylor. Kristy Wallace had eight assists, running her total to 15 in the last two games without a turnover.
The Fighting Hawks made their first three shots but added only three more field goals for the remainder of the first half to go 6-for-27 (22 percent). They finished 15 for 56 overall (27 percent) and 4 for 24 from 3-point range (17 percent).
(20) Kentucky 100, Evansville 62: Maci Morris made four 3-pointers and scored 20 points, freshman Tatyana Wyatt had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the Wildcats (8-1) beat the Purple Aces (2-5) in Lexington, Kentucky.
Kentucky scored the first 19 points and led 35-8 at the end of the first quarter. It was 55-23 at halftime. Evansville outscored Kentucky 22-20 in the third but the Wildcats opened the fourth on a 9-3 run.
Alyssa Rice added 14 points with five rebounds and four assists for Kentucky, which is in the midst of playing five games in 11 days. The Wildcats play at Florida Gulf Coast on Friday and in Miami on Sunday.
Morris missed her only shot of the game in the third quarter to snap her streak of consecutive 3-pointers at nine. Wyatt had her first career double-double.
Hannah Noe led Evansville with 23 points, including six 3-pointers.