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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Women’s Top 25 Capsules: Azura Stevens leads UConn’s rout of Houston

Connecticut guard Kia Nurse (left) puts up a shot past Houston guard Angela Harris during Saturday’s game in Houston, Texas. (Michael Wyke / Associated Press)
Associated Press

HOUSTON – Azura Stevens had 19 points and 10 rebounds off the bench to lead four players in double-figures scoring, and top-ranked UConn used a strong defensive effort to rout Houston 95-35 on Saturday.

Katie Lou Samuelson and Kia Nurse each scored 17 points and Crystal Dangerfield chipped in 11 for the Huskies (15-0, 5-0 American), which forced Houston (14-5, 3-2) into 28 turnovers. The Cougars shot a season-low 20 percent.

UConn, which has won 145 straight over unranked opponents, outscored Houston 23-4 in the first quarter en route to a 45-13 halftime lead.

Jasmyne Harris led Houston with 15 points.

(7) Texas 79, Kansas 62

AUSTIN, Texas – Ariel Atkins scored 22 points, including 10 in the pivotal third quarter, as No. 7 Texas overcame a challenge by unranked Kansas to win 79-62 on Saturday.

Atkins, a senior guard, also grabbed nine rebounds and had a career-best six steals, enabling Texas to maneuver from two points down at halftime to 14 ahead in the third quarter.

Lashann Higgs added 17 points for Texas (14-2, 5-1 Big 12). Sophomore Sug Sutton, making her third start at Texas, scored a career-best 14.

Junior Christalah Lyons led Kansas (11-6, 2-4) with 20 points.

(10) Ohio State 77, Indiana 62

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Stephanie Mavunga had 20 points and 18 rebounds to lead Ohio State to a victory over Indiana.

Mavunga, the 2013 Indiana Miss Basketball from Brownsburg, Ind., sank 6 of 12 shots and 8 of 11 free throws. Linnae Harper chipped in with 19 points and Kelsey Mitchell added 15 points for the Buckeyes (16-2, 5-0 Big Ten).

They won their ninth consecutive game and are the only unbeaten team in the conference. Ohio State has won 12 in a row against the Hoosiers, including an 85-70 home win on Dec. 31.

Jaelynn Penn scored 20 points to lead the Hoosiers (8-11, 1-5).

TCU 76, (15) West Virgina 74

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Amy Okonkwo scored 16 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left in overtime, and TCU defeated its second straight ranked team, taking down West Virginia.

Okonkwo, who made a layup with 3.2 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, and Jordan Moore had double-doubles for the Horned Frogs (12-5, 3-3 Big 12), who beat No. 7 Texas on Wednesday. Okonkwo had 12 rebounds, Moore had 17 points and 11 boards and Toree Thompson had 14 points. It is the first time since November of 2004 TCU has beaten ranked teams back-to-back.

West Virginia (15-3, 3-3) led virtually the whole game, and was up 18 early in the second half. TCU crept back and then a 10-0 run pulled the Frogs into a tie at 64-all with less than a minute to go in regulation.

Naomi Davenport and Ray had 17 points each for the Mountaineers, Teana Muldrow had 16 and Kristina King had 12 with 10 rebounds.

Purdue 76, (18) Iowa 70

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Andreona Keys scored 22 of her career-high 34 points in the second half and Purdue knocked off its second straight ranked opponent, beating Iowa.

Dominique Oden added 16 points and Karissa McLaughlin 15, 12 in the second half, for the Boilermakers (12-7, 3-2 Big Ten), who beat No. 21 Rutgers on Thursday.

Oden, McLaughlin and Keys combined for all 25 Purdue points in the third quarter on 10-of-15 shooting, 3 of 5 from 3-point range, and the Boilermakers took a 57-49 lead into the fourth.

Then Megan Gustafson rallied Iowa (15-3, 3-2). She finished with a career-high 37 points plus 14 rebounds for her nation-leading 17th double-double of the season.

Kansas State 80, (20) Oklahoma State 64

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kaylee Page had a career-high six 3-pointers and scored 20 points, Shaelyn Martin and Kayla Goth had double-doubles and Kansas State defeated Oklahoma State.

Peyton Williams had 18 points for the Wildcats (11-6, 3-3 Big 12), who played a ranked team for the fifth time in six games, winning two of them. Martin had her first double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds and Goth had 11 points and 10 assists.

Kansas State came out firing, hitting 5 of 6 3-pointers and 10 of 15 overall to lead 25-15 after one quarter. After an even second quarter, the Wildcats had a season-high 31 points in the third quarter, highlighted by four 3s from Page, to double the lead.

Kaylee Jensen had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Oklahoma State (12-4, 3-2) and Mandy Coleman had 10 points and 13 boards. OSU won the first meeting at home 76-68.

(21) Rutgers 80, Minnesota 70 (OT)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Tyler Scaife scored 25 points, Stasha Carey added 23 and the pair combined for all 12 Rutgers points in overtime to lift the Scarlet Knights to a win over Minnesota.

Carlie Wagner, who had five 3-pointers, and Destiny Pitts, who hit a 3 from the left corner with 14.8 seconds left in regulation for the extra sessions, both had 22 points for the Golden Gophers.

Carey had the first four points before Wagner scored midway through overtime. Scaife had back-to-back critical jumpers before the game was wrapped up at the foul line as Minnesota was 1 of 11 in the extra session.

It was a good bounce back for the Scarlet Knights (17-3, 5-1 Big Ten), who returned to the Top 25 for the first time since the end of the 2015 regular season and promptly lost at Purdue, scoring just 10 points in the first half and 33 for the game.

(23) Michigan 69, Nebraska 64 (OT)

LINCOLN, Neb. – Katelynn Flaherty scored 24 points to help Michigan beat Nebraska.

Flaherty was 8 of 16 from the field, including four 3-pointers, and hit all four of her free throws for Michigan (15-4, 4-2 Big Ten).

Hannah Whitish led Nebraska (12-6, 3-2) with 16 points

(25) Green Bay 69, Cleveland State 43

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Jessica Lindstrom scored 16 points, on 7-of-12 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds and had four assists to help Green Bay beat Cleveland State.

Karly Murphy had 10 points and Jen Wellnitz added six with a career-high nine assists for Green Bay (14-2, 4-1 Horizon League). The Phoenix have won three in a row and 10 of their last 11.

Allie LeClaire’s jumper sparked an 11-2 opening run for Green Bay before Frankie Wurtz and Lindstrom back-to-back 3s to make it 17-3 at the end of the first quarter. LeClaire scored five points during a 13-0 run that pushed the lead to 26 points with three minutes left in the first half and Cleveland State trailed by at least 19 the rest of the way.

Jade Ely led the Vikings (11-6, 3-3) with 17 points and Khayla Livingston scored 11.