Women’s Top 25 capsules: No. 1 UConn rebounds from loss to handle Houston 81-61

Katie Lou Samuelson had 19 points, Napheesa Collier added 18 points and the top-ranked UConn Huskies rebounded from a rare regular-season loss with an 81-61 win over Houston on Sunday, at Houston.

Megan Walker had 14 points and seven rebounds, Crystal Dangerfield had 13 points and six assists and Christyn Williams had 12 points for UConn (12-1, 1-0 American), which had its streak of 126 consecutive regular-season wins snapped in a 68-57 loss to No. 8 Baylor on Thursday.

Octavia Barnes had 15 points, Serithia Hawkins added 10 points and Tatyana Hill added nine points for Houston (6-8, 0-1).

(2) Notre Dame 76, Georgia Tech 55: Jessica Shepard scored 19 points, most on layups, and Notre Dame strengthened its case for the top spot in the Top 25 by overpowering Georgia Tech, at Atlanta.

With No. 1 UConn’s loss to Baylor on Thursday night, Notre Dame (14-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) could claim the top spot in Monday’s new poll. UConn gave the Fighting Irish their only loss on Dec. 2.

Notre Dame has won seven straight entering an ACC showdown with No. 3 Louisville this Thursday night.

Led by Shepard, Arike Ogunbowale, who had 13 points, and Brianna Turner, who had 11 points, the Fighting Irish outscored the Yellow Jackets 60-20 in the paint.

Elizabeth Balogun led Georgia Tech (11-4, 1-1) with 14 points. Elizabeth Dixon had 12.

(3) Louisville 73, Duke 51: Arica Carter had career highs of 23 points and seven 3-pointers to help Louisville beat Duke, at Durham, North Carolina.

Dana Evans added 16 points for the Cardinals (14-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who never trailed and shot 41 percent while giving the Blue Devils their most lopsided home loss in more than five years.

Asia Durr, whose average of 21.5 points ranks second in the league, finished with 13 on 4-of-12 shooting.

Leaonna Odom had 16 points and Haley Gorecki finished with 15 for the Blue Devils (8-6, 0-2), who lost their first two ACC games for the second straight year and just the third time since 1992-93.

(5) Oregon 98, Washington State 58: Sabrina Ionescu extended her NCAA record to 15 triple-doubles and Ruthy Hebard scored a career-high 34 points to help Oregon race past Washington State, at Eugene, Oregon.

Ionescu had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the Ducks (13-1, 2-0 Pac-12), who won their fifth straight game. She became the 11th player in conference history to surpass 600 assists, and her 607th tied Oregon’s career record.

Chanelle Molina led the Cougars (6-8, 1-2) with 14 points and Borislava Hristova had 13, 10 below her average.

(6) Stanford 86, UCLA 80: DiJonai Carrington knocked down a key jumper with 24 seconds left and scored 30 points, Alanna Smith hit consecutive 3-pointers during a key third-quarter burst, and No. 6 Stanford rallied past scrappy UCLA in the second half, at Stanford, California.

Sophomore forward Alyssa Jerome made a baseline 3 for the Cardinal (12-1, 2-0 Pac-12) with 1:03 to play after moving into Tara VanDerveer’s top five for her second career start. Jerome replaced forward Nadia Fingall, who was lost for the season to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee suffered Friday night.

Japreece Dean scored 22 points to lead UCLA (9-6, 2-1), which had pulled off an impressive 84-79 overtime win against No. 18 California on Friday night in Berkeley.

(7) Mississippi State 86, (16) Kentucky 71: Anriel Howard had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Chloe Bibby added 18 points and Mississippi State beat Kentucky, at Starkville, Mississippi.

Howard production was crucial because the team’s other starting forward – 6-foot-7 senior All-American Teaira McCowan – spent much of the game in foul trouble. McCowan picked up her fourth foul with 5:40 left in the third quarter and Howard made several important baskets to keep Kentucky’s deficit in the double digits.

Mississippi State (14-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) has won four straight. Kentucky (14-2, 1-1) had its five-game winning streak snapped.

(8) Baylor 73, Texas Tech 56: Freshman Queen Egbo had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Baylor followed its victory over top-ranked UConn with a win against Texas Tech in its Big 12 opener, at Lubbock, Texas.

The Lady Bears (11-1, 1-0), who have won the last eight Big 12 titles, went ahead to stay by scoring the last seven points of the first quarter. Egbo then hit a short jumper on her first shot of the game in the opening seconds of the second quarter, making it 24-16.

Chrislyn Carr made four 3-pointers and scored 19 points for Texas Tech (9-4, 0-2).

(9) N.C. State 85, Boston College 69: Kiara Leslie scored a career-high 31 points and North Carolina State cruised to a victory over Boston College, raising its record to 15-0 for the best start in school history, at Boston.

The win surpassed the 1999-2000 squad that won its first 14 games under late Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow.

It was their first game playing without leading scorer Grace Hunter, who will be sidelined for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in her right knee.

Aislinn Konig added 16 points, and Erika Cassell and Kai Crutchfield each had 10 for the Wolfpack (2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). Leslie hit 13 of her 15 shots from the floor.

Emma Guy and Makayla Dickens each had 17 points for Boston College (11-4, 0-2 ACC).

Missouri 66, (10) Tennessee 64: Sophie Cunningham scored 20 points and Haley Troup added a career-high 16 points as Missouri edged Tennessee for its fifth consecutive victory, at Knoxville, Tennessee.

Tennessee’s Rennia Davis missed a jumper that would have put the Lady Volunteers (12-2, 1-1 SEC) ahead with less than five seconds left and then missed a hurried shot at the buzzer.

Troup, a redshirt freshman who was averaging just 2.9 points per game, put Missouri (13-3, 2-0) ahead for good 56-54 by hitting a 3-pointer with 6:08 remaining.

Cunningham had six points and six assists to go along with her 20 points. She also irritated the Tennessee crowd late in the third quarter by elbowing Davis while beginning a drive to the basket.

(11) Oregon State 78, Washington 67: Destiny Slocum scored a career-high 30 points, including a career-best tying five 3-pointers, and Oregon State never trailed in its win over Washington, at Corvallis, Oregon.

Slocum was 11-of-17 shooting with seven rebounds and six assists. Mikayla Pivec scored 17 and Taya Corosdale had nine points and a career-high 14 rebounds for Oregon State (12-2, 2-0 Pac-12).

Amber Melgoza had 20 points and Griggsby scored 15 for Washington (7-8, 0-3).

Illinois 66, (12) Minnesota 62: Brandi Beasley scored 18 points and Illinois closed the game with an 11-2 run to rally for an upset over Minnesota, at Minneapolis.

The Illini (9-5, 1-2 Big Ten) ended a three-game losing streak by erasing a 17-point third-quarter deficit.

In the fourth quarter, Illinois made all four of its 3-pointers and 9 of 17 overall for 23 points while Minnesota was 4 of 17 and had nine points.

The Golden Gophers (12-2, 1-2), who lost their second straight, made one of their last seven shots while Illinois was 5 of 7.

(13) Texas 70, West Virginia 58: Sug Sutton scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and Destiny Littleton had three 3-pointers in the pivotal third quarter and Texas defeated West Virginia, at Morgantown, West Virginia.

The Longhorns (12-2, 2-0 Big 12), who have won five straight, were down two at halftime but Littleton helped build a 48-40 lead entering the fourth quarter. When she opened the final quarter with her fourth 3 in the midst of what turned out to be an 11-0 run, Texas had a double-figure lead they kept until West Virginia scored eight straight late.

After the Mountaineers cut it to 64-58 on Madisen Smith’s 3-pointer with 48 seconds left the Longhorns closed the game with the final six points.

Naomi Davenport was 10 of 17 and scored 26 points for the Mountaineers (9-4, 0-2).

(14) Syracuse 75, Virginia Tech 73: Tiana Mangakahia scored 27 points, including the tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1:37 left in overtime, and Syracuse held on for a win over Virginia Tech, at Blacksburg, Virginia.

Syracuse only made one of four free throws in the closing seconds but Digna Strautmane blocked a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with about 10 seconds to play and the Hokies couldn’t get up another shot.

Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi added 18 points for the Orange (13-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won seven straight. Strautmane had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Taylor Emery had 27 points for Virginia Tech (12-2, 0-2), which won its first 13 before losing its ACC opener at Miami. Regan Magarity added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Aisha Sheppard had 13.

Indiana 68, (15) Michigan State 64: Jaelynn Penn scored 17 points including a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute to give Indiana a victory over Michigan State, at Bloomington, Indiana.

The victory was the first for the Hoosiers (14-1, 3-0 Big Ten) over a top-15 team since Jan. 31, 2010. Indiana, receiving votes in the Associated Press poll, has won four straight and 19 consecutive home games.

Penn hit a 3-pointer for a 65-62 lead with 47 seconds left. The Wolverines’ Taryn McCutcheon cut the lead to one with a half-minute remaining before Indiana finished by making 3 of 4 free throws.

Jenna Allen led Michigan State (11-3, 1-2) with 15 points.

(18) California 66, Southern Cal 59: Kristine Anigwe had 21 points and 16 rebounds to help California hold on for a 66-59 win over USC, at Berkeley, California.

Anigwe, who fouled out with 4:59 to play, has had a double-double in every game, and her 13 are the most in Division I, this season. Asha Thomas added 12 points, including two free throws with 20 seconds left, for California (10-3, 1-1 Pac-12).

Mariya Moore hits seven 3-pointers and finished with 36 points – both career highs – for USC (10-4, 0-3). The Trojans have lost three in a row and four of their last five.

LSU 63, (21) Texas A&M 52: Khayla Pointer scored 16 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter and LSU outscored Texas A&M 12-0 over the final three minutes for the win, at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Pointer, who came in shooting under 50 percent from the free-throw line, made 9 of 10, all in the fourth quarter including two with three minutes left for a 53-52 lead and the start of the 12 straight Tigers points.

Chennedy Carter’s free throw gave Texas A&M its final point before she fouled out with 2:37 to go with her first double-double this season: 20 points and 10 rebounds. Without the SEC’s leading scorer, the Aggies missed their final four shots and committed three turnovers.

Jaelyn Richard-Harris added 11 points and Ayana Mitchell 10 for LSU (10-4, 1-1 SEC).

Ciera Johnson added 13 points for the Aggies (11-4, 0-2), who lost to No. 23 South Carolina on Thursday – their first consecutive losses since February 2017.

(22) Arizona State 76, Colorado 70: Kianna Ibis scored 27 points and No. 22 Arizona State opened the fourth quarter with 13 consecutive points to overcome Colorado 76-70, at Boulder, Colorado.

Ibis had a bucket at the end of the third quarter to get the Sun Devils (11-3, 2-1 Pac-12) within two of the Buffaloes then ASU went on its run to lead 64-53 with 5:18 remaining. The Buffaloes rallied within two with 52 seconds left but Ibis made four free throws and Kiara Russell two to seal the win.

The Buffaloes (10-4, 0-3) have lost three straight.

(23) South Carolina 62, Alabama 59: Mikiah Herbert Harrigan had 18 points, nine rebounds and five blocks and South Carolina forced turnovers on Alabama’s last three possessions to give the Gamecocks a win, at Columbia, South Carolina.

Te’A Cooper made 1 of 2 free throws after her steal with 25.7 seconds to go and Bianca Cuevas-Moore did the same at 4.8 seconds after an Alexis Jennings steal. Cooper then stole the final inbounds pass.

South Carolina (10-4, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) shot 39 percent with a 1-for-12 performance from 3-point range. The Gamecocks, who have won 15 straight in the series, had 10 blocks with Herbert Harrigan moving into 10th on the career list with 117.

Cierra Johnson had 19 points and Walker 17 for the Crimson Tide (9-6, 1-1).