December 21, 2024; Hartford, Connecticut, USA USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) shoots against UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) in the second half at the XL Center. Mandatory credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images The No. 7 of Southern California blew an 18-point lead but survived a tough finish to defeat No. 4 UConn 72-70 Saturday in Hartford, Conn.
JuJu Watkins scored 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including six points in the final four-plus minutes, as USC (8-4) regained the lead and never let it go again.
Watkins, who added six rebounds, five assists and three blocks, began the day third in Division I scoring at 24.7 points per game. Teammate Kiki Iriafen added 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong each scored 22 points for UConn (10-2), which trailed 47-29 a minute into the third quarter. However, Bueckers scored nine points in the third as the Huskies closed within six heading into the fourth.
South Florida 65, No. 9 Duke 56
The Bulls built a big early lead and held off the Blue Devils in a nonconference matchup in Tampa.
South Florida’s Sammie Puisis scored 14 of her team’s 23 points in the fourth quarter. After Taina Mair hit a 3-pointer to pull Duke (10-3) within three in the opening minute of the fourth, L’or Mputu answered with a layup.
Puisis then scored the Bulls’ next nine points during an 11-4 run and the lead was back to 10. Her 3-pointer with 2:32 to play made it a 12-point game and the Blue Devils never got closer more than seven again.
Mutu finished with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and added 11 rebounds. Vitoria Blasig and Carla Brito each had 10 points for South Florida (7-6). Toby Fournier paced Duke with 11 points and Mair had nine.
No. 12 TCU 92, UCF 52
Madison Connor scored 20 of her 24 points in the first half as the visiting Horned Frogs blew out the shorthanded Knights in the Big 12 Conference opener for each team in Orlando, Florida.
Sedona Prince added 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting and had seven rebounds and four blocks for TCU (12-1, 1-0 Big 12). Haley Van Leeth had 14 points and seven assists.
The Knights (7-4, 0-1) were without their top two scorers, Kaitlin Peterson (sixth in the nation at 22.4 ppg) and Hannah Gusters (16.4 ppg). Emily Rodriguez led UCF with 17 points and Nevae Brown added 11, though they combined to shoot 11-for-34 from the field.
Colorado 65, No. 14 West Virginia 60
Lior Garzon scored 12 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter, including nine straight for the Buffaloes, who erased a 16-point deficit and shut out the Mountaineers to open Big 12 Conference play in Boulder, Colo.
Frieda Foreman led Colorado (10-2, 1-0 Big 12) with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Jade Masogayo added 18 points and seven rebounds. The Buffaloes hit 9 of 11 shots from the field in the fourth quarter to finish the game at 54.3 percent from the floor.
Jordan Harrison had 18 points and JJ Quinerly 16 for West Virginia (10-2, 0-1), which shot just 39.2 percent from the floor and 6 of 23 from long range.
No. 17 Georgia Tech 72, No. 23 Nebraska 61
Dani Carnegie scored 20 points and Kara Dunn finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds and four steals as the Yellow Jackets defeated the visiting Cornhuskers in Atlanta to remain undefeated.
Chazadi Wright added 15 points, Tonie Morgan scored 10 points and Carnegie had eight rebounds for Georgia Tech (13-0), which prevailed despite shooting just 38.7 percent from the field and making 6 at 24 in three-pointers.
Alexis Markowski paced Nebraska (10-2) with 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting, but her teammates went 15-for-48 from the floor. The Cornhuskers shot 34.3 percent overall and made just 6 of 23 attempts from deep.
No. 18 Tennessee 102, Tulsa 61
Sara Puckett led five scorers in double figures with 17 points as the Lady Volunteers attempted to outlast the Golden Hurricane at the West Palm Beach Classic in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Puckett, who entered the game averaging 7.1 points, scored 12 in the second quarter as Tennessee (11-0) outscored Tulsa 41-11. Jewel Spear finished with 16 points, Zee Spearman 15 and Ruby Whitehorn and Talaysia Cooper 13 each.
Delanie Crawford scored 17 points, Mady Cartwright added 12 and Jade Clack 11 for Tulsa (6-6).
No. 19 North Carolina 90, Norfolk State 47
The Tar Heels built a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the game and easily defeated the Spartans in Chapel Hill, NC.
Lanny Grant led six scorers in double figures with 15 points for North Carolina (12-2). Grace Townsend followed with 14, Maria Gakdeng had 11 with seven rebounds and Lexi Donarski scored 11 points, including nine on three 3-pointers as the Tar Heels led 29-8 by the end of the first quarter.
Diamond Johnson scored 19 points but went just 8-for-22 from the floor for Norfolk State (11-4), which was riding a four-game winning streak. Anjanae Richardson added 11 points but had six of the Spartans’ 24 turnovers.
No. 24 Cal, 69, Fordham 53
Ioanna Krimili finished with 19 points and Ugonne Onyiah had 15 on 6-of-6 shooting as the Golden Bears built an early lead and kept the Rams at arm’s length for most of the game in Berkeley, California.
Krimilly had eight points in the first quarter, including five points in an 11-0 run. Cal (12-1) led by 12 after the first quarter, saw Fordham pull within three points with less than four minutes left in the second, then gradually pulled away again.
Taylor Donaldson had a game-high 24 points for Fordham (6-4), but none of her teammates scored more than eight points. The Rams shot 32.2 percent from the floor and had a four-game winning streak.
No. 25 Ole Miss 78, Mississippi Valley State 44
The Rebels jumped out to an early lead against the Devilettes and kept adding on, winning their third straight game and improving to 6-0 this season at home in Oxford, Miss.
Sira Thienou led Ole Miss (8-3) with 18 points, including seven in the first quarter, as the Rebels built a 17-10 lead. He added seven rebounds and four steals. Madison Scott and Starr Jacobs each scored 13 points, with Scott chipping in with 10 rebounds and six assists. Kennedy Todd-Williams and Kharyssa Richardson each contributed 12 points.
D’Yanna Maxey led Mississippi Valley State (1-10) with 10 points and Jaeda Murphy added nine.
–Within field level
