No. 4 USC routs Purdue for 14th consecutive win
USC guard JuJu Watkins (12) blocks the shot of Purdue forward Reagan Bass (34) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in West Lafayette, Ind., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Freshman Avery Howell scored a season-high 18 points, JuJu Watkins added 16 points and seven rebounds and No. 4 Southern California nearly pitched a second-quarter shutout as it routed Purdue 79-37 on Wednesday.
The Trojans (18-1, 8-0 Big Ten) allowed just two points in the second quarter en route to their 14th consecutive win. Four conference victories have come by 20 or more points.
Kendall Puryear led Purdue (7-12, 0-8) with 10 points as the Boilermakers lost their seventh straight. Purdue has losses to each of the top four teams in The Associated Press Top 25.
Destini Lombard scored all eight of her points in the first four minutes as the Boilermakers jumped to a surprising 16-10 first-quarter lead.
But the Trojans responded with a 31-0 run that didn’t end until Jordyn Poole beat the shot-clock buzzer with a mid-range jumper at the 1:57 mark in the second quarter. Southern Cal still led 46-18 at halftime, and Purdue never recovered.
No. 6 UCONN 100, VILLANOVA 57
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers had 21 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in just three quarters to help No. 6 UConn rout Villanova.
Sarah Strong had 22 points and Kaitlyn Chen added a season-high 17 for the Huskies (18-2, 9-0 Big East). They have won 29 straight conference regular-season games.
Jasmine Bascoe had 15 points for Villanova (10-10, 4-4). Maddie Burke and Maddie Webber each added 11.
Bueckers had 19 points in the first half, nine in a 3:43 span. UConn had runs of 12-0, 10-0 and 10-0 in the half and led 58-32 at the break.
With the Huskies leading by 42 points at the end of the third quarter, none of the starters played in the fourth quarter. A basket by freshman Allie Ziebell with 2:38 left to play made it 100-54 as the Huskies had their second 100-point game of the season.
OKLAHOMA ST. 60, No. 9 TCU 59
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Stailee Heard scored 17 points, Jadyn Wooten scored 10 of her 14 in the fourth quarter, and Oklahoma State rallied to beat No. 9 TCU, ending the Horn Frogs’ 10-game winning streak.
Anna Gret Asi added 10 points for Oklahoma State (16-3, 6-2 Big 12), which trailed by 15 points at halftime, cut the lead to eight after three quarters, then outscored the Cowgirls 20-11 in the final period.
It was the Cowgirls’ first win over a top-10 opponent since defeating No. 7 UCLA on Dec. 8, 2017.
Heard’s 3-pointer with 1:12 left gave Oklahoma State a 58-55 lead. Asi added two free throws to make it 60-55 with 20.7 left. But the Cowgirls missed four free throws and TCU made four straight foul shots to pull the Frogs to within 60-59.
Sedona Prince had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Horned Frogs (19-2, 7-1), who held Oklahoma State to eight points in the second quarter. Hailey Van Lith added 12 points and eight rebounds.
No. 16 WEST VIRGINIA 89, ARIZONA ST. 59
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — JJ Quinerly scored 29 points, Kylee Blacksten added 24 and No. 16 West Virginia raced to a win over Arizona State for the 900th win in program history.
Jordan Harrison scored 11 points with eight assists and Sydney Shaw added 10 points for the Mountaineers (16-3, 6-2 Big 12 Conference), who won the only other meeting between the teams in 1989.
Jalyn Brown scored 12 points for the Sun Devils (8-12, 2-6), who have lost five straight. Kennedy Fauntleroy added 14 points and seven rebounds and Jyah Lovett had 10 points.
Quinerly had 10 points as the Mountaineers hit 10 of 15 shots to race to a 28-9 lead after one quarter. West Virginia was 4 of 6 on 3-pointers while the Sun Devils were 4 of 14 overall.
No. 21 MICHIGAN ST. 82, PENN ST. 61
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Theryn Hallock scored 17 points, Julia Ayrault added 16 and No. 21 Michigan State beat Penn State for its fourth straight victory.
Michigan State (16-3, 6-2 Big Ten Conference) has also won four straight in the series and eight of the last nine.
Jocelyn Tate scored 12 of Michigan State’s opening 27 points in building a 12-point lead. The Spartans extended their lead to 41-24 at the break after scoring 18 points off 18 Penn State turnovers.
Michigan State’s lead reached 31 points midway through the third quarter following a 19-3 run, with eight points from Ayrault.
Hallock, Ayrault and Tate each made three of Michigan State’s 13 3-pointers to counter Moriah Murray’s career-high-tying eight 3-pointers for Penn State.
Tate finished with 15 points, five assists and three blocks for Michigan State. Grace VanSlooten added 10 points.
No. 24 MICHIGAN 70, No. 23 MINNESOTA 65
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Freshman Syla Swords scored 23 points, eight in the fourth quarter, and No. 24 Michigan edged No. 23 Minnesota.
Olivia Olson, a freshman from New Hope, Minnesota, added 19 points for the Wolverines (14-4, 5-3 Big Ten Conference), including a jumper to open the fourth quarter that gave them a 55-53 lead. Swords followed that with a 3-pointer and the defense held the Golden Gophers (17-3, 5-3) to 4-of-15 shooting.
Mila Holloway, another freshman, scored 12 points for Michigan, which has won 9 of 11 in the series to close within 36-34 after 70 games. The Wolverines won their fourth straight with their first win in six games against ranked teams.
Amaya Battle scored 25 points for the Golden Gophers, who were 11-0 at home. It was the first top 25 matchup at Minnesota in five seasons. Annika Stewart added 16 points off the bench and Grace Grocholski had 12.
Stewart had 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting and Battle 12 on 5-of-6 shooting as the Golden Gophers scored the last nine points of the second quarter to lead 37-33 at the half. Stewart knocked down a 3-pointer and Battle contributed a three-point play. The Wolverines missed their last nine shots of the second quarter to finish the stanza at 2 of 16.