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College Top 25 Women's Basketball Capsules: Top-ranked UConn beats Hofstra 91-46
Comments 0 | Recommend 0STORRS, Conn. — Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said he left the court Friday thinking more about his team's 23 turnovers than his 700th career win.
That may be why he wins so much.
Maya Moore scored 23 points to lead UConn to a 91-46 rout of Hofstra in the WBCA Classic.
Tina Charles added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Huskies (4-0), who have now won 43 in a row.
Auriemma, who will coach the 2012 Olympic team, becomes the eighth active coach to reach 700 Division I wins, and the fastest to do it, needing just 822 games. In his 25th year, he has coached UConn to 6 national championships and three perfect seasons.
"I try not to spend a lot of time thinking about that sort of thing," Auriemma said. "I guess that's kind of what keeps me going in the direction that I always want to go is I'm not thinking about the next milestone."
After the game, Connecticut's players lined up wearing T-shirts with their coach's image on it, each with a letter on the back that spelled out "Congrats 700." They then gathered around the coach and tried to mess up his always-perfect hairdo, which stayed in place.
"He won't say it, but it's amazing, it's incredible," said senior forward Kali McLaren, who was a freshman when Auriemma got his 600th win. "It's unbelievable."
Nicole Capurso had nine points for previously unbeaten Hofstra (3-1), which had 32 turnovers and shot just 33 percent from the floor.
Coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey said she wanted to show her players just how hard a team like Connecticut competes on every possession.
"Kids that don't have that same level like UConn, (it's about) getting them to compete like that every day and to play every possession like that," she said.
UConn led just 8-7 early, before a pair of lay-ups by Moore started a 12-0 run. The reigning national player of the year scored 18 in the first half, and hit eight of her first nine shots, helping UConn build a 43-23 halftime lead. She also had eight rebounds and five steals.
"It's really important to come out and physically be the aggressor," Moore said. "I question that about our team today. It took us a little bit to really focus in mentally."
The Huskies opened the second half by outscoring the Pride 20-5 and the rout was on.
Kalana Greene had 14 points for the Huskies, 12 after intermission, and Tiffany Hayes and Meghan Gardler each added 10 points.
UConn is now 89-14 all-time in November, and has not lost a game before Dec. 1 since 2004 when it was beaten by North Carolina.
Connecticut has won 12 straight titles at in-season tournaments and has not lost at home since Jan. 6, 2007, a string of 41 consecutive games and the nation's longest active streak.
Auriemma, who is in his 25th season, won his first game against on Nov. 23, 1985, 73-67 over Iona. He is 309 wins behind Tennessee's Pat Summitt and joins Rutgers' C. Vivian Stringer, North Carolina's Sylvia Hatchell, Stanford's Tara VanDerveer, Montana's Robin Selvig, Georgia's Andy Landers and Virginia's Deb Ryan on the career wins list in women's college basketball.
"I don't know what to say, it's a lot of wins," Auriemma said. "Every time I speak at a function, I say the same thing over and over again. There are two types of coaches in the world, those who coach great players, and ex-coaches. There are a lot of guys that I know who are really, really good coaches, and they're not coaching anymore, and I'm still here."
UConn will face Richmond on Saturday and Clemson on Sunday. The Spiders beat the Tigers 86-67 in Friday's first game.
Pedersen leads No. 2 Stanford
STANFORD, Calif. — Nnemkadi Ogwumike called the halftime talk inspirational. Kayla Pedersen said the team just decided to play harder. Somehow, with its senior All-American center dealing with the flu, No. 2 Stanford found a way to get a win.
Pedersen scored 18 points and had 12 rebounds in leading the Cardinal to a 60-41 victory over Utah on Friday.
"We knew we were better than that," Pedersen said of a 24-point first half. "We decided to kick it into gear. When things aren't going your way, you have to do the little things and stick with it."
Ogwumike had 17 points and Jeanette Pohlen added 11 for the Cardinal (5-0), who won their 31st consecutive home game despite being held to their lowest point total since scoring 58 in a win over Cal in February.
Jayne Appel, who received two IV bags before the game, was limited to two points and six rebounds in 21 minutes.
"I think some people were getting discouraged because the shots were not falling in the beginning," Ogwumike said. "I was trying to figure what I could do to contribute. (Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer) inspired us and pushed us in the halftime. She told me to go in there strong and that definitely helped."
Taryn Wicijowski scored 12 of her points in the second half to lead the Utes (1-3), who fell to 0-3 on the road. Kalee Whipple added 13 points.
"I feel even more motivated when I'm playing against someone with that kind of a reputation," said the 6-foot-3 freshman center about playing against Appel. "I want to show that I can play with anyone."
Whipple is the only starter left from the Utah team that took Stanford to double overtime before losing two years ago in Salt Lake City.
"We're a work in progress," Utah coach Elaine Elliott said of a roster that includes nine freshmen and sophomores. "We'll going to get better as the season goes on. We might not be talking about a great record but all these games will be good for us later."
The Utes have been to the postseason in 13 of the past 15 years, including a trip to the round of eight in the NCAA tournament in 2006, and are the two-time defending Mountain West champions.
Both schools rebounded from cold shooting starts with solid second-half shooting. The Cardinal shot 42 percent and Utah was at 52 percent in the final 20 minutes.
"It's hard when you have a lot of growing to do," Elliott said. "Twenty minutes of growing was what it was for us. We did a better job of getting the ball to the rim."
After making one of 10 3-pointers in the second half of Sunday's win at UC Davis, the Cardinal were 2 of 17 in the first half against Utah.
"This was not a game I'm excited about," VanDerveer said. "I thought we took too many 3s and we were not being patient."
The Utes were held scoreless over a 10-minute span of the first half, and were still within nine points of the Cardinal.
Stanford eventually opened a 21-8 lead with 4:14 left in the first 20 minutes and took a 24-11 advantage into the half.
No. 5 Notre Dame beats South Carolina 78-55
ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands — Melissa Lechlitner scored 15 points to lead four Notre Dame players in double figures, and the No. 5 Fighting Irish defeated South Carolina 78-55 in the Paradise Jam on Friday.
Ashley Barlow scored 14 points for Notre Dame (5-0). Skylar Diggins contributed 12 points and Becca Bruszewski had 11.
Valeria Nainima led South Carolina (2-3) with 15 points, and Kelsey Bone scored 14 points.
Notre Dame went on a 15-2 run midway through the first half and led by as many as 17 points at 40-23.
"I loved the second-half defense," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "I thought we did an outstanding job in the zone. I thought we got out and guarded the shooter in the second half."
After South Carolina pulled to within six early in the second half, the Irish reeled off an 11-0 run and cruised from there.
Notre Dame takes on No. 20 Oklahoma on Saturday. South Carolina plays No. 23 San Diego State.
Lechlitner, a 5-foot-7 guard, hit 6-of-12 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers.
"The screen and rolls were really open, because they were going under," Lechlitner said. "It opened free-throw jumpers wide open for a lot of us. We got a lot of easy looks in transition. In our half-court game, they would go two people with a back-door cutter, and it would leave me or whoever open."
Notre Dame takes on No. 20 Oklahoma on Saturday.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley's club is playing three ranked teams in three days in the Paradise Jam. The Gamecocks lost to No. 20 Oklahoma on Thursday, 75-67, and will play No. 23 San Diego State on Saturday.
"It's tough for a young team, but I'd rather play these teams than get three 60-point blowouts," Staley said. "I would rather play a competitive schedule, because the other thing does nothing but blow our heads up and make us think we're better than what we are. We will learning from being in this tournament.
Harvin leads No. 12 Florida St past Auburn 82-67
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Alysha Harvin scored 18 points to lead No. 12 Florida State to an 82-67 win over Auburn on Friday night at the Seminole Classic.
The Seminoles (5-0) used an 11-0 run early in the second period to gain the lead and kept it. That run included FSU's first two 3-pointers of the game. Florida State hit 6 of 9 from 3-point range in the second period after missing all six first-half threes.
"We got better open looks as a result of who we were defensively," FSU coach Sue Semrau said. "They all had a lot of confidence in one another to knock shots down."
After trailing by as many as nine in the first, the Seminoles used an 11-0 run early in the second period to gain the lead and keep it. That run included FSU's first two 3-pointers of the game. The Seminoles hit six of nine threes in the second.
Auburn freshman Nicolle Thomas paced the Tigers (3-3) in the first half, scoring 18 of her game-high 27 points, including four 3-pointers. The Tigers' long distance touch faded in the second, as they missed nine of 11 3-point attempts after shooting 50 percent in the first.
"You get that break in the half and you never know what's going to happen when you come back out," Auburn coach Nell Fortner said. "We're a young team and we're still trying to learn how to play 40 minutes."
Jacinta Monroe added 17 points and seven blocks for FSU, while Courtney Ward added 12 and Alexa Deluzio added 11. Jordan Greenleaf scored 16 points with a game-high nine rebounds for Auburn, while Alli Smalley added 11 points.
Kellum's career-high 25 points lift Virginia
FREEPORT, Bahamas — Paulisha Kellum scored a career-high 25 points to help No. 15 Virginia beat South Dakota State 78-66 at the Junkanoo Jam on Friday night.
All-American Monica Wright was held to just eight points, but moved into third place on Virginia's career scoring list passing current assistant coach Wendy Palmer.
Virginia (5-1) got out to an early 13-5 lead, but South Dakota State put together an 11-0 run to take a 16-13 lead with 12:46 left in the first half. Another run by the Jackrabbits gave them their biggest lead at 28-20 with 6:22 left.
Virginia fought back with a run of its own, however, and capped off an 11-1 run with a layup by Wright to recapture the lead at 31-29. The Cavaliers led 39-34 at the half and the Jackrabbits could get no closer.
Kristin Rotert, Maria Boever and Steph Paluch each had 14 points for South Dakota State (2-4).
Bennett leads No. 17 Arizona State past Hawaii
HONOLULU — Kali Bennett scored 15 points and had 15 rebounds to lead No. 17 Arizona State to a 65-53 victory over Hawaii on Friday night.
Danielle Orsillo added 15 points for Arizona State (3-1) in the opening game of the Rainbow Wahine Classic.
The Sun Devils controlled the boards, outrebounding Hawaii 46-33, and built a 32-22 halftime lead over the Rainbow Wahine (1-3) in their home opener.
Keisha Kanekoa scored 15 points to lead Hawaii, which lost its third straight after winning coach Dana Takahara-Dias' debut. Shawna Kuehu scored 13.
The win helped the Sun Devils recover from a loss to Xavier last week that dropped them three spots in the rankings.
Arizona State kept getting second chances with 24 offensive rebounds while Hawaii dug itself into a hole early and committed 27 turnovers.
Hawaii trailed by as many as 21 points in the second half before getting back in the game with accurate shooting.
Hawaii sunk 55 percent of its shots in the second half, better than Arizona State's 37 percent.
But the Rainbow Wahine got only 20 attempts on goal in the second half compared to the Sun Devils' 36.
Arizona State's Kayli Murphy scored nine points and two steals.
Hawaii's Breanna Arbuckle scored nine. The Rainbow Wahine missed all three of their 3-point attempts, while the Sun Devils hit 3 of 10.
It was the third all-time meeting between Arizona State and Hawaii, with the Sun Devils winning all three games.
Both Arizona State and Hawaii play East Tennessee State this weekend to complete the three-team Rainbow Wahine Classic.
Ray's career-high 27 points lift Rutgers
ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands — Brittany Ray scored a career-high 27 points to help Rutgers upset No. 19 Mississippi State 62-54 on Friday night in the Paradise Jam.
Rutgers trailed 7-4 early before going on a 15-2 run. April Sykes had seven of her 12 points during the spurt. Ray started off the burst with back-to-back jumpers. Mississippi State would close to 23-19, but Ray scored five points in the final 1:17 of the half to restore the lead to 10 at the break.
"Brittany (Ray) just refused to lose; her mindset was it is time for us to win," Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "She has been saying that in all the games and it was nice to see her have a great game. I was also pleased with the play of April (Sykes). She played very calming and settled and played more in control."
The Lady Bulldogs would get within seven in the second half before Ray scored six of the Scarlet Knights' final nine points to seal the win.
"My coaches tell me to keep shooting and I would get my shot back," Ray said. "Today, I did and knocked down those shots."
Alexis Rack scored 17 points and Armelie Lumanu added 12 to lead Mississippi State (4-2), which lost to Texas in its opening game Thursday. Rutgers will take on the Longhorns on Saturday while Mississippi State will play Southern Cal.
Rutgers (4-2) held Mississippi State to just 29 percent shooting (20 for 69).
Thomas keys huge run to lift Michigan State
FREEPORT, Bahamas — Jasmine Thomas scored nine of her 15 points during a decisive run in the second half to help No. 25 Michigan State rout George Washington 78-47 on Friday in the Junkanoo Jam.
Kalisha Keane added 13 points for the Spartans (3-2).
The Colonials trailed by nine at the half and cut it to 43-37 on Nicole Shelton's layup before Michigan State went on a 26-2 run over the next 10 minutes. Thomas hit two jumpers, a layup and a 3-pointer during the spurt as George Washington missed 11 straight shots.
By the time Shi-Heria Shipp finally made a shot nearly seven minutes after the drought started, George Washington was down 58-39 and came no closer.
Shipp scored 12 points for George Washington (2-2).
The Spartans outrebounded the Colonials 50-29.
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