COLUMBUS, Ohio — Breanna Stewart scored 24 points and Moriah Jefferson added 21 to lead top-ranked Connecticut to a season-opening, 100-56 victory over No. 7 Ohio State on Monday night.
The Huskies (1-0) opened their season in style with a suffocating second quarter in which they outscored the Buckeyes 26-9 to take a 50-24 lead.
“It’s the first game of the year but at the same time we’ve got four starters back,” UConn Coach Geno Auriemma said of his team which has won three consecutive national championships.
Kia Nurse added 16 points, Morgan Tuck 15 and Gabby Williams had 10 points and 11 rebounds for UConn.
“They should be able to look like they’ve played together awhile because they have played together awhile,” Auriemma said.
Ohio State (0-2), coming off an 88-80 loss at No. 2 South Carolina on Friday, trailed by three with just over two minutes left in the first quarter before the Huskies took over.
At one point of the second period the Huskies hit eight consecutive field goals and 10 of 11.
Shayla Cooper led Ohio State with 17 points.
UConn started off fast and made it look as if the game would be a blowout with Nurse scoring half of the Huskies’ points for an early 10-2 advantage.
But the Buckeyes worked their way back into the game despite Kelsey Mitchell going to the bench less than three minutes into the quarter with her second foul. A jumper from the left corner by Alexa Hart brought Ohio State to within 18-15, but those would be the last points of the quarter as the Huskies ran off six in a row for a 24-15 lead.
Ohio State was down 27-19 after Mitchell got her first point on a free throw with 8:22 remaining in the half, but the Buckeyes went cold from that point on. They missed four consecutive shots, while UConn upped the margin to 41-18.
SEC/TOP 25 WOMEN
FLORIDA 82,
NO. 6 FLORIDA STATE 72
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s successful home opener ruined Florida State’s highly anticipated season opener.
Ronnie Williams scored 21 points, Simone Westbrook added 14 and the Gators upset the sixth-ranked Seminoles.
Florida (1-1) overcame a 15-point deficit to beat FSU (0-1) for just the fourth time in the past 13 tries.
Eleanna Christinaki chipped in 13 points for Florida, which used seven three-pointers to help offset 27 turnovers.
Adut Bulgak led the Seminoles with 20 points and 14 boards.
SWAC WOMEN
MISSOURI 85,
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 34
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Bri Porter scored a game-high 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds to carry Missouri to an easy victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Cierra Porter added 12 points while Jordan Frericks and Sophie Cunningham had 11 apiece for Missouri (2-0), which led 47-21 at halftime and was never threatened in the second half. Kayla McDowell chipped in with 10 for the Tigers.
Destiny Brewton scored 13 points to lead UAPB (0-2), which hit just 15 of its 52 shots and was outrebounded 49-27.
TOP 25 MEN
GEORGE WASHINGTON 73,
NO. 6 VIRGINIA 68
WASHINGTON — Patricio Garino and Tyler Cavanaugh each scored 18 points as George Washington stunned Virginia. The Colonials (2-0) took control with a 10-0 run that began with Garino’s threepoint play for a 57-55 lead with 8:06 left. Garino added a tip-in and an assist on Cavanaugh’s layup. Cavanaugh hit two free throws to make it 64-55 with 5:24 remaining.
Virginia (1-1) was led by Malcolm Brogdon, who had 28 points.
Brogdon was the only source of offense for the Cavaliers in the final minutes. After Evan Nolte hit a three-pointer to give Virginia a 55-54 lead with 9½ minutes left, Brogdon scored 11 consecutive points for the Cavs. But after he stole the ball with 17 seconds to play and Virginia trailing by four, he missed a three-pointer with 10 seconds to play.
NO. 7 IOWA STATE 106,
CHICAGO STATE 64
AMES, Iowa — Jameel McKay scored a career-high 25 points with 11 rebounds, and No. 7 Iowa State rolled over and through Chicago State.
Abdel Nader had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Cyclones (2-0), who won their 18th consecutive opener at Hilton Coliseum.
Iowa State let Chicago State (1-1) hang around in the first half. But the Cyclones opened the second with a 13-0 run to go ahead 62-35.
Elliott Cole had points 18 for Chicago State.
NO. 12 ARIZONA 90,
BRADLEY 60
TUCSON, Ariz. — Allonzo Trier scored 22 points and made all of his 14 free throws to bounce back from a shaky-shooting debut, helping No. 12 Arizona beat Bradley.
The Wildcats (2-0) needed a lift after laboring through the first half against the Braves. Arizona pulled away in the second to extend its home winning streak to a nation-best 40 games, including 26 consecutive in non-conference action. Ryan Anderson added 15 points for the Wildcats, who shot 54 percent.
NO. 14 INDIANA 102,
AUSTIN PEAY 76
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana took control by making 15 consecutive baskets in the second half and ran away from Austin Peay.
Indiana (2-0) made 8 of 10 from threepoint range and shot 80 percent from the field (21 of 26) in the second half.
Kevin Ferrell had 22 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists for Indiana. James Blackmon Jr. scored 20 points.
Austin Peay (0-2) was led by Chris Horton, who had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Khalil Davis, who scored 16, as the Governors managed to stay close for the first 25 minutes.
NO. 15 CALIFORNIA 85,
UC SANTA BARBARA 67
BERKELEY, Calif. — Tyrone Wallace had 24 points and six assists, and freshman Jaylen Brown added 17 points and seven rebounds to push No. 15 California past UC Santa Barbara.
Jordan Mathews had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Golden Bears (2-0), who dropped a spot to No. 15 in this week’s Associated Press poll. Ivan Rabb finished with 12 points
Michael Bryson had 23 points in his season debut for the Gauchos (1-1).
NO. 16 UTAH 81,
SAN DIEGO STATE 76
SALT LAKE CITY — Jordan Loveridge scored 21 points to help No. 16 Utah get the better of San Diego State.
The victory ended Utah’s six-game losing streak to the Aztecs.
Jakob Poeltl had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Utes (2-0). Kyle Kuzma added 14 points and seven rebounds. Winston Shepard led San Diego State with 19 points, and Dakarai Allen chipped in 15.
NO. 17 VANDERBILT 98,
GARDNER-WEBB 62
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jeff Roberson scored a career-high 18 points and tied a career-best with eight rebounds, leading No. 17 Vanderbilt to a blowout of Gardner-Webb.
Riley LaChance added 13 points for the Commodores (2-0).
Vanderbilt forward Luke Kornet went to the bench with a left ankle sprain with 2:17 left in the first half and did not return. The 7-foot-1 junior was off to a good start with a team-high 10 points at halftime.
Tyrell Nelson led Gardner-Webb (0-2) with 16 points, and Harold McBride added 10.
NO. 23 LSU 91,
KENNESAW STATE 69
BATON ROUGE, La. — Ben Simmons scored 22 points and Josh Gray returned from a one-game suspension to score 16 points as No. 23 LSU knocked off Kennesaw State in a regional round of the Legends Classic.
Simmons, the preseason All-American had 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. The freshman also did not commit a turnover in 31 minutes.
Antonio Blakeney had 14 points and Aaron Epps had a career-high 10 points for LSU (2-0).
Kendrick Ray was the leading scorer for Kennesaw (0-2) with 25 points. Nigel Pruitt had 15 points, while Yonel Brown scored 11. The Owls shot just 38 percent from the field (24 of 64) and committed 17 turnovers.
NO. 24 MICHIGAN 88,
ELON 68
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Duncan Robinson made every shot he took for No. 24 Michigan (2-0), scoring 19 points to lead the Wolverines to a 20-point rout of Elon.
Robinson made all six of his field goal attempts — including five from threepoint range — and two free throws. Derrick Walton added 24 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds for Michigan, and Zak Irvin played his first game since having back surgery in the offseason. The Wolverines led 43-33 at halftime. Dainan Swoope led Elon (1-1) with 15 points.
SWAC MEN
OKLAHOMA STATE 86,
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 72
STILLWATER, Okla. — Jeff Newberry scored 19 points and came down with 12 rebounds as Oklahoma State outlasted Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Jawun Evans and Chris Olivier each added 13 points for the Cowboys (2-0). Evans also had seven assists, while Olivier also had eight rebounds.
JoVaughn Love scored 21 points and added seven rebounds, while Trent Whiting chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds for UAPB (1-1).
After taking a 32-31 lead into halftime, the Cowboys broke open a close game with a 10-0 run over a 3:03 span early in the second half, going up 49-37 after Newberry sank two free throws with 14:31 remaining. UAPB never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.