Arkansas dominated the fourth quarter and rolled to an 80-68 road win Saturday at Abilene Christian.
The Razorbacks (7-3) trailed early but grabbed a 42-39 halftime lead by scoring 28 second-quarter points, a season-high for points in a quarter. Guard Malica Monk scored 10 of her 18 points in the first half.
Abilene Christian (7-2) kept it close in the third quarter, pulling within 57-55, but the Razorbacks shut down the ACU offense in the fourth quarter, allowing just 13 points.
Alexis Tolefree hit five 3-pointers and led Arkansas with 21 points to go along with 5 steals and 3 assists. Arkansas hit 10 3-pointers in the game as Monk knocked down three shots from deep.
Kiara Williams had a double-double for Arkansas with 12 points and 11 rebounds and Taylah Thomas scored 12 points in just 19 minutes. Jailyn Mason had a solid outing with 5 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Lexie Ducat led Abilene Christian with 19 points and Breanna Wright scored 18.
Up Next
Arkansas returns to action at home Dec. 16, hosting Prairie View A&M, and Dec. 18 against Nebraska. The Razorbacks close out three games in six days by traveling to Tulsa on Dec. 20.
TOP 25 WOMEN
NO. 1 UCONN 99,
SETON HALL 61
HARTFORD, Conn. — Katie Lou Samuelson scored 26 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to lead UConn to an easy win over former Big East rival Seton Hall.
It was just the second career double-double for the 6-foot-3 All-American, who also had six assists.
Napheesa Collier had 18 points and Crystal Dangerfield scored 16 for Connecticut (9-0). Freshmen Chrisyn Williams (15 points) and Olivia Nelson-Ododa (13) also reached double figures.
Nicole Jimenez had 23 points for Seton Hall (7-2), which had won three straight after its only other loss this season, at UCLA.
The Pirates led 3-2 lead after a 3-pointer by Kaity Healy.
But Samuelson hit three buckets, including a pair of 3-pointers during a 10-0 UConn run that put the Huskies up for good.
Williams had 15 points in the first quarter and UConn lead 35-13 after 10 minutes and 61-29 at the half.
Samuelson’s third basket from behind the arc, a shot from the top of the key in the fourth quarter, moved her past Diana Taurasi and into second place on the school’s all-time list.
She finished the night just 4 of 12 from behind the arc. But her 320 career 3-pointers put her within reach this season of Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis’ school record of 398.
NO. 2 NOTRE DAME 72,
TOLEDO 56
TOLEDO, Ohio — Arike Ogunbowale scored 22 points as No. 2 Notre Dame topped Toledo, bouncing back after its loss to Connecticut last weekend.
Jessica Shepard scored 16 points and had eight rebounds. Jackie Young had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Irish (8-1), who pulled away after leading by six points at halftime.
Notre Dame played its first game since an 89-71 loss to UConn on Dec. 2, which snapped the Irish’s 13-game win streak, including last season’s national championship.
The Irish and Huskies switched spots atop the rankings this week. Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw also publicly apologized for her team’s behavior in the loss. Ogunbowale also tweeted an apology to fans after she earned a technical foul and unsportsmanlike foul late in the game.
On Saturday, Notre Dame clamped down on defense in the third quarter, allowing just eight points for Toledo while the Irish took a 58-45 lead. Young and Ogunbowale scored four points apiece during an 8-0 that gave Notre Dame its first double-digit lead at 53-40.
Mikaela Boyd scored 15 points for Toledo (6-3), which entered with a four-game win streak. Mariella Santucci and Kaayla McIntyre each added 10 points.
NO. 7 MARYLAND 87,
JAMES MADISON 63
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Brianna Fraser scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading No. 7 Maryland past James Madison.
Kaila Charles also had 24 points with nine rebounds for the Terrapins (9-0), who never trailed in the game. Taylor Mikesell made four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.
Maryland was stellar defensively and scored 40 points off 23 turnovers. The Terrapins’ front court was dominant, outscoring James Madison 42-22 in the paint.
Kamiah Smalls finished with 18 points and has led the Dukes (6-2) in scoring seven times this season. Freshman guard Madison Green scored in double figures for the first time, finishing with 17 points.
Maryland was out of sync early in the opening quarter with several errant passes and four turnovers. Once the Terps settled down, they were able to take control and a layup by Stephanie Jones capped a 17-4 run that provided a 26-15 lead.
A 3-pointer by Mikesell and a jumper by Charles extended the margin to 43-22 with 1:30 left in the half. Maryland had 10 assists on 17 field goals and held James Madison to just 8 of 30 from the field over the opening two quarters. The Dukes, who snapped a three-game winning streak, tried to shoot themselves back into the game but struggled from 3-point range, going 7 of 20. Meanwhile, Maryland made plays at both ends of the court and was never threatened in the second half.
Blair Watson (10 points) made another 3-pointer and the Terps led 74-48 with 6:54 left in the game.
After losing their first meeting in 1974, Maryland has won nine consecutive games against the Dukes.
NO. 10 NORTH CAROLINA
STATE 76, GEORGETOWN 65
WASHINGTON — Elissa Cunane equaled her career high with 23 points, DD Rogers had a career-high 20 rebounds and No. 10 North Carolina State beat Georgetown.
Kiara Leslie added 18 points as the Wolfpack improved to 10-0 for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
Cunane scored 14 points in the second half, and Leslie had 13 points in two key runs for N.C. State — one late in the first half, and another early in the second.
Georgetown (5-5) was led by Dionna White, who had a season-high 25 points. Dorothy Adomako matched her season high with 18 points. Mikayla Venson added 16.
Rogers helped N.C. State to a 48-28 rebounding advantage. Grace Hunter had 11 boards to go along with 13 points and a career-high eight assists. Georgetown took a 32-25 lead on a jumper by White with 7:02 left in the second quarter, but N.C. State scored 14 unanswered points— eight by Leslie—and closed the half on a 16-2 run.
Venson and White began the second half with 3-pointers, and the Wolfpack’s lead was just 41-40. N.C. State scored the next 11, with five from Leslie, to move ahead 52-40 with 4:15 to play in the third.
NO. 16 IOWA 72, IUPUI 58
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Megan Gustafson scored 32 points, passing the 2,000 career mark along the way, and No. 16 Iowa pulled away from IUPUI.
Gustafson became the third Hawk-eye in program history to reach 2,000 points with 2,022 and the seventh Big Ten player to score 2,000 points and collect 1,000 rebounds. Iowa’s career rebounding leader also added 10 more boards.
The game featured Gustafson and the Jaguars’ Macee Williams, both on the preseason Lisa Leslie Award watch list for the nation’s best center. Williams scored 19 points with eight rebounds but fouled out with 5:34 remaining and IUPUI trailing 57-52. From there, the Hawkeyes (7-2) outscored the Jaguars 15-6 with nine points from Gustafson. IUPUI (6-3) led by two at the half after 15 points from Williams with Iowa taking a two-point edge entering the fourth quarter. Gustafson scored 23 points in the second half.
Hannah Stewart added 10 points for Iowa.
Holly Hoopingarner led IUPUI 20 points. The Jaguars committed 21 turnovers, seven in the fourth quarter.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 80,
NO. 21 DRAKE 71
BROOKINS, S.D. — Madison Guebert scored 21 points and South Dakota State made 5 of 6 free throws in the final minute to upset No. 21 Drake.
The game ended at almost the exact same time as the SDSU football team won 27-17 in an FCS quarterfinal game at Kennesaw State.
The Jackrabbits (6-3), got off to a hot start and had a 14-point lead in the second quarter. The Bulldogs (8-2) cut the deficit to 62-58 after three quarters and three times got it within one in the fourth quarter.
Guebert hit a jumper in the paint and converted a turnover into a 3-pointer for a 71-65 lead with 2:52 to play. After two Drake free throws, Tylee Irwin answered with a 3-pointer to make it 74-67 at 1:49. That was enough as Drake was in the midst of 1-for-10 shooting. Myah Selland added 16 points for SDSU.
Sara Rhine led Drake with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while Sammie Bachrodt scored 18.
NO. 13 CALIFORNIA 81,
SAINT MARY’S 78, OT
MORAGA, Calif. — Kristine Anigwe had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Recee Caldwell scored 20 points including two free throws with 27 seconds left in overtime and No. 13 California edged Saint Mary’s 81-78 on Saturday.
Caldwell’s free throws made it 80-76 before Emily Codding’s basket cut the margin to two. Asha Thomas made the first of two free throws with 18 seconds remaining and Gaels raced down the court but couldn’t find a good look at a 3-pointer before Claire Ferguson’s last-second attempt missed.
The Gaels (5-3) built a 15-point lead in the third quarter and led from there until Anigwe’s layup off a slick pass from Thomas with two seconds left in regulation tied the game. Kianna Smith hit a 3-pointer for the first overtime points and the Bears (8-0) remained ahead. Smith finished with 12 points, Thomas 11 and CJ West got her first career double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Anigwe has double-doubles in all eight of Cal’s games.
Codding scored a career high 26 points with four 3-pointers, Sydney Radio added 13 points and 17 rebounds for her second double-double this season, and Megan McKay had 12 points for the Gaels (5-3).
Sports on 12/09/2018