INDIANAPOLIS -- Ali Patberg scored 14 points and the No. 12 Indiana women held off Butler 64-53 on Wednesday night to win their fourth straight.
The Hoosiers moved up two spots in this week's Associated Press poll. It is the program's highest ever ranking. Indiana's lone loss was to now-No. 6 Baylor.
Butler jumped out to a 16-12 advantage after one quarter, but the Indiana defense held the Bulldogs to just two points in the second and led 27-18 at intermission.
Grace Berger scored 12 points and Makenzie Holmes came off the bench to contribute 10 points for Indiana (9-1).
Kristen Spolyar, who came into the contest averaging just under 19 points per game, led the Bulldogs (6-3) with 15. Genesis Parker added 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Ube Atosu hit three of her 7 3-point attempts, hitting two treys in the final 90 seconds as the Bulldogs tried to get their deficit to single digits.
Indiana plays host to Youngstown State on Sunday. Butler faces High Point at home.
NO. 14 KENTUCKY 91, WINTHROP 36
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Jaida Roper scored 15 of her career-high 30 points in the first quarter and No. 14 Kentucky beat Winthrop.
Roper, whose previous career best was 15 points, made 12 of 13 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Blair Green had a career-high 13 points, and Rhyne Howard, who did not play in the second half, scored 12 points for the Wildcats (10-0).
Roper and Howard each hit three of Kentucky's eight first-quarter 3-pointers to make it 32-12 going into the second, and the Eagles got no closer the rest of the way.
The Wildcats had 14 steals and forced a season-high 35 turnovers -- including 23 in the first half -- which they turned into 46 points. Kentucky made 13 of 23 (56.5%) from 3-point range and shot 52.4% (33 of 63) overall.
Kem Nwabudu led Winthrop (1-6) with nine points. The Eagles, who have lost five in a row, shot just 30% (14 of 47) from the field and made 2 of 12 (17%) from behind the arc.
NO. 16 DEPAUL 105, NOTRE DAME 94
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Sonya Morris scored 29 points and hit a career-best five of DePaul's 16 3-pointers and the No. 16 Blue Demons pulled away late in their win over Notre Dame.
DePaul (8-1) has won six games in a row overall and snapped its 11-game skid against the Irish.
Deja Church and Chante Stonewall had 20 points apiece, Lexi Held scored 17 and Kelly Campbell added 12 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Blue Demons. It was a career-high for Church, who started every game as a sophomore for Michigan last season and was granted immediate eligibility at DePaul by the NCAA.
Sam Brunelle made back-to-back baskets to pull Notre Dame (5-7) within a point with six minutes left in the game but Held sandwiched two of her four 3s around to free throws by Campbell to make it 97-88 two minutes later. The Fighting Irish scored six of the next eight points to make it a five-point game with 2:27 left but then committed turnovers on three consecutive possessions.
Brunelle led Notre Dame with a career-high 31 points on 13-of-18 shooting. The 6-foot-2 freshman forward was questionable for Wednesday's game after leaving Sunday's 81-57 loss to then-No. 4 UConn early in the second half due to a left knee injury.
Freshman Anaya Peoples had season highs with 22 points and 15 rebounds and Katlyn Gilbert scored 16 for the Fighting Irish. Graduate transfers Destinee Walker (North Carolina) and Marta Sniezek (Stanford) had 20 points and 12 assists, respectively.
DePaul made 16 of 29 (55%) from 3-point range, including 8 of 12 in the second half.
NO. 23 TENNESSEE 79, COLORADO STATE
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Rennia Davis had 23 points and 11 rebounds as No. 23 Tennessee bounced back from its first loss of the season with a blowout of cold-shooting Colorado State.
Tennessee (8-1) was playing three nights after falling 66-60 to Texas as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Colorado State (5-6) attempted two-thirds of its shots from 3-point range and spent most of the night misfiring. The Rams shot 18.2% (8 of 44) on 3-point attempts and 21.2% (14 of 66) overall.
Davis increased her career scoring total to 1,009 and became the 46th player in Lady Vols history to reach the 1,000-point mark.
Jazmine Massengill scored a career-high 16 points, Tamari Key had 11 and Jordan Horston added 10 for Tennessee. Horston also had 14 points and seven assists.
Megan Jacobs had 10 points to lead Colorado State, which lost its third straight.
This marked the last of six straight home games for Tennessee, which will head west to face No. 1 Stanford on Dec. 18 and Portland State on Dec. 21.
Sports on 12/12/2019