Villanova guard Bella Runyan grabs a pass intended for UConn forward Lou Lopez Senechal during their game Saturday in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press
VILLANOVA, Pa. — Lou Lopez Sénéchal scored 22 points, including a crucial rainbow jumper late in the fourth quarter, to lead No. 6 UConn to a 60-51 victory over Maddy Siegrist and No. 14 Villanova on Saturday.
Dorka Juhász added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Aaliyah Edwards had 13 points and 14 boards for the Huskies (24-4, 16-1 Big East).
Siegrist, the nation’s leading scorer, had 21 points for the Wildcats (23-5, 14-3). Villanova lost just its second contest in the last 16 – both to the Huskies. Lucy Olsen added 13 points for Villanova.
The game was close throughout the first three quarters; the Huskies entered the final quarter leading 44-39. Sénéchal made a pair of free throws and then swished a 3 from the top of the key to give UConn its largest lead to that point, 49-39, with 8:55 left. UConn pushed its advantage to a game-high 52-40 on Juhász’s fastbreak layup from Sénéchal with 7:44 left.
The Wildcats came roaring back, scoring the next 10 points over 3:49 to make it 52-50 with 3:55 to play on Olsen’s drive. The Huskies committed four of their 22 turnovers during the Villanova spurt, which featured back-to-back 3-pointers by Siegrist and Olsen.
Edwards ended UConn’s 4:39 scoring drought with a layup to make it 54-50. Then Sénéchal nailed her high-arching shot from close range to give the Huskies a five-point advantage that proved enough cushion.
(7) IOWA 80, NEBRASKA 60: Caitlin Clark scored 30 points, Monika Czinano added 20 and the Hawkeyes (22-5, 14-2 Big Ten) pulled away in the second half to beat the Cornhuskers (14-13, 6-10) in Lincoln, Nebraska.
(8) MARYLAND 66, MICHIGAN STATE 61: Michigan State players wiped away tears as they stood shoulder to shoulder during a moment of silence before losing to No. 8 Maryland (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) in East Lansing, Michigan, less than a week after three students were killed in a shooting on campus.
“I’m really proud of us for just showing up,” said Julia Ayrault, who led the Spartans (13-13, 5-10) with 15 points. “It’s hard to come back and play a game that seems so small.”
(20) GONZAGA 65, ST. MARY’S 51: Yvonne Ejim scored 25 points and Kaylynne Truong hit four 3-pointers and added 14 points to help the Bulldogs (25-3, 15-1 WCC) beat the Gaels (12-16, 6-11) in Spokane, Washington.
Ejim hit a jumper and Truong followed with a 3-pointer to make it 5-0 and the Bulldogs never trailed. Brynna Maxwell was fouled as she hit a 3-pointer and made the and-1 free throw to cap a 10-2 run and give Gonzaga a 19-10 lead with 6:13 left in the second quarter. Maxwell, who finished with nine points on 2-of-9 shooting, has made at least one 3-pointer in each game this season.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
(1) ALABAMA 108, GEORGIA 59: Brandon Miller scored 21 points, Nick Pringle had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Mark Sears made five 3-pointers in the first half to lead the Crimson Tide (23-4, 13-1 SEC) to a romp over the Bulldogs (16-11, 6-8) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The Crimson Tide rebounded from their first SEC loss by racing to a 54-25 halftime lead and made 16 of 34 3-pointers (47.1%) en route to a season scoring high. It was tied for the third-largest margin in an SEC game for Alabama, though still behind a 57-pointer over Vanderbilt last month.
(6) TEXAS 85, OKLAHOMA 83: Sir’Jabari Rice scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and overtime, and the Longhorns (21-6, 10-4 Big 12) held off the Sooners (13-14, 3-11) in Austin, Texas.
Rice’s fourth 3-pointer of the game gave Texas an 84-77 lead with 2:26 left in overtime.
Oklahoma, however, had a chance to tie or win when Texas’ Tyrese Hunter missed one of two free throws with 6.8 seconds left. But Sam Godwin missed a shot from near the rim, and Texas extended its winning streak against Oklahoma to five games.
(7) VIRIGINIA 57, NOTRE DAME 55: Kihei Clark scored 15 points, including a pair of critical free throws with 22.6 seconds left, and became Virginia’s career assist leader as the Cavaliers (21-4, 13-3 ACC) beat the Irish (10-17, 2-14) in Charlottesville, Virginia.
With Notre Dame closing to 55-54, Clark converted both ends of a one-and-one. Trey Wertz made the front end of a one-and-one with 3.9 seconds left for the Fighting Irish, but missed the second after a timeout. The ball was tipped out to Dane Goodwin for a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but his shot bounced off the rim.
(5) KANSAS 87, (9) BAYLOR 71: DaJuan Harris scored all 14 of his points in the second half as the Jayhawks (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) stormed back from a double-digit halftime deficit and beat the Bears (20-7, 9-5) in Lawrence, Kansas.
The Jayhawks outscored the Bears 55-26 in the second half.
Jalen Wilson led Kansas with 21 points and 13 rebounds. KJ Adams added 17 points and Gradey Dick had 16.
KENTUCKY 66, (10) TENNESSEE 54: Cason Wallace and Oscar Tshiebwe each scored 16 points and the Wildcats (18-9, 9-5 SEC) rushed to a big lead and beat the Volunteers (20-7, 9-5) in Lexington, Kentucky.
(12) KANSAS STATE 61, (19) IOWA 55: Markquis Nowell hit a 3-pointer from near midcourt with 2:42 remaining to help boost the Wildcats (20-7, 8-6 Big 12) to a win over the Cyclones (17-9, 8-6) in Manhattan, Kansas.
(14) INDIANA 71, ILLINOIS 68: Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Hood Schifino made two free throws with 30.7 seconds left, and the Hoosiers (19-8, 10-6 Big Ten) rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to beat the Illini (17-9, 8-7) in Bloomington, Indiana.
(15) MIAMI 96, WAKE FOREST 87: Isaiah Wong scored 27 points, Nijel Pack finished with 24 and the Hurricanes (22-5, 13-4 ACC) beat the Demon Deacons (17-10, 9-7) in Coral Gables, Florida.
(16) XAVIERS 82, DePAUL 68: Jack Nunge had 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Musketeers (20-7, 12-4 Big East) bounced back from a pair of narrow losses to beat the Blue Demons (9-18, 3-13) in Cincinnati.
Xavier fell earlier in the week by a combined three points to Butler and No. 11 Marquette.
(20) UCONN 64, SETON HALL 55: Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points and the Huskies (20-7, 9-7 Big East) used a big second-half run to beat the Pirates (16-12, 9-8) in Storrs, Connecticut.
(22) TCU 100, OKLAHOMA STATE 75: Mike Miles Jr. had 15 points in his first game in three weeks, five other TCU players also scored in double figures, and the 22nd-ranked Horned Frogs (18-9, 7-7 Big 12) snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over the Cowboys (16-11, 7-7) in Fort Worth, Texas.
(24) PROVIDENCE 85, VILLANOVA 72: Ed Croswell scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and the 24th-ranked Friars (20-7, 12-4 Big East) earned their 20th victory of the season, holding on for a win over Wildcats (13-14, 7-9) in Providence, Rhode Island.
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