No. 10 UConn tops DePaul on shot in final seconds

CHICAGO (AP) – Caroline Ducharme drove inside for a tiebreaking layup with 1.5 seconds left, and No. 10 UConn topped Aneesah Morrow and DePaul 80-78 on Wednesday night in a wild matchup between the top teams in the Big East. Ducharme finished with 19 points as UConn (12-4, 7-0) earned its 20th straight win against DePaul in the series. Christyn Williams added 17 points after missing the previous three games because of COVID-19 protocols. The teams were originally scheduled to play on Dec. 31, but the matchup was postponed because of COVID-19 issues with the Huskies. Finally on the court together, they put on quite a show. Morrow had 30 points and 14 rebounds for DePaul (16-5, 8-2), shaking off a right leg injury in the third quarter. No. 8 ARIZONA 74, UCLA 63 LOS ANGELES (AP) – Shaina Pellington scored 12 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter and Sam Thomas added 19 points to lead Arizona to a victory over UCLA. Arizona (15-2, 5-2 Pac-12) has won four of its last five games and ended the Bruins’ four-game win streak. The Bruins (9-5, 4-2) were led by IImar’I Thomas who had 14 points. Natalie Chou added 13 and Charisma Osborne 12. Arizona tied the game on Thomas’ 3-pointer, and Cat Reese made a pair of free throws to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 44-42 with 5:05 left in the third quarter. Thomas then hit another 3-pointer from the left wing to give Arizona a five-point lead and UCLA called a timeout. Then Pellington took over in the fourth. No. 9 TEXAS 66, KANSAS STATE 48 AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Aliyah Matharu scored 18 points, Audrey Warren had 16, and Texas contained record-setting Ayoka Lee while beating Kansas State. Lee, a 6-foot-6 center, scored an NCAA record 61 points during a 94-65 win against No. 18 Oklahoma on Sunday. Texas, taller than Oklahoma, limited the nation’s leading scorer to 20 – 5.5 fewer than her average. She converted 9 of 20 shots from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds. Her teammates did not provide nearly enough support. Texas (15-3, 5-2 Big 12) outshot Kansas State (15-5, 5-3) 48.1% to 34.7. No. 11 BAYLOR 88, TEXAS TECH 80 LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) – NaLyssa Smith scored 23 points, Sarah Andrews added 19 and Baylor outscored Texas Tech 9-1 in the last 2 1/2 minutes for the win. The Red Raiders, who have lost 23 straight in the series and trailed by 16 in the last minute of the first half, tied the game at 79 on a three-point play by Taylah Thomas with 2:36 to play. Andrews responded with a 3-pointer 18 seconds later and Texas Tech closed the game with two turnovers and three misses while Baylor went 6 of 8 from the foul line. Jordan Lewis scored 16 points for the Bears (14-4, 4-2), who have won four straight. Caitlin Bickle added 12. Bryn Gerlich scored a career-high 22 points and had seven assists for the Red Raiders (9-10, 2-6), who dropped their third straight No. 13 IOWA STATE 77, KANSAS 62 AMES, Iowa (AP) – Ashley Joens scored 21 points and younger sister Aubrey broke out of a slump with 16 points to lead Iowa State to a win over Kansas. Ashley Joens, who moved within 85 points of breaking the school scoring record (2,149), had 11 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season and 41st of her career. Aubrey Joens, who had not scored in the last four games and had four total points in the last six, had four 3-pointers to become the third Cyclone this season with 50 3s. Emily Ryan and Lexi Donarski both added 14 points for Iowa State (17-3, 6-2 Big 12 Conference), which is off to its best start since the 2004-05 team went 18-2. The Cyclones had lost to ranked foes Texas and Baylor in their last two games. Zakiyah Franklin led the Jayhawks (12-5, 4-5) with 14 points, No. 18 OKLAHOMA 84, OKLAHOMA STATE 58