No. 6 Arizona women rout Arizona State 65-37

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) – Aari McDonald had 22 points and made five 3-pointers and No. 6 Arizona quickly turned its rivalry game against Arizona State into a rout in a 65-37 victory Thursday night. The Wildcats (4-0, 3-0 Pac-12) had to eke out a win over Southern California on Sunday, but were control from the start against Arizona State (4-2, 1-2). Arizona shut down the Sun Devils in the first half to lead by 16 and picked apart their zone defense with crisp passing to win its third straight in the series. The Wildcats have started conference play 3-0 for the first time since 2003-04. McDonald, an Associated Press preseason All-American, shot 5 for 11 from 3, had seven rebounds and three assists. Arizona State struggled against Arizona’s aggressive man defense without assists leader Iris Mbulito, who injured her left shoulder against No. 11 UCLA on Sunday. The Sun Devils shot 27%, went 3 of 12 from the 3-point arc and had 23 turnovers that led to 24 Arizona points. Taya Hanson led Arizona State with 14 points. Arizona rose to its highest ranking at No. 6 in this week’s AP Top 25 after beating UCLA and holding off USC. NO. 7 BAYLOR 65, WEST VIRGINIA 45 MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – DiJonai Carrington scored 14 of her 19 points in the decisive third quarter and Baylor beat West Virginia in their Big 12 opener, Moon Ursin added 12 points and eight rebounds to help the Lady Bears (3-1) bounce back from an 83-78 loss at No. 13 Arkansas on Sunday. Kirsten Deans led the Mountaineers (4-1) with 10 points. NO. 10 TEXAS A&M 79, ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK 56 LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – Aaliyah Wilson scored 13 points, Destiny Pitts had 12 on 4-of-8 3-point shooting and Texas A&M beat Arkansas-Little Rock. Alexis Morris, a redshirt junior transfer from Rutgers after beginning her career at Baylor, added a season-high 12 points for Texas A&M (5-0). Mississippi State transfer Bre’Amber Scott led the Trojans (2-2) with 21 points. NO. 17 NORTHWESTERN 93, EASTERN ILLINOIS 57 EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) – Veronica Burton scored 21 points, Lindsey Pulliam added 18 and Northwestern opened its season with a blowout victory. Burton and Pulliam are returning starters for the Wildcats, who finished last season 26-4 and won a share of the Big Ten regular-season title. Burton, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, was 8-of-12 shooting from the field and had six assists and five steals. Morgan Litwiller scored 13 points for Eastern Illinois (2-3). NO. 18 OHIO STATE 104, MIAMI (OHIO) 65 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Dorka Juhasz matched her career high with 27 points and had 15 rebounds in Ohio State’s blowout victory. Juhasz was 11 of 16 from the field and the Buckeyes (4-0) shot 55.7%. Jacy Sheldon and Braxtin Miller each scored 13 points, Kateri Poole and Madison Greene had 12 apiece and Rebeka Mikulasikova added 10. Peyton Scott scored 22 points for Miami (1-2). NO. 20 SYRACUSE 69, MIAMI 58 CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) – Kamilla Cardoso and Tiana Mangakahia each scored 14 points and Syracuse beat Miami in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Digna Strautmane added nine points and 11 rebounds for the Orange (4-0). Destiny Harden scored 11 points for Miami (3-1). KANSAS STATE 62, NO. 22 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 53 MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Ayoka Lee had 18 points and nine rebounds and Kansas State took control early against South Dakota State on Thursday night. Kansas State (3-2) had a 12-1 run to take a 20-7 lead after the first quarter. Myah Selland led the Jackrabbits (3-1) with 15 points.