Women's Top 25 roundup: No. 10 Baylor annihilates Providence

 

[December 21, 2023]  No. 10 Baylor blew the doors off of Providence from the opening tip and sprinted to a 61-36 victory on Wednesday in the first of two games for the Lady Bears at the West Palm Beach (Fla.) Classic.

The Lady Bears (10-0) got 14 points from Bella Fontleroy and 12 from Sarah Andrews, but Baylor set the tone with defense.

Already trailing 5-0 just 50 seconds into the game, Olivia Olsen made a layup on Providence's second offensive possession. It was more than 13 minutes later in the middle of the second quarter when the Friars made their second field goal (Laryn Edwards' short-range bucket) during the Lady Bears' 17-2 run.

Providence finished 11 of 45 from the floor and 1 of 14 from 3-point range. Olsen scored a team-high 12 points with 10 rebounds.

Baylor, off to its best start since the 2015-16 season, plays South Florida on Thursday afternoon.

No. 3 North Carolina State 87, Old Dominion 50

Madison Hayes led a balanced scoring effort with 17 points and the Wolfpack canned 10 of 18 3-pointers to cruise past the Monarchs in Norfolk, Va.

Aziaha James added 16 points for NC State (12-0), while Zoe Brooks enjoyed a 13-point, 11-assist double-double and River Baldwin contributed 12 points and four blocked shots.

Brenda Fontana scored 12 points for Old Dominion (8-2). The Monarchs saw the game slip away in the second quarter, when they surrendered an 18-2 run.

No. 5 Texas 104, UT Rio Grande Valley 51

The Longhorns put seven players in double figures and cruised to a win over the Vaqueros in Edinburg, Texas.

Shaylee Gonzales, DeYona Gaston, Rori Harmon and Aaliyah Moore each scored 12 points for Texas (12-0), while Shay Holle added 11. Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda and Madison Booker each chipped in 10 points as the Longhorns canned 54.9 percent from the field and hit 11 of 16 from the 3-point arc.

Texas also won the rebounding battle 49-21, finishing with 18 offensive boards.

Iyana Dorsey scored a game-high 19 points for the Vaqueros (0-10) even though she shot 1-for-10 from 3-point range.

No. 7 LSU 80, Coppin State 48

Angel Reese pumped in 26 points and collected five steals as the Tigers romped past the Eagles in Baltimore.

Reese, a Baltimore native, made 11 of 15 shots and also had six rebounds. It was LSU's 12th straight win since a season-opening loss to Colorado. The Tigers (12-1) also got 18 points from Flau'jae Johnson and 13 from Aneesah Morrow, who added 13 rebounds.

Tiffany Hammond scored 21 points to pace Coppin State (3-10), which fell behind 24-10 after one quarter. The game marked the first time an HBCU hosted a defending women's NCAA Division I national champion, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

No. 9 Stanford 92, UC Davis 52

Cameron Brink scored 21 points and Kiki Iriafen added 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Cardinal cruised to a 40-point win over the Aggies.

The Cardinal (10-1) had six players with 10-plus points and shot 57.6 percent from the field and 50 percent (8 of 16) from 3-point range.

Evanne Turner had 17 points for the Aggies (4-6), who had 21 turnovers in defeat.

No. 12 Kansas State 84, Southern 52

The Wildcats ended the suspense before halftime with a 27-4 second quarter and cruised from there against the Jaguars in Manhattan, Kan.

Ayoka Lee scored 20 points and blocked three shots for Kansas State (12-1), while Serena Sundell added 11 points and seven assists. Taryn Sides chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats, who sank 56.7 percent of their field-goal attempts, mixing in an 8-of-18 performance from the 3-point arc.

Aniya Gourdine scored 12 points to pace Southern (1-9), and Genovea Johnson added 10.

No. 17 UConn 111, Toronto Metropolitan 34

The Huskies celebrated a homecoming game for Aaliyah Edwards by routing the host Bold.

Edwards, a product of nearby Kingston, Ontario, scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to pace five UConn scorers in double figures. KK Arnold added 21 points, while Ashlynn Shade tallied 20. Paige Bueckers contributed 11 points and four assists for the Huskies (9-3), who owned leads of 39-5 after one quarter and 68-9 at the half.

It was the first loss of the season for Toronto Metropolitan (10-1), which got 10 points from Catrina Garvey. The game and all stats count for the Huskies, but it won't count toward their NET rankings.

No. 19 Louisville 59, No. 23 Washington 51

The Cardinals used defense and rebounding to beat the Huskies in a Top 25 battle at Louisville.

Olivia Cochran scored a game-high 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Louisville (11-2), while Nyla Harris added 11 points. The Cardinals limited Washington (11-1) to 36.5 percent shooting from the field and dominated the boards to the tune of 40-26, more than offsetting their 43.3 percent shooting from the field.

Lauren Schwartz scored 13 points for the Huskies, while Dalayah Daniels and Sayvia Sellers each added 12. Daniels grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

No. 20 Gonzaga 81, Arizona 69

Yvonne Ejim matched her season high with 27 points as the Bulldogs powered to a victory over the Wildcats as part of the Hall of Fame Series in Phoenix.

Ejim hit 13 of 18 shots from the floor and added seven rebounds and four blocked shots for Gonzaga (12-2), which earned its sixth win in a row. Brynna Maxwell scored 17 points while Kayleigh Truong amassed 16 points, six steals and five assists.

Kailyn Gilbert paced Arizona (8-4) with 21 points and four steals. Salimatou Kourouma logged a season-best 17 points, and Helena Pueyo contributed 12 points.

Gonzaga led by just one point early in the second quarter before a three-point play from Ejim sparked a 7-0 run. Arizona was down by just six points at halftime, but the Bulldogs scored the first eight points of the third quarter to pull away.

No. 21 Florida State 110, Alabama State 45

Ta'Niya Latson netted 23 points and the Seminoles opened up leads of 34-9 after a quarter and 60-18 at halftime on their way to a walloping of the Hornets in Tallahassee, Fla.

Six players scored in double figures for Florida State (9-3), as Alexis Tucker and Sara Bejedi each had 15 points and Makayla Timpson supplied 14 to go along with a game-high eight rebounds. The Seminoles scored 31 points off 18 Alabama State turnovers.

Cordasia Harris and Solangelei Akridge had eight points apiece as the Hornets (0-10) shot just 24.6 percent from the field (17 of 69).

No. 25 TCU 96, Omaha 56

Sedona Prince scored 26 points and hauled in 17 rebounds as the Horned Frogs improved to 12-0 with a rout of the Mavericks in Fort Worth, Texas.

TCU also got 19 points from Madison Conner, 14 points and nine assists from Jaden Owens, and a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double from Aaliyah Roberson.

The Horned Frogs totally dominated the boards, earning a 59-27 advantage that included 20 offensive rebounds. They also converted 47.9 percent of their field-goal attempts while holding Omaha to 31.6 percent accuracy.

Cora Olsen scored 12 points to lead the Mavericks (4-7).

--Field Level Media

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