Women’s Top 25 roundup: No. 3 UCLA shares its offense in rout of UC Santa Barbara

Audio By Carbonatix

Three players, none of them named Lauren Betts, scored at least 20 points for No. 3 UCLA in an 87-50 victory over visiting UC Santa Barbara on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Gabriela Jaquez dropped 21 points, Kiki Rice had 20 points with eight rebounds and newcomer Gianna Kneepkens also hit for 20 for the Bruins (2-0) after Player of the Year preseason favorite Betts had 21 points in Monday’s season-opening win over San Diego State.

The trio of Jaquez, Rice and Utah transfer Kneepkens combined to shoot 20-for-35 and Betts added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, seven rebounds and six assists. The Bruins never trailed and led by as many as 42 points.

Olivia Bradley scored 11 points and Julia Puente-Valverde added 10 for the Gauchos (1-1), who stayed within 21-17 after one period but were undone by a 30-9 second-quarter margin.

No. 10 Maryland 87, UMBC 54

Oluchi Okananwa and Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu scored 15 points apiece as the Terrapins cruised to the easy victory over the Retrievers at College Park, Md.

Yarden Garzon added 12 points and Saylor Poffenbarger had 11 for Maryland (2-0), which improved to 14-0 all-time against UMBC. The Terrapins led 40-28 at halftime before outscoring the Retrievers 27-10 in the third quarter to make it a one-sided game. Maryland shot 54.2% from the field.

Jade Tillman scored 17 points, Kennedy Austin added 14 and Heidi Williams had 11 points for UMBC (1-1). The Retrievers shot 38% from the field and committed 21 turnovers.

No. 17 TCU 82, North Carolina A&T 43

Cal transfer Marta Suarez scored 19 points and Donovyn Hunter added 17 to help the Horned Frogs (1-0) roll past the Aggies at Fort Worth, Texas.

All-American Olivia Miles, the heralded transfer from Notre Dame, had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists in her TCU debut. Clara Silva added 13 points and eight rebounds and Kennedy Basham had six of the Horned Frogs’ 12 blocked shots.

Chaniya Clark scored eight points to pace North Carolina AT&T, which shot just 26.9%. The Aggies (0-2) trailed 39-23 at halftime before being outscored by 23 points in the second half.

No. 24 Kentucky 104, Monmouth 49

Lexi Blue made 6 of 7 3-point attempts and scored a career-high 18 points to help the Wildcats sail past the Hawks at Lexington, Ky.

Amelia Hassett added 17 points and seven rebounds and Teonni Key and Asia Boone each had 14 points for Kentucky (2-0). The Wildcats connected on 17 of 36 3-pointers and held a 24-5 edge on points off turnovers.

Alexis Andrews had 12 points for Monmouth, which was 1-of-13 shooting in the first quarter while digging a 24-4 hole. The Hawks (1-1) finished at 27.9%.

No. 5 LSU 115, Southeast Louisiana 26

Flau’Jae Johnson scored 17 points and the Tigers shot 67.6% from the field while equaling the program record for largest winning margin of 89 points while blasting the Lions.

The rout matched a 133-44 victory over McNeese on Dec. 12, 2023 for LSU’s most convincing beatdown. Kate Koval had 16 points and nine rebounds, ZaKiyah Johnson added 16 points, five rebounds and four steals and Bella Hines chipped in 14 points off the bench for the Tigers (2-0).

Mari Dangerfield scored eight points for the Lions (1-1), who shot just 19.2% (10-52) from the field and committed 29 turnovers. SE Louisiana trailed 91-13 after three quarters.

No. 11 North Carolina 71, Elon 37

Indya Nivar recorded 13 points, seven rebounds and six steals and Ciera Toomey collected 12 rebounds while scoring eight points to help the Tar Heels crush the Phoenix at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Lanie Grant had 11 points for North Carolina (2-0), which won easily despite making just 4 of 26 3-point shots. The Tar Heels led just 29-20 at halftime before outscoring Elon by 25 points in the second half.

LaNae Corbett had 10 points and six rebounds for the Phoenix (1-1), who shot just 28.8% from the field. Elon scored fewer than 10 points in each of the last three quarters.

No. 22 Oklahoma State 105, Langston 35

Freshman Lena Girardi registered 29 points and nine 3-pointers off the bench in her second career game to help the Cowgirls steamroll the Lions at Stillwater, Okla.

Micah Gray and Amari Whiting added 15 points apiece and Haleigh Timmer had 13 for Oklahoma State (3-0), which made 18 of 39 3-point attempts. Girardi’s treys were the second most in school history. Gray set the mark of 10 last season against Chicago State.

Areyanna Hunter had eight points for Langston, which shot just 19.5% (8 of 41) from the field. The contest was an exhibition for the Lions, who trailed 35-4 after one quarter, 60-13 at halftime and 88-21 entering the fourth quarter.

–Field Level Media