Paige Bueckers poured in a season-high 29 points as No. 2 UConn downed No. 14 North Carolina 69-58 on Friday, allowing Huskies coach Geno Auriemma to tie the all-time Division I wins record for women’s and men’s basketball.
The triumph was No. 1,216 for Auriemma, pulling him level with Tara VanDerveer, who stepped down as Stanford’s women’s coach following the 2023-24 season. The men’s Division I record is held by ex-Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, 1,202.
Auriemma would stand alone if UConn beats visiting Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday. The 70-year-old Italy native has led the Huskies to 11 national titles and 23 Final Fours.
Sarah Strong amassed 14 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks for UConn (3-0), which led by double digits for almost all of the final three quarters. Indya Nivar paced North Carolina (3-1) with 15 points and nine rebounds.
No. 7 LSU 74, Murray State 60
The Tigers surrendered 32 points in the second quarter to fall behind at half 46-37, but their defense put the clamps down over the final two quarters as LSU (4-0) rallied to down the Racers (1-2).
LSU allowed eight points in the third quarter as it cut its deficit to 54-53, then was even stingier in the fourth, allowing six points to pull away.
Murray State shot a blistering 61.1 percent and outscored the Tigers 32-12 in the second quarter, keyed by 16 points from Ava Learn. Learn finished with 18 points and added 10 rebounds, while Halli Poock scored 15 points and Haven Ford had 10 points.
LSU held the Racers to just 4-for-27 (14.8 percent) shooting in the second half, including 0-for-14 from 3-point range.
Flau’Jae Johnson led the Tigers with 25 points, Mikaylah Williams added 15 and Aneesah Morrow chipped in 10.
No. 3 Southern California 81, Santa Clara 50
JuJu Watkins scored 22 points and Kiki Iriafen added 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals as the Trojans remained perfect on the season with a blowout of the Broncos in Los Angeles.
Rayah Marshall scored 12 points for USC (4-0). The Trojans took control early, racing to a 25-13 lead after one quarter by shooting 47.6 percent from the floor and turning seven Santa Clara turnovers into 15 points.
Kaya Ingram scored 13 points for Santa Clara (2-1), which committed 23 turnovers.
No. 15 West Virginia 83, Texas A&M 62
JJ Quinerly hit 4 of 5 3-point attempts while scoring 27 points as the Mountaineers dumped the Aggies in Morgantown, W.Va.
West Virginia (4-0) led by just four points at halftime before putting the game away with a 27-7 edge in the third quarter. Kylee Blacksten contributed 17 points and Sydney Shaw had 12 for the Mountaineers.
Aicha Coulibaly logged 21 points and Sole Williams added 14 for Texas A&M (2-2).
–Field Level Media
