Top 25 women’s roundup: Injured Crystal Dangerfield out as No. 4 UConn beats Dayton

DAYTON, Ohio – Megan Walker scored 23 points and matched her career high with 12 rebounds Tuesday night, and No. 4 UConn beat Dayton 75-37 without injured point guard Crystal Dangerfield.

The Huskies (6-0) took control with their outside shooting in their first regular season visit to University of Dayton Arena, completing a two-game trip to Ohio that sapped their depth.

Dangerfield had a season-high 23 points during a 73-62 win at Ohio State on Sunday but was sidelined against the Flyers because of back spasms. Senior guard Molly Bent got her first career start and had four points with two assists.

Adding to the Huskies’ concerns, guard Anna Makurat went down hard in the second quarter and limped off. She returned for the start of the third quarter and finished with six points in 11 minutes.

Walker hit three 3s in the third quarter as the Huskies pulled ahead by 31 points. Her four 3s also tied her career high.

Dayton (3-3) lost to a Top 10 team at home for the second straight game. The Flyers also fell behind early and never recovered during a 75-49 loss to No. 6 South Carolina on Nov. 13. Jayla Scaife led Dayton with 12 points.

No. 11 UCLA 100, Yale 65

LOS ANGELES – Japreece Dean scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished 10 assists and No. 11 UCLA closed out a perfect season-opening homestand with a win over Yale.

Dean, a senior from Texas, made both of her 3-pointers and was 9 of 14 from the field, getting the first triple-double for the Bruins since Jordan Canada in 2017.

Michaela Onyenwere scored 22 points to lead the Bruins (5-0), Charisma Osborne added 15 and Lauryn Miller had 14 on 7-for-7 shooting.

UCLA shot 62.5% in the second half and finished at 55% for the game, making 10 of 19 3-pointers.

Dean scored the first two baskets of the game and had 10 points in the first quarter as the Bruins raced to a 29-14 lead. Onyenwere and Dean had 15 points apiece by halftime, when the Bruins led 52-26.

The Bulldogs (3-2), shot 31% in the first half but were 13 of 24 in the second. Ellen Margaret Andrews was 8 of 10 and scored 22 points.

No. 12 Florida State 66, Florida 55

GAINSVILLE, Fla. – Kiah Gillespie scored 17 points and matched her career high with 18 rebounds and Florida State turned back rival Florida.

Nicki Ekhomu added 15 points and Valencia Myers 10 for the Seminoles, who secured the game with a late 8-0 run. Gillespie has 16 double-doubles in her two years with FSU, three this season.

Leading 58-52 with less than three minutes to play, Gillespie hit a jumper. Ekhomu followed with two baskets before Nausia Woolfolk’s layup with 25 seconds to play put the Seminoles on top 66-52. The Gators missed six straight shots and had a turnover before a late 3-pointer closed it out.

Ekhomu and Woolfolk are the first seniors to go undefeated in the rivalry. The Seminoles (6-0) have won 7 of the last eight. Coach Sue Semrau, after losing her first eight in the series, now has a 13-12 record against the Gators.

Florida (4-2) never led and trailed by as many as 11 in the first half but entered the fourth quarter only down two, 46-44. Gillespie hit a 3-pointer and a jumper to open the fourth quarter and the Gators never recovered.

Kiara Smith scored 15 points for Florida and Zada Williams and Ariel Johnson had 12 each with Williams grabbing 11 rebounds.

No. 14 Kentucky 81, Grambling 35

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Rhyne Howard scored 27 points, four other players had at least nine, and Kentucky rolled to a win over Grambling.

Howard had four 3-pointers as Kentucky went 10 of 29 behind the arc and Grambling misfired on all eight of its attempts. Blair Green had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, and Jaida Roper added 10 for the Wildcats (6-0). Green, Roper and Sabrina Haines, who had nine points, each had two triples.

Howard had 10 points in the first quarter, which ended with the Cats up 20-12. Kentucky had the last 13 points of the second quarter for a 42-17 lead. In the first half, Kentucky was 14 of 26 from the field, 6 of 14 from distance and made 8 of 11 free throws. Grambling shot 29% and was 3 of 4 from the foul line.

Grambling (1-5) shot just 18% in the second half and had 11 of its 25 turnovers. Candice Parramore was the top scorer with seven points.

No. 16 DePaul 94, Milwaukee 65

CHICAGO – Lexi Held scored 17 of her 19 points in the first half, Sonya Morris added 18 points and DePaul cruised to a win over Milwaukee.

Kelly Campbell had all 11 of her points in the first half when the Blue Demons went 8 of 19 from 3-point range and shot 63% overall to race to a 59-27 lead. Keke Rimmer added 13 points and seven rebounds for DePaul (5-1). Morris had six assists.

DePaul scored the first eight points of the game and closed the first quarter with a 10-2 run to lead 24-14. The Blue Demons had a 10-0 run late in the second quarter and turned that in a 15-1 closing with Held scoring five points in the last minute.

Sydney Staver led Milwaukee (2-4) with 13 points. The Panthers had 17 turnovers in the first half and 25 for the game, leading to 31 points for the Blue Demons.

No. 20 Tennessee 92, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 51

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Rennia Davis had 17 points and 11 rebounds as Tennessee remained unbeaten by defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff was playing one night after freshman guard Sierra’Li Wade was shot to death in her hometown of Lake Village, Arkansas. Wade hadn’t played in any of Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s first three games.

A moment of silence to honor Wade took place before the national anthem.

Tennessee’s Rae Burrell scored a career-high 17 points and Kasiyahna Kushkituah added 15 points. Trasity Totten scored 19 points, Jayla Atmore had 12 and Tyler Pyburn added 11 for Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Tennessee (6-0) started the game on a 16-1 run and never looked back. The Lady Vols built a 48-11 halftime lead as Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-4) shot just 4 of 32 over the first two periods.