Tar Heels hold off UNLV; Tennessee cruises past Cavs

The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS -- Italee Lucas scored 24 points and Cetera DeGraffenreid added 22 to help No. 4 North Carolina beat UNLV 78-68 on Sunday.

Lucas, who hails from Las Vegas, scored seven of the Tar Heels' first 11 points during the second half. Then, after missing two free throws with 1:19 left, the junior scored off her own offensive rebound to give North Carolina a 74-66 lead.

NO. 6 TENNESSEE 77, NO. 12 VIRGINIA 63 — In Charlottesville, Va., Angie Bjorklund scored 24 points and hit the big shots when Tennessee needed them.

Tennessee (3-0), playing for only the second time in Charlottesville, led 40-33 at halftime and pulled away after the Cavaliers (3-1) closed to 42-39. The rally riled up the crowd of 11,895 fans, a record for a women's basketball game at Virginia.

NO. 8 BAYLOR 69, NO. 17 CALIFORNIA 49 — In Berkeley, Calif., Brittney Griner had her chance to dunk in the waning minutes and missed again. It didn't matter much.

Baylor's 6-foot-8 freshman sensation did enough work to alter shots on the defensive end in the eighth-ranked Lady Bears' rout of No. 17 California.

Griner had 15 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots, missing a right-handed dunk along the baseline off a behind-the-back pass from Melissa Jones with 2:08 remaining.

NO. 2 STANFORD 76, UC DAVIS 51 — In Davis, Calif., Kayla Pedersen had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 2 Stanford over UC Davis.

Jayne Appel added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinal (4-0), who won their fourth straight in the series. Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored 10 of her 11 points in the second half and JJ Hones had 11.

NO. 3 OHIO ST. 93, OKLAHOMA ST. 72 — In Columbus, Ohio, Jantel Lavender scored 26 points, Brittany Johnson had a career-high 23 and Samantha Prahalis added 22 to lead No. 3 Ohio State to the Preseason WNIT title.

Tayler Hill chipped in with 11 points for the Buckeyes (5-0), who have scored at least 88 points in every game so far.

NO. 5 NOTRE DAME 80, IONA 45 — In South Bend, Ind., Skylar Diggins scored 17 points, Becca Bruszewski had 14 and No. 5 Notre Dame forced 33 turnovers.

The Irish dominated from the start, going ahead 11-2 in less than 3 minutes when Lindsay Schrader scored on a layup. They extended the lead to 27-11 when Brittany Mallory hit a 3-pointer, and the Gaels (2-2) never got closer than 12.

NO. 13 FLORIDA STATE 66, GEORGIA STATE 53 — In Atlanta, Jacinta Monroe scored 14 points before twisting her left knee midway through the second half.

Alysha Harvin scored 13 points, all in the second half, and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds for the Seminoles (4-0), who were playing their third game in six days. Florida State pulled away after having its lead cut to five points with 11 minutes left.

NO. 15 TEXAS A&M 79, AUBURN 59 — In Auburn, Ala., Danielle Adams scored 22 points and No. 15 Texas A&M shot 53 percent.

The Aggies (3-0) played stifling defense against the Tigers (2-2), holding the defending Southeastern Conference champions to 38 percent shooting and forcing 23 turnovers.

NO. 16 GEORGIA 49, RUTGERS 48 — In Athens, Ga., Ashley Houts scored 17 points to lead No. 16 Georgia to a come-from-behind win.

Georgia (3-0) trailed 44-32 with 7:14 to play after Rutgers freshman Monique Oliver's layup. Houts answered with a 3-pointer to ignite a 15-2 Georgia run.

NO. 19 KANSAS 77, MICHIGAN 66 — In Lawrence, Kan., Sade Morris scored a a career-high 26 points and became the 21st player in school history to eclipse 1,000 points, lifting No. 19 Kansas.

Aishah Sutherland had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Danielle McCray added 11 points and nine rebounds for for Kansas, which overcame 17 turnovers.

NO. 21 MICHIGAN STATE 74, WESTERN MICHIGAN 51 — In Grand Rapids, Mich., Lykendra Johnson scored 21 points and Aisha Jefferson added 12 to lead No. 21 Michigan State.

Michigan State's 6-foot-9 center Allyssa DeHaan added seven points, 11 rebounds and five blocks for the Spartans (2-2).

NO. 23 LOUISVILLE 84, TENNESSEE TECH 54 — In Louisville, Ky., Becky Burke scored 16 points and No. 23 Louisville overcame a sloppy first half to beat Tennessee Tech.

Chauntise Wright added 15 points and Deseree Byrd has 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists for the Cardinals (2-1).

NO. 25 MISSISSIPPI STATE 84, MARYLAND 55 — In Starkville, Miss., Alexis Rack scored a career-high 43 points and led a defensive effort that forced 28 turnovers.

Rack had 12 points and four assists in the first 10:10 of the game as Mississippi State (4-0) opened a 20-point lead.