When Seton Hall surrounded All-American center Kara Wolters, top-ranked Connecticut made the Pirates pay.
Connecticut made 8-of-12 from 3-point range in Sunday's 86-56 victory over Seton Hall.Nykesha Sales, who scored a season-high 26 points for UConn, said the Huskies took advantage of open outside shots when Seton Hall concentrated on Wolters inside.
"They were giving us the 3-point shot," Sales said. "All we had to do was make them."
Entering the game, UConn (14-0 overall, 6-0 Big East) was shooting only 23 percent from behind the arc.
"We were giving them the 3-point shot," Seton Hall coach Phyllis Mangina said. "But we didn't want them to be quite as open as they were."
With the score tied 2-2, the Huskies scored 17 straight points to take control of the game. Wolters and Sales combined for 14 points in the run.
The Huskies then used their 3-point shooting to build their lead to 45-22 at halftime. Connecticut was 5-for-7 from 3-point range in the half, more 3-pointers than they had made in any previous game this season.
Connecticut scored the first eight points of the second half and led by as many as 38.
Wolters added 18 points and a career-high five assists, finding open teammates when she was double-teamed in the post. Shea Ralph had 12 points and Amy Duran 10 for the Huskies, who shot 56 percent from the field.
"Our main goal was to keep Wolters from getting her points," Seton Hall's Dana Wynne said. "It's just a part of the game. You take risks, and the risk we took didn't work for us."
Wynne and Danielle Golay each had 13 points for Seton Hall (4-10, 1-5), which has lost five of its last six.
No. 2 Old Dominion 79,
William & Mary 36
At Norfolk, Va., second-ranked Old Dominion got physical Sunday with William & Mary.
"Inside, they were pretty much unstoppable," Tribe coach Trina Thomas Patterson said after William & Mary lost 79-36 to the Lady Monarchs. "They are very, very strong like we knew they would be. Physically, when it came to the pounding and the size, we couldn't match up with them."
The Lady Monarchs outrebounded the Tribe 59-24. Old Dominion led 47-22 at intermission after taking a 21-2 advantage in the first eight minutes.
No. 3 Stanford 77,
Southern California 76
At Los Angeles, Kate Starbird scored 40 points and Charmin Smith's layup with 9.4 seconds remaining gave No. 3 Stanford a 77-76 victory over Southern California on Sunday, the Cardinal's record 31st consecutive Pac-10 win.
The Cardinal (16-1, 4-0) saw their lead cut to 75-74 by Tina Thompson's basket with 1:06 remaining. After Stanford missed a jumper, Michelle Campbell's layup gave the Trojans a 76-75 lead with 22 seconds to play, their first lead since early in the second half.
After Smith's basket, Thompson missed an off-balance jumper in the lane in the final seconds for the Trojans (9-4, 3-1).
No. 9 Tennessee 84, Kentucky 61
At Knoxville, Tenn., when Tennessee's Lady Vols needed a boost, Abby Conklin gave it to them.
"Abby came off the bench and gave us a big lift," Tennessee's Chamique Holdsclaw said, after the ninth-ranked Vols beat Kentucky 84-61 Sunday in a Southeastern Conference game.
Trailing 12-7 with 13 minutes left in the first half, Tennessee (11-6, 1-2) sent in Conklin. The Lady Vols then went on a 21-4 run, with Conklin scoring 10 of her 16 points during that span.
Maryland 68, No. 14 Duke 64
At College Park, Md., reserve Kelley Gibson scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half as Maryland beat No. 14 Duke 68-64 Sunday to end a three-game losing streak.
Tiffany Brown and Kalisa Davis had 13 points apiece for Maryland (10-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Terrapins let a 26-20 halftime lead dwindle to three points with 14:13 left before pulling away with an 11-2 run.
Indiana 74, No. 17 Wisconsin 72
At Bloomington, Ind., Kristi Green made a three-point play with 26 seconds left Sunday, giving Indiana a 74-72 victory over No. 17 Wisconsin and coach Jim Izard the 300th win of his career.
The Hoosiers (9-6, 2-3 Big Ten) trailed 72-69 after a layup by Wisconsin's Keisha Anderson with two minutes remaining. But Rachael Honegger pulled Indiana within one on two free throws, and the Hoosiers got the ball back with a blocked shot by Green and a steal by Honegger.
No. 21 Notre Dame 77, Villanova 54
At Philadelphia, Katryna Gaither scored 22 points as No. 21 Notre Dame downed Villanova 77-54 Sunday.
Beth Morgan added 14 points for Notre Dame (13-4, 5-0 Big East), while Mollie Peirick had 13 points and Rosanne Bohman 10.
Jenn Beisel led Villanova (7-6, 3-3) with 15 points.
No. 24 DePaul 80, Cincinnati 72
At Cincinnati, Kim Williams scored 26 points, including four baskets in a second-half run that carried No. 24 DePaul to an 80-72 victory over Cincinnati on Sunday.
DePaul (9-2, 2-1 Conference USA) took control with a 16-4 run early in the second half, pushing a two-point lead to 56-42. Williams had eight points in the spurt.
No. 25 Florida 66,
South Carolina 62
At Columbia, S.C., DeLisha Milton scored 18 points, including two free throws with 1.6 seconds left, as No. 25 Florida beat South Carolina 66-62 Sunday.
The Gamecocks (7-6, 0-3 Southeastern Conference) trailed by one point at halftime and fell behind by as many as 11 in the second half. But with four starters saddled with four fouls, Florida (12-4, 2-0) could never put the game out of reach.