Burns Cleared to Play for San Diego State

San Diego State freshman forward Evan Burns was ruled eligible by the NCAA on Thursday and will make his debut against No. 1 Arizona at home Saturday night.

Burns, a McDonald’s All-American at Fairfax High, enrolled at San Diego State in September after being denied admission to UCLA when his transcripts weren’t approved by the NCAA clearinghouse.

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In women’s games:

No. 3 Connecticut 68, Holy Cross 46 -- Ann Strother scored 18 points and combined with Diana Taurasi to key a decisive second-half run for Connecticut (6-0) at Worcester, Mass.

Taurasi, held to four points in the first half, finished with 14 for the Huskies, who have won 45 consecutive games. Katie O’Keefe scored 23 points to lead Holy Cross (2-3).

The Crusaders trailed, 27-25, at halftime, but O’Keefe put Holy Cross ahead, 32-29, with a three-pointer early in the second half. But Strother and Taurasi combined for nine points in a 14-0 run.

No. 16 North Carolina 80, Appalachian State 44 -- Nikita Bell had 15 points for North Carolina (5-1) at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Jessica Jank and Kiki Conyers each had 10 points for Appalachian State (1-4).

No. 18 Oklahoma 77, Stephen F. Austin 55 -- Maria Villarroel had 27 points and nine rebounds for the Sooners (6-2) in a victory at Norman, Okla.

Stephen F. Austin is 1-4.

No. 19 Brigham Young 68, San Francisco 65 -- Jennifer Leitner had 28 points for Brigham Young (5-0) at San Francisco. The Dons are 2-4.

No. 25 Cincinnati 91, Eastern Kentucky 78 -- Valerie King tied a school record by making six three-pointers and scored 30 points for Cincinnati (3-1) at Richmond, Ky.

Pam Garrett led Eastern Kentucky (4-3) with 19 points.