Fast-Starting Duke Pounces on Loyola

Fourth-ranked Duke overwhelmed Loyola Marymount with an airtight defense in the first half and cruised to an 81-53 victory Monday in the championship of the Marina Beach Classic, before 912 at Gersten Pavilion.

Two-time All-American guard Alana Beard had 26 points and six assists in 28 minutes for the Blue Devils (9-1), who have won nine in a row since losing their season opener to Texas. Monique Currie had 14 and six assists.

Loyola (9-3) got 13 points from Bianca Ziemann and 11 from Kate Murray. But what the Lions got most of all was an education on what it takes to be a top-level team.

“Our [nonconference] season is to prepare us for the West Coast Conference; to try and win the conference championship, get into the NCAA tournament and compete,” Loyola Coach Julie Wilhoit said. “Along the way we need to test ourselves against teams who have been there and know what it’s like.”

Any thoughts of a possible upset Monday evaporated within the first 10 minutes as Duke burst to a 26-4 lead.

The Blue Devils smothered the Lions defensively with their quick hands and aggressiveness. It was difficult for Loyola to even take a shot. Loyola also had 11 first-half turnovers and 17 in the game.

“I thought this was one of our better team defensive efforts,” Duke Coach Gail Goestenkors said. “We put a lot of pressure on them, got in the passing lanes and got them out of their rhythm.”

On offense, 24 of Duke’s first 28 baskets were layups. The only Loyola defender who bothered the Blue Devils was forward Adrianne Slaughter, who had five blocked shots.

Duke’s biggest first-half lead was 42-9 with 2:51 to play. Loyola never got closer than 20 points.

-- Mike Terry

No. 1 Connecticut 87, North Carolina State 53 -- The top-ranked Huskies (9-0) won a record-tying 69th straight game at home, getting 20 points from Ann Strother and 18 from Diana Taurasi in a victory over the Wolfpack (7-5) at Hartford, Conn.

No. 6 Minnesota 73, Virginia 53 -- Lindsay Whalen had 31 points to lead the Gophers (10-0) over the Cavaliers (5-5) at Charlottesville, Va.

No. 9 Stanford 77, Oregon 51 -- Azella Perryman had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Cardinal (9-2, 2-0) to a victory over the Ducks (8-4, 0-2) in a Pacific 10 Conference game at Palo Alto.

No. 12 Georgia 92, Morehead State 42 -- Kara Braxton scored 17 points to lead the Bulldogs (9-2) over the Eagles (3-5) at Richmond, Ky.

No. 16 Virginia Tech 70, Wake Forest 59 -- Dawn Chriss scored 17 points and Leva Kublina had 15 to lead the Hokies (10-0) over the Demon Deacons (7-5) at Blacksburg, Va.

No. 19 Texas Christian 95, Lamar 50 -- Ashley Davis and Ebony Shaw scored 17 points apiece to lead the Horned Frogs (9-1) over the Cardinals (2-6) at Fort Worth.

No. 21 Auburn 95, Alabama A&M; 28 -- The Tigers (10-2) gave up only eight field goals and were led by Tanesheia Thompson’s 16 points in a victory over the Bulldogs (2-4) at Auburn, Ala.

No. 23 Michigan State 55, Cincinnati 43 -- The Spartans (9-1) limited the Bearcats (7-5) to 31.3% shooting from the field and got 12 points from Lindsay Bowen in a victory at East Lansing, Mich.

Miami 79, No. 24 Vanderbilt 57 -- Yalonda McCormick scored a career-high 28 points to help the unbeaten Hurricanes (11-0) upset the Commodores (10-1) at Coral Gables, Fla.