Waves No Match for Texas Tech

Texas Tech sure looked like the top team in the country Sunday at Lubbock, Texas.

The No. 2-ranked Red Raiders had five players in double figures en route to a 95-53 victory over Pepperdine. One day after No. 1 Connecticut lost, 68-67, at the buzzer to No. 4 Duke, Texas Tech (14-0) made a strong case for the nation’s top ranking.

“We haven’t played anyone in the top five yet, but we’re undefeated and what a great honor that would be for us,” Coach Marsha Sharp said. “They deserve that, and it would be something we’d be very proud of.”

The Red Raiders already had a 44-11 lead with 3:49 left in the first half. By halftime, the overmatched Waves (6-7) trailed, 50-21.

“They jumped out on us early, they jumped out in the middle of the game and they jumped out at the end of the game,” Wave Coach Mark Trakh said. “They pretty much jumped out all over the game.”

Texas Tech was just as dominant in the second half, scoring the first nine points to build its lead to 59-21.

Pepperdine didn’t come closer than 28 points in the second half.

No. 5 Tennessee 66, Old Dominion 42 -- The victory at Knoxville, Tenn., enabled Pat Summitt to move into third place on the career victory list with 831, surpassing retired Mount St. Mary’s coach Jim Phelan.

Summitt trails Dean Smith (879) and Adolph Rupp (876). Texas Coach Jody Conradt is fifth with 829.

The Monarchs (6-5) got as close as 13 with 13:50 left, but the Lady Vols (10-1) responded with a 6-0 run and extended their winning streak to eight. Summitt has 28 victories over Old Dominion in a series that dates to 1977.

“I look back to the AIAW days. We played each other in a lot of regional finals and Final Fours,” she said.

“They made us a lot better earlier. When you look at women’s basketball, the evolution of the game, Old Dominion played a big part in what is happening.”

No. 7 Purdue 76, Notre Dame 63 -- The Boilermakers (10-2) bounced back from their first home loss in 38 games to beat the Fighting Irish at West Lafayette, Ind.

No. 10 Penn State beat Purdue on Friday to end the streak, which included 31 consecutive Big Ten victories. Purdue shot 21% in the loss, the second-worst percentage in school history.

The Boilermakers looked better against Notre Dame (7-5), especially in the second half. They shot 44% for the game -- 50% in the second half.

No. 9 Stanford 77, Washington 69 -- Nicole Powell, who had been sidelined three games because of an ankle injury, had 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Sebnem Kimyacioglu scored 11 of her 16 points in the second half to lead the Cardinal in the Pacific 10 game at Seattle.

“My ankle is sore, but I tried to come in and play,” Powell said. “The key to the game was doing the little things behind the scenes, like blocking out.”

Stanford (11-2, 4-0 Pac-10) avenged last season’s loss at Washington (8-5, 1-3). Giuliana Mendiola had 23 points for the Huskies.

No. 10 Penn State 64, No. 23 Michigan State 62 -- The Nittany Lions took the lead once in the second half at State College, Pa., and that’s all they needed. Jess Strom made two free throws with 10.3 seconds left, rallying the Lions (9-3, 2-0 Big Ten) past the Spartans (10-2, 1-1).

No. 12 Georgia 92, South Florida 65 -- The Bulldogs (11-2) held the Bulls (6-6) scoreless for the first eight minutes of the second half in extending their home winning streak to 22 games.

No. 14 North Carolina 72, Clemson 47 -- At Chapel Hill, N.C., the Tar Heels (12-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat the Tigers (11-2, 1-1) for the sixth consecutive time as they ended their nine-game winning streak.

No. 16 Virginia Tech 64, Providence 34 -- The Hokies had no problems extending their season-opening winning streak to 12 games. They started the second half at Blacksburg, Va., with a 20-5 run that extended their lead to 51-21 over the Friars (4-8) in the Big East Conference opener for both teams.

No. 17 Louisiana State 76, Arizona 66 -- Playing without Coach Sue Gunter, out because of flu, the Tigers (12-2) opened the second half at Baton Rouge, La., with a seven-point run and extended their lead to 62-37 with 10:28 left. Dee-Dee Wheeler scored 25 points to lead the Wildcats (11-3).

Rutgers 56, No. 18 Ohio State 53 -- Cappie Pondexter scored the game’s final seven points -- including a three-point shot with 5.4 seconds left at Piscataway, N.J., to give the Scarlet Knights (7-4) the win over the Buckeyes (9-3).

No. 21 Auburn 59, Monmouth, N.J. 38 -- Le’Coe Willingham had 25 points and a career-high 18 rebounds at Auburn, Ala., to lead the Tigers (12-2) past the Hawks (4-5) for their eighth consecutive victory.