Rutgers Finally Cuts Through Connecticut

After sitting out a 13-point loss to Connecticut 11 days ago, Rutgers’ Chelsea Newton scored 19 points to lead the No. 11-ranked Scarlet Knights over the No. 10 Huskies, 76-62, Sunday at Piscataway, N.J.

“That was what we missed, she’s the guts of our team,” Rutgers Coach C. Vivian Stringer said.

It was only the second time in seven years that the Scarlet Knights (18-5, 9-2 Big East) had defeated the Huskies (16-6, 9-2). Rutgers, which is tied with Connecticut for second in the Big East, forced 19 turnovers that it converted into 21 points.

No. 1 Louisiana State 66, South Carolina 36 -- The Tigers (23-1, 10-0 Southeastern Conference) scored the first 24 points of the second half to rout the Gamecocks (6-18, 0-10) at Columbia, S.C.

No. 2 Ohio State 67, Iowa 60 -- Jessica Davenport scored 21 points and converted a pivotal three-point play that helped the Buckeyes (24-2, 11-1 Big Ten) hold off the Hawkeyes (16-7, 5-7) at Iowa City, Iowa.

No. 3 Duke 60, No. 19 Maryland 49 -- Playing before the largest crowd to watch an Atlantic Coast Conference game, the Terrapins (17-6, 6-5) made only 34% of their shots and were one for six at the free-throw line in a loss to the Blue Devils (23-2, 9-1) at College Park, Md. The attendance of 17,243 broke the record of 14,500, when then-No. 1 Maryland played host to No. 2 Virginia in February 1992. The Terrapins had been averaging crowds of 3,336 at home.

No. 5 Tennessee 72, No. 21 Vanderbilt 63 -- The Lady Vols (19-4, 9-1 SEC) did not have a field goal over the final 2:24 but made five of six free throws down the stretch to defeat the Commodores (17-6, 6-4) at Knoxville, Tenn.

No. 9 Michigan State 84, Wisconsin 60 -- The Spartans (22-3, 11-2 Big Ten) pulled within one victory of tying the school record (set in 1976-77) for wins in a season by defeating the Badgers (10-12, 4-8) at Madison, Wis. Wisconsin made only three of 20 three-point shots.

No. 12 Minnesota 71, Purdue 49 -- Shannon Schonrock made all four of her three-point shots and finished with 13 points to help the Gophers (19-5, 9-3 Big Ten) bounce back from a demoralizing loss and beat the Boilermakers (13-10, 6-6) at Minneapolis. Minnesota was 0 for 17 on three-points shots Thursday in a loss to No. 9 Michigan State.

Oklahoma 77, No. 16 Kansas State 61 -- Dionnah Jackson scored 18 points and the Sooners (13-9, 5-6 Big 12) got charged up by a shoving match before putting away the Wildcats (17-5, 8-3) at Norman, Okla. Claire Coggins made two free throws with 17:17 left to bring Kansas State within seven points, at 44-37, but she got Oklahoma fired up in the process. After Lauren Shoush fouled Coggins on a fastbreak, Coggins shoved Shoush in the back, but no foul was called. After Coggins’ free throws, Oklahoma went on a run that gave it a 58-39 lead.

No. 15 DePaul 84, Texas Christian 81 -- Jenni Dant scored 27 points and made three of four free throws in the final seconds of overtime to lead the Blue Demons (21-3, 10-1 Conference USA) over the Horned Frogs (17-8, 8-3) at Rosemont, Ill.

No. 17 Texas 64, No. 13 Texas Tech 43 -- Tiffany Jackson received acupuncture treatment before the game to soothe a sore left ankle, then scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Longhorns (15-7, 8-3 Big 12) over the Red Raiders (17-5, 8-3) at Austin, Texas.

No. 18 Georgia 88, Clemson 60 -- Tasha Humphrey had 25 points to help the Bulldogs (20-6) defeat the Tigers (7-16) at Duluth, Ga.

No. 20 Temple 70, Rhode Island 56 -- The victory over the Rams (5-18, 3-9) at Philadelphia helped the Owls (20-3, 12-0) secure a bye in the first round of next month’s Atlantic 10 tournament.

No. 25 Penn State 63, Illinois 56 -- After the score was tied with 6:37 left, the Nittany Lions (16-8, 11-2 Big Ten) went on a 9-2 run to fuel their victory over the Illini (13-10, 5-8) at Champaign, Ill.