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College basketball

UConn puts away stubborn Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Ann Strother had 18 points and combined with Diana Taurasi to key a decisive second-half run that led third-ranked Connecticut over Holy Cross 68-46 Thursday night.

Most coaches would be satisfied with a 22-point victory. Not Connecticut's Geno Auriemma.

"It's careless," he said. "And this hasn't been part of Connecticut basketball. Give Holy Cross credit, but there should be a bigger gap between us and them."

Taurasi, held to four points in the first half, finished with 14 for the Huskies (6-0), who have won 45 straight. Katie O'Keefe scored 23 to lead Holy Cross (2-3).

The Crusaders trailed 27-25 at halftime, but O'Keefe put Holy Cross ahead 32-29 with a 3-pointer early in the second half. Strother and Taurasi then combined for nine points in a 14-0 run by the defending NCAA champions.

Holy Cross, the defending Patriot League champion, was looking for its first win over UConn since 1986.

NO. 16 UNC 80, APPALACHIAN ST. 44: Nikita Bell had 15 points and six rebounds as the host Tar Heels dominated both ends of the court.

La'Tangela Atkinson had 11 points and Candace Sutton had eight for North Carolina (5-1).

An early season ice storm that cut off power for millions of North Carolinians held the crowd to 328.

NO. 18 OKLA. 77, SFA 55: Maria Villarroel had 27 points and nine rebounds for the host Sooners. Oklahoma outscored Stephen F. Austin 38-10 in the paint and led by as much as 19 in the first half.

No. 19 BYU 68, SAN FRAN 65: Jennifer Leitner scored 28 on 12-of-15 shooting and had 11 rebounds to lead the visiting Cougars.

NO. 25 CINCY 91, E. KENT. 78: Valerie King tied Cincinnati's record with six 3-pointers, and had 30 points to lead the visiting Bearcats. Debbie Merrill added 16 points for Cincinnati, and K.B. Sharp had 12 points and 12 assists, making her the school's career leader with 469.

Men -- SEC

GEORGETOWN 67, S. CAROLINA 59: Mike Sweetney scored a season-high 27 and had 11 rebounds for the host Hoyas, who held the Gamecocks without a field goal for nearly 12 minutes.

Georgetown, which never has lost to South Carolina, trailed 45-42 with 12:31 left after a basket by Rolando Howell. But for the second time in the game, Sweetney had six points in an 11-0 run to give Georgetown a 53-45 lead it did not relinquish.

The Gamecocks, who made five straight free throws to get within three, didn't make another field goal until a Carlos Powell 3-pointer with 51 seconds to play made it 60-53.

Powell led South Carolina with 18 points.

LSU: Forward Shawnson Johnson quit because of a lack of playing time. He left the team during Tuesday's game against Delaware State. Coach John Brady said he did not want to discuss Johnson's departure.

"I want to move on," Brady said. "It's a waste of my time to discuss it."

Johnson could not be reached for comment.

C-USA

NEW ORLEANS 80, TULANE 67: Hector Romero had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the host Privateers.

Romero also was 9-of-9 from the free-throw line and led four players in double figures. A.J. Meredith and Billy McDade each had 12 points and Johnell Mitchell added 11 for undefeated New Orleans.

New Orleans scored 25 on Tulane's turnovers.

Tulane (3-3) also had four players in double figures, led by Brandon Spann (15). Brandon Brown added 14 points.

State

VA. COMMONWEALTH 90, FAU 72: Willie Taylor scored 29 and had nine rebounds to lead the host Rams.

Emanuel Mathis added 19 points, 16 in the first half, and Nick George scored 16 as Virginia Commonwealth won its second straight.

Jeff Cowans led the Owls (4-4) with 17 points.

VCU was up 51-30 at the half, but Florida Atlantic cut the lead to 11 with 11:42 remaining after Cowans hit a 3 and Wesley Edwards had an easy dunk.

The Rams responded with a 26-4 run led by George's eight points to make it 86-53 with 4:48 left, then withstood a late surge by the Owls.

Nation

GONZAGA 75, MONTANA 67: Blake Stepp had 22 points and nine assists for the visiting Zags.

GA. SOUTHERN: Sophomore guard Keny Faulk will be out 2-3 months after breaking a bone in his left wrist during the second half of Tuesday night's 74-62 win over Furman.

SAN DIEGO ST.: Freshman forward Evan Burns was ruled eligible by the NCAA and will make his debut against No. 1 Arizona at home Saturday night. Burns enrolled in September after being denied admission to UCLA when his transcripts weren't approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse.

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