Huskies Go Inside to Win Big

Led by Asjha Jones, the top-ranked Connecticut women defeated Rhode Island, 88-42, with a superior inside game and a smothering defense Saturday at South Kingstown, R.I.

Jones finished with 20 points for the Huskies (6-0). Rhode Island (2-4) spread its zone defense to stop the Huskies’ long-range shooting, holding them to only one three-point basket, but Connecticut’s inside game flourished.

No. 5 Georgia 91, Alcorn State 51--Kelly Miller scored 26 points as the Bulldogs (5-0) made 56% of their shots and routed Alcorn State (4-2) in the first round of the Conoco Lady Jack Classic at Nacogdoches, Texas.

In today’s title game, Georgia will play tournament host Stephen F. Austin, which beat Texas Pan American, 102-71.

No. 7 Alabama 79, No. 8 Old Dominion 68--Beth Vice made three three-point shots over a two-minute span late in the second half as the Crimson Tide (7-0) rallied to beat the Monarchs (5-1) in the first round of the Wachovia Women’s Invitational tournament at Richmond, Va.

No. 9 North Carolina 112, Florida State 101--The Tar Heels (9-1, 2-0) overcame a six-point deficit in the final 28 seconds of regulation and then dominated the overtime for an Atlantic Coast Conference victory over the Seminoles (2-4, 0-2) at Tallahassee, Fla.

North Carolina’s Nikki Teasley had 32 points, including a three-point shot with 13 seconds left in regulation that sent the game into overtime.

Latavia Coleman led Florida State with a career-high 38 points.

Ohio State 61, No. 11 Rutgers 58--Larecha Jones, who had a game-high 22 points, made a go-ahead layup with nine seconds to play and the Buckeyes (4-2) rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final 57 seconds to beat the Scarlet Knights (6-2) at Piscataway, N.J.

No. 12 Colorado State 72, Weber State 57--Becky Hammon scored 32 points to lead the Rams (10-0) over the Wildcats (1-5) at Ogden, Utah.

No. 22 George Washington 74, No. 13 Arkansas 56--Noelia Gomez had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Khadija Deas had 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Colonials (5-1) upset the Razorbacks (6-3) at Washington.

No. 14 Texas Tech 84, Wisconsin 70--Angie Braziel scored 20 points to lead the Lady Raiders (5-1) over the Badgers (4-3) in the first round of the Gene Hackerman Rice Invitational at Houston.

Georgia Tech 74, No. 17 North Carolina State 73--Kenya Williams’ baseline jump shot with 20 seconds left gave the Yellow Jackets (5-2, 1-1) their only lead and the ACC victory over the Wolf Pack (3-4, 0-2) at Raleigh, N.C.

No. 19 Kansas 95, Butler 62--The Jayhawks (6-3) took advantage of 26 turnovers by Butler (5-2) to easily win the championship game of the Jayhawk Commerce Bank Classic at Lawrence, Kan.

No. 21 Florida 89, Southwest Texas 47--Brandi McCain had 13 points, nine steals and seven assists to lead the Gators (8-2) over the Bobcats (1-4) at Gainesville, Fla. McCain’s nine steals is one less than the school record.

No. 25 Clemson 89, Maryland 48--Nikki Blassingame scored 18 points on nine-for-13 shooting to lead the Tigers (7-0, 2-0) to an ACC victory over the Terrapins (0-6, 0-1) at Clemson, S.C.