Women's Top 25: UConn's Geno Auriemma ties D-I wins mark

Field Level Media|published: Fri 15th November, 21:57 2024

Southern California guard JuJu Watkins (12) with coach Lindsay Gottlieb during an NCAA women's tournament game against Kansas at Galen Center.

Paige Bueckers poured in a season-high 29 points as No. 2 UConn downed No. 14 North Carolina 69-58 on Friday, allowing Huskies coach Geno Auriemma to tie the all-time Division I wins record for women's and men's basketball.

The triumph was No. 1,216 for Auriemma, pulling him level with Tara VanDerveer, who stepped down as Stanford's women's coach following the 2023-24 season. The men's Division I record is held by ex-Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, 1,202.

Auriemma would stand alone if UConn beats visiting Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday. The 70-year-old Italy native has led the Huskies to 11 national titles and 23 Final Fours.

Sarah Strong amassed 14 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks for UConn (3-0), which led by double digits for almost all of the final three quarters. Indya Nivar paced North Carolina (3-1) with 15 points and nine rebounds.

No. 3 Southern California 81, Santa Clara 50

JuJu Watkins scored 22 points and Kiki Iriafen added 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals as the Trojans remained perfect on the season with a blowout of the Broncos in Los Angeles.

Rayah Marshall scored 12 points for USC (4-0). The Trojans took control early, racing to a 25-13 lead after one quarter by shooting 47.6 percent from the floor and turning seven Santa Clara turnovers into 15 points.

Kaya Ingram scored 13 points for Santa Clara (2-1), which committed 23 turnovers.

No. 15 West Virginia 83, Texas A&M 62

JJ Quinerly hit 4 of 5 3-point attempts while scoring 27 points as the Mountaineers dumped the Aggies in Morgantown, W.Va.

West Virginia (4-0) led by just four points at halftime before putting the game away with a 27-7 edge in the third quarter. Kylee Blacksten contributed 17 points and Sydney Shaw had 12 for the Mountaineers.

Aicha Coulibaly logged 21 points and Sole Williams added 14 for Texas A&M (2-2).

--Field Level Media