Ten league teams were in action on Saturday as five BIG EAST games were on the schedule.
No. 2/2 Connecticut (23-2, 11-1 BIG EAST) beat No. 14/13 Georgetown (19-6, 8-4 BIG EAST) 80-38 at Gampel Pavilion in the BIG EAST television Network Game of the Week.
UConn freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored 23 points to lead UConn to its 99th consecutive home victory. Mosqueda-Lewis hit 10-of-16 shots in her sixth 20-point game of the year.
The Huskies held the Hoyas to 25-percent shooting and 24 points below their season average. GU totaled a season-low 38 points. The loss also snapped a four-game win streak for Georgetown.
Senior Rubylee Wright and junior guard Sugar Rodgers led GU with 10 points apiece.
No. 20/17 Louisville (18-7, 7-5 BIG EAST) hit a school-record 18 3-pointers and cruised to an 89-62 victory over Syracuse (15-11, 4-8 BIG EAST) at home. The mark tied a BIG EAST record set on two previous occasions, most recently by UConn in 2009.
Senior Becky Burke made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 28 points. Burke’s eight 3-pointers tied a team record, after the senior had been scoreless in her last two games. The Cardinals also broke the previous school mark of 14 3-pointers.
Louisville hit 58.1 percent of its threes on 31 attempts.
Sophomore Shoni Schimmel added six 3-pionters as Louisville stopped a three-game losing streak. She had 20 points and a season-high 10 assists.
Syracuse junior Kayla Alexander had 20 points and 12 rebounds. It was Alexander’s sixth double-double of the season and the 14th of her career.
In Providence, senior Rachel Barnes led three Friars in double figures with 14 points as Providence (13-12, 5-7 BIG EAST) topped Seton Hall (7-19, 0-12 BIG EAST) by a score of 62-47.
PC junior Symone Roberts and sophomore Alicia Cropper finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Senior Teya Wright narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Senior Jasmine Crew scored 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting to lead the way for the Pirates.
In Tampa, Fla., USF (13-13, 5-7 BIG EAST) remained perfect against Villanova (15-10, 5-7 BIG EAST) with a 54-39 victory. The Bulls are 7-0 all-time against the Wildcats.
USF senior Andrell Smith scored a season-high 22 points and the Bulls held Villanova to 28.8 percent shooting from the field. The Wildcats entered the game averaging just 11.3 turnovers a game, fewest in the country, but USF forced them into 14 for the game and won the battle on the boards 42-34, improving their record to 8-1 when they grab more rebounds than their opponent.
Freshman Lauren Burford scored a team-high 11 points for Villanova. Nine of her 11 points came on 3-point field goals.
In the Queen City, Cincinnati (13-12, 4-8 BIG EAST) topped Pittsburgh (8-16, 0-11 BIG EAST) by the score of 62-57. Seniors Bjonee Reaves and Chanel Chisholm and sophomore Dayeesha Hollins led the Bearcats in double-figures. Reaves had a game-high 19 points, while Chisholm recorded her second-straight double-digit game with 14 points. Hollins finished with 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
UC has tallied its highest win total under third-year head coach Jamelle Elliott. The win marked Cincinnati’s first BIG EAST home win of the year and first time it has beat Pitt since March 16, 2000.
Pitt redshirt sophomore Ashlee Anderson had 15 points, while freshman Brianna Kiesel and sophomore Marquel Davis added 13 points apiece.
BIG EAST teams return to action on Sunday with three games on the ESPN family of networks.
Sun. 12 MARQUETTE at RV/22 DE PAUL 2:30 p.m. ESPN2
WEST VIRGINIA at 2/2 NOTRE DAME 3:30 p.m. ESPNU
ST. JOHN’S at 17/16 RUTGERS 5:00 p.m. ESPN2
Material from interviews, school websites, the Associated Press wire service as well as league and team sources was used in this report.
