Murphy Lifts USC Past Arizona State

Eshaya Murphy had nine of her 11 points during a decisive second-half run, and USC ended Arizona State’s nine-game home winning streak with a 68-65 victory over the Sun Devils on Saturday.

Arizona State led, 40-39, before Megan Gnekow started the 17-4 run with a jump shot with 11:12 left. Murphy made four baskets and a free throw to spark the Trojans (8-7, 5-2 Pacific 10) to a 56-44 lead with 5:44 left.

The Sun Devils (10-6, 4-3) got close on three-point baskets by Betsy Boardman and YoVanna Rosenthal in the final 26 seconds, but Kristen Kovesdy missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer.

Arizona 70, UCLA 54 -- The Wildcats used an 18-3 run in the second half to extend their winning streak at the McKale Center in Tucson to 23 games.

Arizona (14-4, 6-1) is tied with Georgia for the second longest home streak in the country. Texas has a 28-game streak.

Arizona’s Shawntinice Polk had her seventh double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

The Bruins (8-8, 3-4) led, 39-36, with 13:33 left in the second half before the Wildcats started their run. Lisa Willis scored 15 points to lead the Bruins.

TOP 25

No. 2 Texas Tech 64, No. 24 Baylor 63 -- Alesha Robertson made three free throws in the final 7.6 seconds to lead the Red Raiders (16-1, 2-1 Big 12) past the Bears (14-3, 2-2) at Lubbock, Texas.

Texas Tech played without leading scorer Jia Perkins (16.5 points a game), who left the team for undisclosed medical reasons.

No. 3 Texas 67, Iowa State 45 -- The Longhorns (15-2, 3-1 Big 12) extended the nation’s longest home winning streak to 28 games by routing the Cyclones (8-6, 1-2), who couldn’t follow up Wednesday’s 64-63 upset of No. 2 Texas Tech.

No. 4 Connecticut 69, No. 22 Boston College 61 -- The Huskies (12-2, 3-1 Big East) used an 8-2 run to end the game at Hartford, Conn., and beat the Eagles (12-3, 2-2), avoiding consecutive losses for the first time since the 1992-93 season. They were coming off a 15-point road loss to unranked Notre Dame on Tuesday.

No. 10 Kansas State 79, Kansas 50 -- The Wildcats (13-2, 4-0 Big 12) extended their winning streak to 11 by beating the short-handed Jayhawks (8-7, 1-3) at Manhattan, Kan. During the streak, they’ve won by an average of 31.8 points.

Tamara Ransburg, Larisha Graves and Kandis Bonner sat out for Kansas because they were serving a one-game NCAA suspension for fighting with Missouri players on Jan. 10.

No. 15 Oklahoma 87, Oklahoma State 37 -- The Sooners (13-2, 3-1 Big 12) scored the first nine points and quickly pulled away at Norman. The Cowboys (6-9, 1-3) made only four of 20 field goals in the first half as Oklahoma built a 42-12 lead.

No. 19 Villanova 62, Seton Hall 51 -- The Wildcats (13-3, 3-2 Big East) made eight straight free throws in the final minute to beat the Pirates (10-5, 2-2) at Villanova, Pa.

No. 21 Miami 77, Pittsburgh 68 -- The Hurricanes (15-1, 4-1 Big East) played without leading scorer Tamara James, who sprained her neck Wednesday, but they had enough offense to close the first half with a 20-8 run and take commanding 14-point lead.

Georgetown 70, No. 23 Virginia Tech 50 -- The win at Washington was the first for the Hoyas (8-7, 2-3 Big East) over a ranked team since 1996. The Hokies have lost three of their last four after a 12-0 start.