BERKELEY, Calif. — Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer tied the late Pat Summitt as winningest women’s coach in NCAA Division I basketball history with 1,098 on Sunday night as the top-ranked Cardinal beat rival California 83-38.
Francesca Belibi finally dunked in a game as she typically does during every warmup and scored 14 points for Stanford (4-0, 2-0 Pac-12) which played its first game since taking over the No. 1 spot in the AP rankings.
VanDerveer, the Hall of Fame coach in her 35th season on The Farm, is poised to pass Summitt on Tuesday night at Pacific if all goes as planned — the teams were forced to cancel their first scheduled game Nov. 29 because of a positive coronavirus test in the Tigers program.
When Cal public address announcer Matt Foley congratulated VanDerveer’s achievement after the final buzzer and Stanford’s players clapped, VanDerveer shooed them toward the locker room.
Belibi stole the ball from Ornela Muca near the opposite baseline then drove end to end for a pretty one-handed slam 51 seconds before halftime to become the eighth women’s player to dunk in a game. Belibi is the first woman to dunk in a game since former Baylor star Brittney Griner had a trio of slams against Florida State in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Freshman Cameron Brink had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Cardinal.
NO. 4 N.C. STATE 75, BOSTON COLLEGE 69
BOSTON — Kayla Jones scored 25 points, Elissa Cunane had 23 points and 15 rebounds and North Carolina State overcame a 16-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Boston College.
The Wolfpack (6-0, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed 65-49 with just over six minutes left before scoring 25 of the game’s last 29 points. Jones had 11 points, shooting 5 for 5 from the field, and Cunane had eight rebounds in the fourth quarter.
Makayla Dickens scored 20 points and Cameron Swartz and Marnelle Garraud had 15 apiece for Boston College (4-2, 0-2). The Eagles made just two baskets in the fourth quarter.
NO. 8 OREGON 79, NO. 15 OREGON STATE 59
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Te-Hina Paopao scored 22 points, Taylor Mikesell had 21 and Oregon beat Oregon State for its 24th consecutive victory.
Mikesell and Paopao combined to make eight of the Ducks’ nine 3-pointers in the first half and scored 15 points apiece to help Oregon (5-0, 3-0 Pac-12) take a 45-24 lead. The Beavers (3-2, 1-2) never got closer than 18 points in the second half.
NO. 9 KENTUCKY 88, SAMFORD 54
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Chasity Patterson scored 16 points to lead Kentucky past Samford.
Patterson scored 13 points in the second half. Dre’Una Edwards added 15 points for the Wildcats (6-0).
Andrea Cournoyer led the Lady Bulldogs (1-5) with 14 points.
NO. 10 TEXAS A&M 77, ABILENE CHRISTIAN 59
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Aaliyah Wilson had 12 of her 15 points in the first half and Texas pulled away to beat Abilene Christian.
Wilson added four steals and three blocks for the Aggies (6-0). Alexis Morris scored 14 points, Jordan Nixon had 11, and N’dea Jones had 10 points and 14 rebounds.
NO. 11 UCLA 73, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 52
LOS ANGELES — Michaela Onyenwere scored 19 points and Charisma Osborne added 18, each dominating a quarter, to help UCLA roll rout rival Southern California.
Osborne hit three 3-pointers and scored 13 points in the first quarter as the Bruins (4-1, 2-1 Pac-12 Conference) opened a 27-18 lead. Onyenwere went 5 of 7, making both of her 3s, and scored 14 points in the third quarter when UCLA outscored the Trojans 20-5 to open a 27-point lead.
Jordan Sanders had 12 points for the Trojans (1-3, 0-3).
NO. 25 GONZAGA 58, MONTANA 51
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — LeeAnne Wirth scored 12 points and Gonzaga made 7 of 8 free throws in the last 36 seconds to hold off Montana.
Cierra Walker added 10 points and four steals for Gonzaga (4-2).
NO. 13 ARKANSAS 105, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 58
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Chelsea Dungee scored 26 points, Destiny Slocum added 22 and Arkansas romped past Central Arkansas.
Dungee was 3 for 3 from 3-point range and Razorbacks (7-1) were 12 for 24 overall.
Jalisa Outlaw led the Bears (1-4) with 22 points.
NO. 24 DePAUL 76, LOYOLA OF CHICAGO 67
CHICAG — Lexi Held scored 10 of her 17 points in the last four minutes to help DePaul rally past Loyola of Chicago.
Sonya Morris led the Blue Demons (2-2) with 26 points. Deja Church added 15 points.
Maya Chandler led the Ramblers (1-1) with 14 points.