Women's Top 25 roundup: Paige Bueckers hurt in No. 7 UConn's win

Paige Bueckers scored 15 points before leaving the game with a knee injury in the third quarter as visiting No. 7 UConn routed Big East Conference rival Villanova 83-52 on Sunday. Bueckers dove for a loose ball along with the Wildcats' Jasmine Bascoe, who rolled into her left leg. Bueckers, the projected No. 1 overall pick in this year's WNBA Draft, returned to the bench later in the game with an ice pack on her knee. Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said he's optimistic that Bueckers isn't seriously injured. Sarah Strong scored a game-high 21-points for UConn (13-2, 4-0), while Villanova (7-8, 1-2) was paced by Bascoe's 12 points. No. 2 South Carolina 95, Mississippi State 68 Tessa Johnson came off the bench for 22 points as the Gamecocks shrugged off a slow start to earn a Southeastern Conference rout of the Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss. Chloe Kitts added 17 points and 10 rebounds for South Carolina (14-1, 2-0), which trailed 22-13 after a quarter before outscoring Mississippi State 55-23 in the middle two quarters. Jerkaila Jordan scored a game-high 24 points for the Bulldogs (13-3, 0-2). No. 3 Notre Dame 76, No. 17 North Carolina 66 Hannah Hidalgo scored 24 points and dished out five assists as the Fighting Irish notched an Atlantic Coast Conference win over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C. Olivia Miles added 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Notre Dame (12-2, 3-0), while Liatu King tallied 15 rebounds to go with eight points. North Carolina (13-3, 1-2) got 16 points and nine rebounds from Maria Gakdeng. No. 4 Southern California 92, Rutgers 42 JuJu Watkins collected 23 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three steals in her latest big game as the Trojans bounced the Scarlet Knights in the Big Ten mismatch in Piscataway, N.J. Watkins, who began the day third in Division I in scoring at 25.3 points per game, made only 8 of 23 shots from the floor as USC (14-1, 4-0 Big Ten) finished at 40.3 percent for the game. Kennedy Smith scored 19 points, Kiki Iriafen tallied 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, and Rayah Marshall contributed nine points and 10 boards. JoJo Lacey led Rutgers (8-7, 0-4) with 14 points, and Destiny Adams added 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Scarlet Knights shot only 28 percent from the floor and had 27 turnovers. No. 5 Texas 90, Arkansas 56 Six players scored in double figures as the Longhorns rolled to an SEC rout of the Razorbacks in Austin, Texas. Aaliyah Moore scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Texas (15-1, 2-0), which earned a 46-27 advantage on the boards and forced 25 turnovers. Arkansas (7-10, 0-2) got a game-high 23 points from Izzy Higginbottom. No. 6 LSU 73, Auburn 63 A 27-8 second quarter burst was the difference as LSU stayed unbeaten by winning the matchup of SEC Tigers in Baton Rouge, La. Aneesah Morrow scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for LSU (17-0, 2-0), while Kailyn Gilbert added 17 on 8-of-10 shooting off the bench. Auburn (9-6, 0-2) got 19 points off the bench from Audia Young. No. 8 Maryland 74, No. 23 Iowa 66 Kaylene Smikle scored a season-high 26 points and added six steals for the unbeaten Terrapins, who led by 25 late in the second quarter but survived a fevered charge by the Hawkeyes in the Big 10 matchup. Shyann Sellers chipped in 17 points for Maryland (14-0, 4-0 Big Ten), which saw its lead dwindle to five points with 45 seconds left in the game. Iowa netted six straight points to pull within 71-66, but the Terrapins padded the lead at the free-throw line. Lucy Olsen paced Iowa (12-3, 2-2) with 19 points, and Syndey Affolter added 12 points and eight rebounds. No. 9 Oklahoma 87, No. 15 Tennessee 86 The Sooners built a 16-point lead after three quarters and hung on to hand the Lady Vols their first loss in an SEC thriller in Knoxville, Tenn. Payton Verhulst scored 16 points for Oklahoma (13-2, 1-1), including two foul shots with 50 seconds left that proved to be the difference. Raegan Beers added 13 points and eight rebounds. Jewel Spear fired in a game-high 28 for Tennessee (13-1, 1-1), which had a chance to win but saw Sara Puckett miss a 3-pointer in the last five seconds. No. 10 Ohio State 92, Northwestern 62 The Buckeyes raced to a 77-43 lead after three quarters en route to an easy Big Ten Conference win over the Wildcats in Columbus, Ohio. Jaloni Cambridge scored a game-high 20 points for Ohio State (14-0, 3-0), which led by 39 at one point in the fourth quarter. Cotie McMahon had 16 points as five Buckeyes scored in double figures. Kyla Jones tallied 15 points for Northwestern (7-8, 0-4), which has lost three in a row. No. 14 Duke 69, Pitt 31 The Blue Devils forced 29 turnovers and allowed the punchless Panthers to hit just 11 of 45 field goal attempts in posting an easy ACC victory in Durham, N.C. Reigan Richardson scored 13 points for Duke (12-3, 3-0), reaching the 1,000-point mark for her career. Khadija Faye tallied a game-high 17 points for Pitt (8-8, 0-3), which had just four other players score. No. 16 Kentucky 96, Vanderbilt 78 Georgia Amoore finished with 24 points and nine assists as the Wildcats bombed in 15 3-pointers and scored 31 first-quarter points in an SEC win over the Commodores in Nashville, Tenn. Amelia Hassett added 20 points (six 3-pointers), nine rebounds and five assists as five players scored in double figures for Kentucky (13-1, 2-0). Vanderbilt (14-2, 1-1) got 24 points out of Mikayla Blakes. No. 19 Alabama 68, Missouri 49 Zaay Green scored a game-high 23 points and the Crimson Tide started SEC play 2-0 for the first time in 21 seasons by drilling the Tigers in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Aaliyah Nye added 11 for Alabama (15-1, 2-0), which held Missouri to 34 percent field goal shooting and forced 20 turnovers. Angelique Ngalakulondi and Nyah Wilson each scored nine points for Missouri (11-6, 0-2). No. 20 Cal 81, SMU 66 Marta Suarez scored 19 points and Kayla Williams netted nine of her 17 in the third quarter as the Golden Bears knocked off the Mustangs in the Atlantic Coast Conference matchup in Dallas. Lulu Twidale added 13 points and Ioanna Krimili chipped in 10 for Cal (14-2, 2-1), which shot 50.8 percent from the floor. The Golden Bears led by four at the half before outscoring the Mustangs 24-15 in the third quarter. They hit five 3-pointers in the period, three of them by Williams. Nya Robertson led SMU (9-6, 1-2) with 22 points, Chantae Embry added 12, Ella Brow notched 10 and Jessi Peterson supplied eight with 13 rebounds. No. 22 North Carolina State 91, Boston College 52 The Wolfpack jumped out to a 28-9 first-quarter lead and never looked back in an easy ACC rout of the Eagles in Raleigh, N.C. Saniya Rivers scored 23 points and added 11 rebounds for NC State (11-3, 3-0), while Zoe Brooks chipped in 11 points and 11 boards. T'yana Todd scored 20 points to pace Boston College (10-7, 1-3). Texas A&M 60, No. 25 Ole Miss 58 Sole Williams scored a game-high 18 points and the Aggies outscored the Rebels 20-6 in the fourth quarter to earn an SEC win in College Station, Texas. Jada Malone shot a perfect 7-for-7 to post 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Texas A&M (8-6, 1-1). Ole Miss (10-4, 1-1), which made only 19 of 53 shots from the field, was led by Madison Scott's 14 points. --Field Level Media