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Strong, top-ranked Huskies cruise into Big East title game with convincing win over Creighton

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Sarah Strong had 23 points, seven rebounds and six steals to lead top-ranked UConn to a 100-51 win over Creighton in the Big East semifinals on Sunday as the Huskies advanced to a conference championship game for the 22nd season in a row.

UConn (33-0) shot 71% from 3-point range in the first three quarters on the way to its 49th consecutive win. It was also the 38th conference tournament win in a row as the Huskies scored 100 points in the Big East tournament for the first time. Kayleigh Heckel added nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Huskies.

Kennedy Townsend had 13 points for Creighton (16-15), which was looking to advance to conference title games in consecutive seasons for the first time since losing in the 2009 and 2010 Missouri Valley Conference championship games.

UConn made 11 of its first 13 shots as the Huskies jumped out to a 27-4 lead, Creighton only hit consecutive shots twice in the first half. Strong had 17 points, four rebounds, four assists, six steals and two blocked shots in the first half. Arnold had 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting at halftime as the Huskies lead 57-22 at the break.

Strong became the first NCAA Division I women’s basketball player with at least 500 points, 200 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals, 50 3-pointers and 50 blocked shots in the last 25 seasons when she had her first block of the game. Azzi Fudd hit her 100th 3-pointer of the season in the first half. She joined Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Katie Lou Samuelson as the only UConn women’s basketball players with at least 100 assists and 100 3-pointers in the same season.

Up next

Creighton: Awaiting postseason bid.

UConn: plays Villanova in Big East final.

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Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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