Stanford forward Francesca Belibi, left, dunks against UCLA during the Cardinal’s 61-49 win on Monday in Los Angeles. Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Francesca Belibi dunked again and scored 15 points, and No. 1 Stanford survived its closest game of the season to beat 10th-ranked UCLA 61-49 on Monday and remain undefeated.
Belibi dunked early in the fourth quarter, a week after becoming the first woman to do so in a collegiate game since former Baylor star Brittney Griner in 2013. Belibi added seven rebounds.
Freshman Cameron Brink added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinal (7-0, 4-0 Pac-12). Kiana Williams had 10 points and was one of four Stanford players with four assists.
Stanford cruised past its first six opponents, winning by a whopping 48.2 points per game while scoring an average of 93.2 points.
But the Cardinal got tested against the Bruins, who took a one-point lead in the second quarter and didn’t trail by double digits until late in the fourth, when Stanford outscored UCLA 18-12.
Michaela Onyenwere scored 19 points and seven rebounds, and Emily Bessoir, a freshman from Germany, added 15 points for the Bruins (5-2, 3-2). They shot just 27% from the floor and were 6 of 28 from 3-point range.
(8) OREGON 69, WASHINGTON STATE 65: Nyara Sabally scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and the Ducks (7-0, 5-0 Pac-12) hung on to defeat the Cougars (3-1, 2-1) in Pullman, Washington. The Ducks extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 26 games, dating to last season.
Erin Boley added 18 points and made all five of her 3-point attempts for Oregon (7-0, 5-0 Pac-12), which has the longest winning streak in program history.
Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 20 points for Washington State (3-1, 2-1), which came in following its first win over a ranked opponent since the 2016-17 season. The Cougars beat then- No. 21 Oregon State, 61-55 on Saturday. That loss knocked the Beavers out of the poll for the first time in four seasons.
(11) ARKANSAS 86, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 52: Destiny Slocum scored 18 points, Erynn Barnum had a double-double off the bench and the Razorbacks (9-1) rolled to a win over the Golden Lions (1-4) in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The Razorbacks played their final nonconference game without leading scorer Chelsea Dungee (18.9 points per game), who sat out with a sore knee from a collision in Saturday’s win over Little Rock. She is expected to play when Arkansas goes to Kentucky for the first Southeastern Conference game on New Year’s Eve.
(20) TEXAS 62, KANSAS STATE 52: Charli Collier scored 27 points in a bruising low-post battle and the Longhorns (6-1, 1-0 Big 12) defeated the Wildcats (5-4, 0-2) in the Longhorns’ Big-12 opener, in Manhattan, Kansas.
As they have done all season, the Longhorns used full-court pressure to rattle Kansas State into 34 turnovers, one shy of the K-State record, and picked up 38 points.
There were 43 fouls in the game and Wildcats center Ayoka Lee, going up against Collier under the basket, fouled out less than a minute into the fourth quarter. Taylor Lauterbach, who tag-teamed with Lee on Collier, didn’t attempt a shot but picked up three fouls in 11 minutes.
Collier was 9 of 11 at the free throw line. She was 9-for-18 shooting, putting up contested shots in a crowd. Joanne Allen-Taylor added 14 points with five assists and three steals for Texas. Audrey Warren scored 12 with two steals.
Christianna Carr led the Wildcats with 13 points while Rachel Ranke added 10 with seven rebounds and four steals. K-State’s 34 turnovers were the most in seven seasons.
(23) GONZAGA 87, NORTH ALABAMA 57: Twins LeeAnne and Jenn Wirth combined for 28 points, on 13-of-18 shooting, and 22 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs (5-2) to a win over the Lions (1-7) for a two-game sweep in the Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas.
TOP 25: Oregon State’s four-year run in the Top 25 ended Monday when the Beavers fell out of The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the first time since 2016.
The Beavers had the seventh-longest active streak, being ranked for 76 consecutive weeks dating to Dec. 19, 2016. Oregon State lost its lone game last week, falling to Washington State and dropping out of the poll from No. 21.
While the Beavers’ streak is over, Stanford remained No. 1 for the third consecutive week. Tara VanDerveer became the winningest coach in women’s basketball history, passing the late Pat Summitt, with her 1,099th victory. VanDerveer got her 1,100th victory on Saturday, beating Southern Cal.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
(1) GONZAGA 95, NORTHWESTERN STATE 57: Corey Kispert scored 27 points and the Bulldogs (5-0) beat the Demons (1-8) in the Bulldogs’ home opener.
Anton Watson scored 15 points for Gonzaga, while Jalen Suggs added 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Carvell Teasett scored 16 points and Jairus Roberson 12 for Northwestern State (1-8), which is picked to finish near the bottom of the Southland Conference.
(2) BAYLOR 99, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 42: Freshman guard LJ Cryer scored 15 points to lead five players in double figures as the Bears (6-0) cruised to a victory over the Lions (1-8) in Waco, Texas.
The Bears (6-0), the only Big 12 team left without a loss, have scored at least 80 points in six consecutive games for the first time since 1994. They hit that mark on Cryer’s 3-pointer with 9:33 left when they went up 81-30.
Cryer finished with four 3-pointers for Baylor, which was shot 48% (11 of 23) from long range and 52% (37 of 71) overall.
(8) TENNESSEE 102, SAINT JOSEPH’S 66: Victor Bailey scored 18 points and the Volunteers (5-0) beat the winless Hawks (0-5) in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Bailey was one of six players who scored in double figures for the Volunteers. Santiago Vescovi had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Yves Pons added 13 points and nine rebounds. Keon Johnson had 12 points, and John Fulkerson and Jaden Springer each scored 10.
Ryan Daly topped the Hawks with 13 points. Dahmir Bishop scored 12, while Taylor Funk and Rahmir Moore added 10 apiece.
(21) FLORIDA STATE 72, GARDNER-WEBB 59: Anthony Polite had a career-high 15 points and Balsa Koprivica added a season-best 14 as the Seminoles (5-1) pulled away late to defeat the Runnin’ Bulldogs (1-4) in Tallahassee, Florida.
Polite scored in double figures for the fourth straight game. The redshirt junior guard did so just six times in the 2019-20 season.
The Seminoles outrebounded Gardner Webb 53-30 and went 24 of 32 (75%) from the free throw line to put the game away.
Koprivica, a sophomore center, has scored in double figures in four of six games.
Lance Terry had 23 points for Gardner-Webb, which did not score in the final 2:42. Terry was 8 of 19 from the floor.
Florida State is 60-14 since the start of 2018-19 season.
(24) VIRGINIA TECH 84, LONGWOOD 58: Jalen Cone scored 18 points off the bench to lead the Hokies (7-1) over the Lancers (1-7) in Blackburg, Viriginia.
Cone shot 6 of 15 from the floor – all 3-pointers – for the Hokies, who struggled for 30 minutes but heated up down the stretch to win their third consecutive game. Keve Aluma added 14 points and Joe Bamisile finished with 11, leading a balanced Virginia Tech offense as 10 players scored.
Leslie Nkereuwem paced Longwood with 10 points.
The Lancers trailed 45-40 after a basket by Juan Munoz with 11:39 remaining. The Hokies, though, scored on their next 13 possessions to pull away, with Cone hitting three of Virginia Tech’s five 3-pointers in that span.
The Hokies shot 59% (19 of 32) and hit six 3s in the second half.
TOP 25: A two-week layoff did nothing to slow down Gonzaga.
The Zags strengthened their grip on the No. 1 spot in The Associated Press college basketball poll, earning 61 of 64 first-place votes from a media panel after knocking off then-No. 3 Iowa.
No. 2 Baylor received the remaining three first-place votes and Kansas moved up two spots to No. 3. Iowa and Villanova rounded out the top five.
MEMPHIS: Penny Hardaway has agreed to a five-year extension worth $12.2 million with Memphis, keeping the third-year coach under contract through April 2026.
Hardaway said in a statement that coaching at Memphis is his dream job and he is thankful for the continued support.
COVID-19: The Syracuse and Buffalo programs are on pause after a member of the Bulls tested positive for COVID-19.
The decisions announced Monday by both teams came after they played Saturday in Syracuse’s Carrier Dome.
The Mid-American Conference school did not reveal who tested positive, except to say that it involved either an athlete, or member of the team’s coaching or support staff. The school was notified of the positive test on Sunday.
It’s unclear how long the pause will last. Buffalo said it will follow NCAA, conference and local health protocols. Contact tracing is underway at Syracuse.
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