SEATTLE (AP) — Aday Mara scored a season-high 20 points and No. 4 Michigan bounced back from its first loss of the season with an 82-72 victory over Washington. The 7-foot-3 Mara finished 10 of 11 from the field and added three blocks, two rebounds and two assists. Morez Johnson Jr. had 16 points and a career-best 16 rebounds for the Wolverines in their first trip to Hec Edmundson Pavilion since 1994. Yaxel Lendeborg provided 14 points and seven boards for Michigan, which was coming off a 91-88 defeat at home against Wisconsin last Saturday. JJ Mandaquit led the Huskies with 15 points off the bench.
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Keaton Wagler scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, and No. 13 Illinois beat Northwestern 79-68 for their season-high sixth consecutive victory. Tomislav Ivisic added 21 points and seven rebounds as Illinois won at Northwestern for the first time since Jan. 29, 2022. The Illini had dropped their last three games in Evanston. Jayden Reid led Northwestern with a career-high 28 points, including 20 in the second half. Nick Martinelli had 20 points. The Wildcats shot 39% from the field in their fourth consecutive loss.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Braden Smith blamed himself for No. 5 Purdue’s first-half struggles against Iowa. The preseason All-American responded by reverting to his familiar form the rest of the way. One week after starting the second half on the bench for the first time in his four-year career, Smith delivered a dazzling final 20 minutes at Mackey Arena in a 79-72 victory over Iowa that could go a long way toward the Boilermakers capturing another Big Ten title.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Braden Smith scored all 16 of his points in the second half and tied the Big Ten record for assists in conference play, and No. 5 Purdue overcame a nine-point to beat Iowa 79-72 on Wednesday night. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 12 points, Fletcher Loyer had 11 and Oscar Cluff 10 to help the Boilermakers (16-1, 6-0 Big Ten) win their eighth straight game. They have won their first six conference games for only the fifth time since 1940. Smith finished the game with 478 assists in league games — the same number former Michigan State player Cassius Winston had. Bennett Stirtz had 19 points to lead Iowa (12-5, 2-4). Kael Combs added 16 points.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kiki Rice celebrated her 22nd birthday as third-ranked UCLA stayed unbeaten in Big Ten play with a decisive victory at Minnesota. The smooth-shooting senior guard had a career-high-tying 25 points to take advantage of opportunity created by attention on star teammate Lauren Betts in the post. The 5-foot-11 Rice added five assists, four rebounds and three steals while shooting 8 for 9 from the floor, 3 for 3 from 3-point range and 6 for 6 from the free-throw line. She is a sure-bet first-round pick in the WNBA draft on a connected and determined team.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) — Trent Perry scores a career-high 30 points as UCLA defeats Penn State 71-60 on Wednesday night. Perry makes four 3-pointers and hits all 12 of his free throws. Tyler Bilodeau adds 21 points and matches a season high with nine rebounds. UCLA ends the first half with a 12-2 run, leading 29-23 at the break. Penn State briefly takes the lead in the second half, but UCLA responds with a 20-6 run. Dominick Stewart leads Penn State with 16 points. UCLA now heads to Ohio State on Saturday, while Penn State visits Maryland on Sunday.
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Keaton Wagler shook off some pregame back spasms with a big second half for No. 13 Illinois at Northwestern. He finished with 22 points, five rebounds and three assists in the Illini's 79-68 victory. Wagler is averaging a team-high 16.1 points for the deep Illini, who have won six in a row to improve to 14-3 — matching the program’s best 17-game start since the 2012-13 season. He also leads the team with 36 3-pointers and 63 assists. Wagler says he thinks his second-half performance against the Wildcats will give him confidence for the rest of the season.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kiki Rice had 25 points on 8-for-9 shooting and Lauren Betts posted her third straight double-double, leading No. 3 UCLA past Minnesota 76-58. Betts staved off early foul trouble to finish with 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Bruins improved to 16-1 and stayed unbeaten in Big Ten play while pushing their winning streak to 10. Their only loss was to No. 4 Texas in Las Vegas. The Bruins shot 60% from the floor against the top defensive team in the nation. UCLA had by far the highest final score in a regulation game this season against Minnesota.
