No. 2 UCLA women take second straight Big Ten title in 96-45 win over ninth-ranked Iowa

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Gianna Kneepkens scored 19 points and Kiki Rice added 15 points and eight assists Sunday as No. 2 UCLA rolled past No. 9 Iowa 96-45 to win its second straight Big Ten Tournament crown.

Rice was named the tourney’s Most Outstanding Player.

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It’s the first time the Bruins (31-1) have captured back-to-back postseason conference titles, and it’s also the first time they have won regular-season and league tournament titles in the same season. The Bruins also extended their school-record win streak to 25 games and their Big Ten win streak to 24, dating to last season’s tourney run.

And they did it with most the lopsided championship-game margin in tournament history, easily surpassing Iowa’s 33-point win over Ohio State in 2023. Five UCLA players scored in double figures, including Sienna Betts — the younger sister of star center Lauren Betts — who matched a season high with 14 points. Lauren Betts had 10 points in 24 minutes.

Ava Heiden scored 15 points for the Hawkeyes (26-6). Addie Deal added 11 points while all-conference forward Hannah Stuelke struggled as she played through a right elbow injury and an illness for the third straight day. Stuelke was scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting and had only three rebounds as Iowa’s eight-game winning streak was snapped.

NO. 1 UCONN 100, CREIGHTON 51

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Sarah Strong had 23 points, seven rebounds and six steals to lead UConn to a win over Creighton in the Big East semifinals 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…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/no-2-ucla-women-second-232244650.html

Author : The Associated Press

Publish date : 2026-03-08 23:22:00

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