Ashley Berggren didn’t know if she could play much with a sore hand. DePaul wished she hadn’t.
Berggren scored a season-high 34 points off the bench Saturday night in leading No. 13 Illinois to a 101-86 victory over DePaul in Champaign.
“It was a surprise to me,” Berggren said. “I hurt my hand yesterday and I didn’t know if I’d even be able to play much.”
She said she didn’t mind Illini coach’s Theresa Grentz’s decision not to start her.
“It doesn’t matter if I come off the bench or start,” Berggren said. “Coach made the decision early on to take the pressure off certain people. Coach knows what she is doing.”
Berggren had 23 points in the first half as Illinois (5-4) took a 48-42 halftime edge.
The Illini built the margin to 15 with 11 minutes 35 seconds left on Katie Coleman’s three-pointer to make it 74-59. The Blue Demons (4-4) didn’t get closer than 10 points the rest of the way, allowing the Illini to snap a three-game losing streak.
Coleman added 25 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
Mfon Udoka’s 31 points and 11 rebounds paced DePaul.
DePaul coach Doug Bruno said turnovers doomed his squad.
“Our team played hard but we just didn’t take care of the ball in crucial situations,” Bruno said.
Purdue 68, Arizona 54: Purdue’s unranked women are making a habit of defeating Top 10 teams.
No. 7 Arizona went scoreless for more than 4 minutes late in the game and Purdue pulled away to win in Indianapolis. Purdue (7-3) has now defeated three teams that were ranked in the Top 10 at the time of the game.
Mackenzie Curless led Purdue with 15 points and nine rebounds. Stephanie White added 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Three other Boilermakers finished in double figures.
The Boilermakers, who earlier beat No. 4 Stanford and No. 10 Florida, outscored Arizona 16-3 in the final 5:33 as the Wildcats (5-1) got their only points on a three-pointer by Monika Crank.
Louisiana Tech 76, SMU 74: Amanda Wilson scored 19 of her 23 points in the second half, helping No. 4 Louisiana Tech overcome a 16-point deficit in Dallas. Louisiana Tech (7-2) took just its second lead with 4:13 left in the game as Wilson scored seven points in a 9-0 run that produced a 72-68 lead.
N. Carolina 88, W. Kentucky 67: Tracy Reid scored 30 points and added 13 rebounds as No. 5 North Carolina (9-1) overcame a sluggish first half in the Holiday Beach Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. North Carolina opened the second half with an 8-0 run to go up 45-31 on No. 18 Western Kentucky (9-3).
Texas Tech 65, New Mexico 62: Alicia Thompson’s short jumper with 14.3 seconds left and Katrisa O’Neal’s steal and layup allowed No. 6 Texas Tech (6-1) to hold off host New Mexico (9-2).
Husky Classic: Jamie Redd scored 13 of her 25 points during a 29-4 run late in the first half as No. 14 Washington (7-0) coasted to a 93-54 victory over Loyola Marymount in first-round play in Seattle. Redd hit three of her five three-pointers during Washington’s decisive run.
The Huskies will face No. 20 North Carolina State, a 87-63 winner over Santa Clara, in Sunday’s championship game. Nailah Wallace scored 22 points and Summer Erb 20 as the Wolfpack started the season 10-0 for the first time since the 1990-91 season. Chasity Melvin scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for N.C. State.
Nebraska 92, Wyoming 41: Nicole Kubik had 12 points, five assists and three steals–all in the first half–as No. 16 Nebraska (10-3) used a dominant press to roll past visiting Wyoming.
UCLA 93, Duke 83: In Durham, N.C., Maylana Martin scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as UCLA beat No. 17 Duke (6-3). Melanie Pearson had 22 points for UCLA (3-4), which forced Duke into 27 turnovers.
Auburn 65, N.C.-Wilmington 46: Sophomore center Conswella Sparrow scored 25 points and No. 23 Auburn (7-1) won at the Wells Fargo Classic in Tempe, Ariz.
