| Ashley Kowak scored 10 of her 16 points in the Banana Slugs' big fourth quarter. UC Santa Cruz athletics file photo |
UC Santa Cruz stunned No. 2 Whitman and Redlands upset No. 13 Wartburg while No. 11 Transylvania picked another big win and the Dubuque men dumped No. 10 Roanoke on an unusually active Monday afternoon.
- Monday men's scoreboard
- Monday women's scoreboard
- Hoopsville: Holiday hoops
- More headlines: Men | Women
UC Santa Cruz erased a 12-point halftime deficit and the Banana Slugs zipped past No. 2 Whitman, 72-63, to improve to a program-best 8-1.
No. 2 Whitman took a 41-29 halftime lead and held a 13-point advantage midway through the third period when the Banana Slugs started to slide down the comeback trail. UC Santa Cruz had five steals in an 11-1 run at the end of that period and then scored the first 12 points of the fourth period to go in front. After Whitman's Taylor Chambers temporarily stopped the run with a three-pointer, Ashley Kowak immediately answered with a three for UC Santa Cruz. The Banana Slugs outscored the Blues 25-9 in the final period.
Kaylie McCracken posted 12 points and 17 boards for Whitman (10-1, 2-0 NWC). Kaylee Murphy led UC Santa Cruz with 20 points and 15 rebounds and Kowak scored 16 points, including the 1000th of her career. The Banana Slugs host No. 14 Tufts in their next game on December 29.
Redlands blitzed No. 10 Wartburg 29-6 in the first quarter and held on to beat the Knights, 72-65. Redlands shot 12 for 17 with four 3-pointers in its red-hot start. Wartburg rallied all the way back within one, 62-61, on Macy Harris' layup with 2:18 to play in the game. But the Bulldogs' Angelina Roque scored on the ensuing Redlands possession and the Bulldogs went 7 for 8 from the foul line in the final minute.
Roque scored 22 points for Redlands (6-2, 2-0 SCIAC) and the Bulldogs had four starters score double figures. Jaedon Murphy scored 27 points in 29 minutes for Wartburg (8-1, 2-1 A-R-C).
In a game that could loom large in future regional rankings, No. 10 Transylvania took down No. 3 John Carroll, 83-75. The Pioneers jumped out to a 23-5 lead in the first period and rode Madison Kellione's career-high 33 points to victory. Laken Bell posted 19 points and 13 rebounds for Transylvania (9-0). The Blue Streaks have lost two in a row after starting the season 7-0.
The other Top 25 women's teams in action won comfortably. After missing Sunday's loss to Messiah, Mya Shannon scored 14 points off the bench for No. 9 Depauw and the Tigers blasted LaGrange, 84-47. No. 4 UW-Whitewater, which could move up to second when the next Top 25 poll is released in the New Year, cruised past Centre, 94-38 in Daytona Beach. The Warhawks (10-0) outscored the Colonels 40-2 on points off turnovers.
On the men's side, Dubuque ended an uneven semester on a high note by knocking off No. 10 Roanoke, 75-67. Sam Kilburg hit three-pointers on four consecutive possessions to put Dubuque in front 55-38 five minutes into the second half. The Duhawks (7-5, 3-1 A-R-C) led by double-digits most of the way from there. Kilburg scored 23 points on 8 for 10 shooting with five 3-pointers for Dubuque.
No. 16 Trine snapped its three-game losing streak with a 65-56 win at home over UW-Stevens Point. Bryce Williams led the Thunder (6-4) with 16 points.
Two schools on opposite sides of Pennsylvania continued their strong starts. No. 24 DeSales kept its perfect record in tact with a 72-60 win at crosstown rival Muhlenberg. The Bulldogs (11-0) outscored Muhlenberg 48-28 in the paint. Farther west, Washington and Jeferson defeated Mount Aloysius 79-65 for its fourth consecutive win, giving the Presidents (8-2, 3-0 PAC) their best start in almost 30 years.