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Riley Makalusky, Kierra Wheeler set the pace and No. 19 West Virginia women rout UCF 106-56

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Riley Makalusky scored 20 points in 20 minutes off the bench, Kierra Wheeler scored 18 points, and No. 19 West Virginia blew out UCF 106-56 on Wednesday night for the Mountaineers’ fourth straight win.

Makalusky, a junior forward, had her highest scoring game since she was a freshman playing for Butler. She made 7 of 10 shots overall, 3 of 4 3-pointers and went 3 for 3 at the free-throw line.

Sydney Woodley scored 16 points off the bench, Jordan Harrison and Gia Cooke 12 each and Sydney Shaw 10. Wheeler and Shaw grabbed nine rebounds each. Harrison, who had at least 14 points and five steals in her past four games, had four steals and eight assists.

West Virginia had a 41-0 advantage in points after turnovers. The Mountaineers had only seven turnovers to 23 for UCF.

West Virginia (21-5, 11-3 Big 12) led 13-4 after 5 1/2 minutes of play, then extended the lead to 24-6 thanks to an 11-0 run. The Mountaineers led 24-8 after one quarter and the lead reached 25 points after back-to-back 3-pointers by Makalusky, who scored 12 points in the first half. West Virginia led 45-22 at halftime.

The Mountaineers shot 68% (13 for 19) in the third quarter and scored 31 points for their biggest scoring quarter of the game. They led 76-38 heading to the fourth quarter and scored another 30 points.

Mahogany Chandler-Roberts scored 12 points to lead the Knights (10-14, 2-11).

Central Florida has lost six in a row.

Up next

West Virginia: The Mountaineers hit the road to face No. 17 TCU on Sunday.

UCF: The Knights return home to play No. 12 Baylor on Sunday. ___

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Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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