ICYMI: Baylor and South Florida put up a lot of points
NEW YORK (AP) Baylor and South Florida put up points at record paces this week.
The Lady Bears beat Winthrop 140-32 on Thursday in the biggest rout in Division I history. The 108-point margin of victory surpassed the 102 set by Grambling when it beat Jarvis Christian College 139-37 in 1986.
''We could have beaten a lot of teams today,'' Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. ''We were just clicking on all cylinders. As I tell them during the game, I'm not looking at the score. I am looking at your defense, I am looking at turnovers, I am looking at your execution of things. I was made aware after the game of all the records. You're happy for players who break records, and when you get a chance for them to stay in another minute to get another basket, you do it because it's not always going to be that way.''
That rout came only a day after South Florida scored 129 points in a victory over St. Francis. The 129 points were the most scored this season. That lasted for less than a day. Jose Fernandez's squad had seven players in double figures in the 129-80 victory and made 48 field goals. They shot 66 percent from the field.
Other things that happened this week:
POLL MUSINGS: With most teams on break for exams, it was a relatively light week. No. 6 South Carolina won the only matchup between ranked teams, beating ninth-ranked UCLA 66-57. No. 10 Stanford lost at Tennessee.
SHORTHANDED UMASS: UMass coach Tory Verdi has his team at .500 after 12 games this season. An impressive feat for the first-year coach, who has had only six healthy players for much of the season because of injuries and transfers. Despite having to play his small squad big minutes, the Minutewomen (6-6) are finding ways to win. The latest victory Sunday saw the team rally from a 23-point deficit against Holy Cross.
''It was something I've never experienced before,'' Verdi said of the small roster. ''I had to take a step back, customize our practices. I had to be creative. We just had to focus on little things.''
Verdi took over the program after spending the last four seasons at Eastern Michigan. UMass has seven scholarship players, with only six that are healthy enough to play right now.
Freshman Hailey Leidel is the nation's second-leading rookie scorer behind UNC Greensboro's Nadine Soliman. Verdi also has to rely on junior Maggie Mulligan, who is near the top in the country in double-doubles.
''Our best basketball is ahead of us,'' Verdi said. ''It's the cards we're dealt with and has put us in a position later on the season to be more successful. Our freshmen had to step up and step on the floor right away and play big minutes for us. We've been through the ringer if you will as of right now.''
ROAR LIONS ROAR: Columbia finished off the first part of its season 8-2, the first time the Lions have won eight of their first 10 games in program history. Columbia has a six-game winning streak for the first time since 1986-87 - the school's inaugural Division I season.
''As an alum, I'm very happy and very proud of all that we have accomplished so far,'' said first-year head coach Megan Griffith, who played for the Lions in the mid 2000s. ''However, there is still a lot of basketball to be played and we have a lot of things to work on.''
Columbia is led by junior Camille Zimmerman, who became the 11th player in school history to score 1,000 points when she reached that milestone in a win over LIU last Monday. The Lions are on break now for exams and the holidays.
HOLDING THE FORT: Colorado State won its program-record 22nd consecutive game at home on Sunday night, beating Seattle 66-62 to best the mark set in 1998-99. The Rams current streak is the fourth-longest in the country, and they've won 37 of their last 38 games at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado.
---
Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg
