Duke Runs Past Virginia, 63-52

Alana Beard overcame a poor shooting night by scoring eight consecutive points during a 12-4 run in the second half and No. 1 Duke recorded its 48th consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference victory, beating Virginia, 63-52, Sunday at Charlottesville, Va.

Beard made only three of her first 15 shots, but she made three in a row and added two free throws as the Blue Devils (14-1, 5-0 ACC) took a 53-45 lead with 3:38 left.

The Cavaliers (8-8, 2-3) came up short against Duke for the second consecutive time at University Hall. Last season, Beard scored 41 points and her free throws with eight-tenths of a second left gave the Blue Devils a 60-59 victory.

No. 5 Tennessee 72, Alabama 51 -- The Lady Vols (14-1, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) beat the Crimson Tide (10-6, 2-1) for the 27th time in a row. It was the 49th consecutive SEC home-game win for Tennessee.

No. 9 Purdue 65, No. 6 Minnesota 56 -- The Golden Gophers (15-1, 4-1 Big Ten) entered the game as the only undefeated women’s NCAA Division I team, but they couldn’t stop the Boilermakers (14-2, 4-1) at West Lafayette, Ind.

No. 8 Penn State 79, Illinois 64 -- Kelly Mazzante scored 24 points to lead the Nittany Lions (13-3, 6-0 Big Ten) past the Illini (7-10, 1-5) at State College, Pa. In so doing, she set the Big Ten women’s scoring record, breaking the mark of 2,578 points, set by Ohio State’s Katie Smith in 1996. Mazzante has 2,594 points.

Florida 83, No. 11 Georgia 73 -- Tashia Morehead had career highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds to help the Gators (12-5, 2-2 SEC) end the nation’s second-longest home winning streak at 22 games. The Bulldogs (13-4, 2-2) lost at home for the first time since Feb. 10, 2002.

No. 12 Louisiana Tech 67, Hawaii 50 -- The Lady Techsters (12-2, 5-1 WAC) had an easy time getting past the Rainbow Wahine (4-10, 2-3) late Saturday night in Honolulu.

No. 14 Louisiana State 70, Kentucky 69 -- Doneeka Hodges made a jump shot with 23 seconds left at Lexington, Ky., enabling the Tigers (15-2, 3-0 SEC) to extend their winning streak to 14 games with the win over the Wildcats (8-8, 0-3).

No. 15 Colorado 71, Missouri 54 -- Tera Bjorklund overcame a hyperextended right knee and scored 21 points to help the Buffaloes (14-2, 3-1 Big 12) beat the Tigers (9-6, 0-4) at Boulder, Colo. Bjorklund sat out eight minutes in the first half after injuring her knee.

No. 17 DePaul 84, South Florida 74 -- The Blue Demons (16-1, 4-0 Conference USA) extended their winning streak to eight games by beating the Bulls (7-10, 0-4) at Tampa, Fla.

Houston 61, No. 18 Texas Christian 59 -- Chandi Jones banked in a jump shot with 29 seconds left, lifting the Cougars (14-2, 3-0 Conference USA) past the Horned Frogs (13-3, 2-1) at Fort Worth.

Vanderbilt 67, No. 20 Auburn 63 -- The Commodores (14-2, 2-1 SEC) used a 16-1 run with eight minutes left to pull away from the Tigers (13-4, 1-2) at Nashville.

No. 25 Michigan State 67, Michigan 33 -- The Spartans (13-3, 3-2 Big Ten) held the Wolverines (9-9, 2-3) without a field goal for the first 13:25 of the second half at East Lansing, Mich.

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Virginia (11-4, 1-3 ACC) beat Florida State, 76-67, in overtime at Charlottesville, Va. It was the 18th consecutive ACC road loss for the Seminoles (12-5, 1-3).... Memphis Coach John Calipari got a three-year contract extension through 2010. Terms were not disclosed.