Around the NCAAW Weekly: Tara VanDerveer makes history

Around the NCAAW Weekly highlights the notable events of the week. Check out the milestones, surprises and outstanding performances:

Milestones

Tara VanDerveer, coach of the Stanford Cardinal

On Jan. 10, VanDerveer became the first coach in NCAAW history to win 500 games in one conference. With another win on Jan. 12, she now has 501 regular-season wins in the Pac-12.

Baylor Lady Bears

Baylor snapped UConn’s 98-game home winning streak on Jan. 9. The Lady Bears moved from No. 6 to No. 2 in the rankings because of that win.

Kentucky Wildcats

Rhyne Howard’s 43 points on Jan. 9 is tied for the most points ever by a Kentucky player in one game. The other player was Jennifer O’Neill, who accomplished the feat in 2013. Howard is now the first Wildcat to ever put up 25 points in five-straight games. On Jan. 9, her team set a new program record with 16 made threes in a single game.

South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina’s 63 rebounds against Arkansas on Jan. 9 set a new record under Dawn Staley. Aliyah Boston had 19 points and a career-high 25 rebounds in the win. That’s the most rebounds in a game for a South Carolina freshman.

Surprises

North Carolina Tar Heels over NC State Wolfpack, 66-60 on Jan. 9

The Tar Heels are unranked at the moment, but they picked up a huge upset win over the Wolfpack to end NC State’s undefeated start for the second season in a row.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets over Florida State Seminoles, 67-52 on Jan. 9

The Yellow Jackets continue to avoid losses with their stellar defense. They may not be a good offensive team, but they seem to be able to hang with anyone because of their defense. Prior to last Thursday’s win in Tallahassee, 2012 was the last time Georgia Tech beat a Top 25 team on the road.

LSU Tigers over Texas A&M Aggies, 57-54 on Jan. 9

Aggies star Chennedy Carter was out for part of this game with an injury but it was still a solid win for an LSU team that has been inconsistent this year. LSU is coming off a loss to the 4-13 Missouri Tigers and now stand at 13-3.

Nelson-Ododa held scoreless

Olivia Nelson-Ododa of the UConn Huskies was held scoreless by the Baylor Lady Bears on Jan. 9. Also, UConn only scored six points in the fourth quarter and the Huskies were only 2-of-18 from the field in that frame. Nelson-Ododa had a 27-point effort not too long ago against the Oklahoma Sooners and she looked to be emerging as a star player. Thus, it was definitely odd that she put up a goose egg.

Miami Hurricanes blown out

Miami suffered its worst loss in 13 years, losing by 46 points to the Louisville Cardinals on Jan. 9.

A couple of Maryland Terrapin stars

Maryland lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Jan. 9 but had two individual bright spots. Kaila Charles, who is only 6-foot-1, hauled in a career-high 18 rebounds and Blair Watson walked away with nine steals. Watson is Maryland’s best defensive player, but nine steals is still something to write home about and marked a career high for the senior.

Other top performances

Kathleen Doyle: 31 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds and three steals for Iowa in a win over the Indiana Hoosiers on Jan. 12.

Chelsey Perry: 34 points, seven rebounds, three assists and six blocks for the UT Martin Skyhawks in a win over the Belmont Bruins on Jan. 11.

Chelsea Dungee: 38 points and seven rebounds for the Arkansas Razorbacks in a win over Missouri on Jan. 12.

NaLyssa Smith: 30 points (career high), 15 rebounds (career high) and two blocks for Baylor in a win over the Oklahoma State Cowgirls on Jan. 12.

Kaila Charles: In addition to her 18-rebound performance, Charles had 28 points, seven rebounds and four steals for Maryland in a win over the Ohio State Buckeyes on Jan. 6. In the win over Iowa on Jan. 9, she added 23 points and five steals.

Games of the week

Idaho Vandals over Montana State Bobcats, 69-68 (2OT) on Jan. 9

Natalie Klinker scored the last two points of the game at the free throw line with 46 seconds left in double overtime. Her free throws gave Idaho a one-point lead and Montana State missed two layups afterward before Klinker sealed the deal with a steal in the final seconds. A Gina Marxen 3-pointer with 24 seconds to go in the first overtime saved the Vandals, and a Beyonce Beal 3-pointer did the same toward the end of regulation. Beal led Idaho with 26 points and eight rebounds, while Madeline Smith scored 15 with seven boards in defeat.

Florida Atlantic Owls over North Texas Lady Eagles, 84-78 (2OT) on Jan. 11

The Owls pulled away with free throws by Abby Voss with 11 seconds to go in double overtime. In the first OT, Florida Atlantic was down by four points with 18 seconds to go. A Crystal Primm layup with 11 seconds remaining cut it to two. The Owls then forced a turnover and Lotta Vehka-Aho added the game-tying layup with two seconds to go. Primm missed a free throw with 12 seconds left in regulation that would have put the Owls up by one. She and Vehka-Aho scored 20 and 21 points, respectively, with Primm notching a double-double (10 rebounds).

The Eagles’ Randi Thompson led all scorers with 25 points. North Texas was up 23-15 after one, but lost each of the next three quarters.

Iowa Hawkeyes over Indiana Hoosiers, 91-85 (2OT) on Jan. 12

A Grace Berger layup with 1:15 to go in the second overtime brought the then-No. 12 Hoosiers within one. But Kathleen Doyle answered with a layup and two free throws over the next 46 seconds. Sophomore Monika Czinano and Doyle’s fellow senior Makenzie Meyer scored 23 and 17 points, respectively, and Meyer’s free throws with 20 seconds left made it a three-possession game to seal the upset.

Doyle missed a free throw with 2:50 left in the first overtime that would have given the Hawkeyes a one-point edge. Neither team scored in the final 2:50 minutes. Doyle was the hero in regulation, though, making a game-tying layup with four seconds left.

Indiana was ahead 22-15 after the opening frame but lost the third quarter by seven points. Iowa held some of Indiana’s best players (Brenna Wise, Ali Patberg and Mackenzie Holmes) to single-digit scoring. Jaelynn Penn was the Hoosiers’ top scorer with 24 points.

Best upcoming matchup

No. 3 Stanford (15-1, 4-0 Pac-12) at No. 6 Oregon (13-2, 3-1 Pac-12)

When: Thursday, Jan. 16, at 9 p.m. ET

Where: Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, OR

How to watch/listen: ESPN/Oregon Sports Network or TUNEIN