WOMEN'S TOP 25 ROUNDUP: UCONN GRABS VICTORY NO. 600.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

Diana Taurasi had 15 of her 22 points in the second half to lead top-ranked Connecticut to its 600th victory, 81-55 over visiting Arizona State on Thursday night.

UConn (7-0) reached the latest milestone just 103 games since recording its 500th win.

The Sun Devils were able to knock Taurasi and her teammates off a lot of their cuts in the first half, but by the second half she had had enough.

``Every time you get held and every ime you cut you get hit, you just can't keep taking and taking that,'' Taurasi said. ``You've got to dish a little back. I will.''

She responded by scoring 10 consecutive points and making key steals in a 16-0 run to bust open a 34-all tie.

Ann Strother's 3-pointer with 8:58 left capped the spurt, giving UConn a comfortable 66-45 lead and Arizona State (5-3) never recovered.

``I think people think if they hit us and bump us off our cuts, we'll stop moving,'' she said. ``In the first half we stopped moving, we stopped setting screens.''

The Huskies turned the ball over 10 times in the first half under the Arizona State pressure.

``I think we were in a hurry to get a shot instead of being patient and let the shot develop,'' UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.

UConn ran its home winning streak to 68, one shy of the NCAA mark held by Tennessee.

Taurasi also led UConn with seven assists and three steals. Jessica Moore finished with 15 points. She and Ashley Battle pulled down seven rebounds apiece for UConn, which outscored the Sun Devils 44-12 in the paint. Strother finished with 12 points.

--No. 7 Stanford 72, Rice 62: Nicolle Powell scored all 16 of her points in the second half and had 13 rebounds to help the Cardinal (7-1) win in Houston.

After trailing by as many as 10 early in the second half, Stanford outscored Rice 15-5 to take its first lead since early in the game, 51-49 with 8:34 left. Powell had six of the 15 points.

The Cardinal didn't trail again, increasing their lead behind the shooting and rebounding of Powell.

--George Washington 72, No. 21 Oregon 52: Cathy Joens had 19 points and eight rebounds and George Washington beat its second consecutive ranked opponent, routing the visiting Ducks.

Joens, who scored 18 points Dec. 10 in George Washington's 76-75 overtime victory over then-No. 23 Boston College, opened the second half with a layup to start a 12-0 run for the Colonials (5-2).

Carolyn Ganes led the Ducks (8-2) with 13 points, but couldn't help Oregon dig out of a double-digit deficit for the second straight half.

Oregon, playing its fourth game in a row without standout forward Cathrine Kraayeveld, scored just one point in the first six minutes of the second half.

Ugo Oha added 15 points and had nine rebounds for the Colonials.

--No. 18 Ohio State 88, Wright State 45: Jessica Davenport scored 25 points, including 14 in a row during a second-half run, in the Buckeyes' home win.

OSU (5-1) opened the second half with a 25-8 run, capped by six consecutive jumpers by Davenport. Davenport made 11 of 13 shots from the field and played just 17 minutes.

Ohio State shot 72 percent from the field, and Wright State shot 34 percent. The Buckeyes made 20 of 24 shots (83 percent) in the second half.

Stephanie Blanton scored 12 points and LaToya Turner added 10 points for the Buckeyes. Jeanette Woodberry led Wright State (2-7) with 13 points, and Iesha Gray added 10.

--No. 16 LSU 76, Richmond 53: Temeka Johnson had 21 points and 12 assists as the Tigers won the womenscollegehoops.com Classic on their home court.

Johnson, selected the tournament MVP, was 8-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line for the Tigers (7-2).

Doneeka Hodges added 18 points and Scholanda Hoston had 14 points for LSU, which used a 13-0 in the second half to pull away.

--Notes: USC senior guard Jessica Cheeks will return to the team for Saturday's game against Colorado after serving a one-year suspension imposed by USC coach Chris Gobrecht. Last season, Cheeks averaged 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.0 steals. ...

Penn State coach Rene Portland expects to direct the 7-1 Nittany Lions on Sunday for their game against Louisiana Tech despite breaking her leg Thursday slipping on ice outside the school's arena.

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Photo:

UConn's Diana Taurasi goes uncontested for a second-half layup during a 26-point win over Arizona State on Thursday.

Bob Child/Associated Press