SAN ANTONIO — Freshman Lexy Kresl hit a 3-point basket at the buzzer Wednesday, giving the University of Colorado women’s team a 52-49 win over Creighton in the final game of the UTSA Holiday Classic.
The win gives Colorado its second-ever perfect preseason record at 11-0. Only the 1992-93 team, which started 15-0, went into conference play unbeaten.
Kresl finished with 15 points, and Jen Reese had a personal-best 15 points along with a team-high eight rebounds. Kresl also matched a personal best with six rebounds. Chucky Jeffery had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Top 25 men
No. 5 North Carolina 82, Texas 63
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. Harrison Barnes scored a season-high 26 points and John Henson added 14 for the Tar Heels (11-2), who won their fifth straight game and avenged last season’s last-second loss to the Longhorns.
North Carolina went on a 13-1 run to build a double-digit lead midway through the first half and never looked back, turning a 39-23 halftime lead into a 24-point margin late in the game.
Barnes was coming off consecutive nine-point performances, but the sophomore looked far more active and assertive against the Longhorns by attacking the rim or posting up on shorter defenders. He made 9-of-15 shots and finished with 10 rebounds, part of UNC’s 49-34 advantage on the glass.
J’Covan Brown was one of three players with 16 points for Texas (9-3), which shot just 35 percent and never recovered from a slow start.
No. 22 Murray State 78,Tennessee-Martin 54
MURRAY, Ky. Donte Poole scored 15 points and No. 22 Murray State remained unbeaten with a 78-54 victory over Tennessee-Martin in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams.
Ivan Aska added 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists to help the Racers (13-0, 1-0) to their best start in 75 years. The only better start was 16-0 in 1935-36.
Top 25 women
No. 1 Baylor 90, McNeese State 50
WACO, Texas Brittney Griner had 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in just 24 minutes of Baylor’s rout. Freshman Sune Agbuke also had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds for Baylor (12-0), which had six players score in double figures.
Caitlyn Baggett scored 18 for McNeese (9-3), which was picked to repeat as Southland Conference champion in a preseason media poll.
No. 2 Connecticut 72, College of Charleston 24
CHARLESTON, S.C. Bria Hartley scored 15 points and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 13 as the Huskies (10-1) bounced back from a rare regular-season loss.
No. 17 Georgetown 71, No. 7 Miami 46
WASHINGTON Sugar Rodgers scored 24 points and the Hoyas limited the nation’s highest-scoring team to 21 percent shooting and its fewest points this season.
Georgetown (10-2) stifled the Hurricanes (9-2) from the start, going ahead 34-21 at halftime while holding Miami to just one field goal in the last six minutes.
No. 8 Kentucky 90, Samford 61
LEXINGTON, Ky. Samantha Drake scored 18 points and the Wildcats (11-1) rebounded from their first loss of the season with their 31st straight nonconference home victory.
No. 24 Nebraska 80, S. Dakota St. 71
LINCOLN, Neb. Jordan Hooper had her second straight double-double with 30 points and 11 rebounds, and Lindsey Moore scored 27 points in the Cornhuskers’ final nonconference game.
No. 15 Texas Tech 75, Western Kentucky 38
LUBBOCK, Texas Casey Morris scored 11 points to lead the Lady Raiders (10-0), who are off to their best start since beginning the 2003-04 season 15-0.
Area women
Indiana 49, Colorado State 47
The Rams jumped to an early 14-0 lead but couldn’t hold on as they were outscored 21-14 in the second half in the second round of the Triple Crown Caribbean Classic.
Colorado State shot just 20.0 percent in the second half, scoring only 14 points, and finished the tournament 0-2. Meghan Heimstra led the Rams with 15 points.
Pacific 95, Air Force 59
Megan O’Neil led the Falcons (4-8) with 13 points, but Air Force was outmatched as it fell to the Tigers (6-5).
Pacific used hot shooting in the first half, knocking down over 61 percent of its shots, to take a 50-33 halftime lead. Air Force shot 16.7 percent from the field in the second half, scoring just four field goals. Air Force was also outrebounded 46-33 for the game and committed 23 turnovers, compared with 16 for the Tigers. Six different players scored in double figures for Pacific.
Denver Post staff & wire services
