HARTFORD, Conn. — Renee Montgomery was asked to take on more of Connecticut's scoring burden after the top-ranked Huskies lost a second starter to a season-ending knee injury this week.

Montgomery moved from point guard to shooting guard yesterday and responded by scoring a career-high 27 points as the Huskies routed Cincinnati 86-49 to remain undefeated.

"I know what she wants, and I think a part of her has always wanted this," coach Geno Auriemma said. "A part of her has always wanted to be counted on to do what she did today."

Montgomery hit 7 of 11 from 3-point range, and was 10 of 17 from the floor. The junior finished three points shy of 1,000 for her career.

Maya Moore had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Kaili McLaren had 10 points and 10 rebounds for UConn (17-0, 5-0 Big East).

Kahla Roudebush had 16 points to lead Cincinnati (10-7, 1-4), which took 28 shots from behind the arc, hitting just eight. Jill Stephens added 15 points and seven rebounds.

"We realize that the only chance we have is to make 3s," Bearcats coach J. Kelley Hall said. "It worked early, we hung around for a little while, and then we went cold."

UConn, which has won 30 straight regular-season games, hosts No. 3 North Carolina tomorrow night.

NO. 8 CALIFORNIA 66, ARIZONA 45: Alexis Gray-Lawson scored 19 points and made five of her team's season-high 10 3-pointers to help the Golden Bears (17-2, 8-0 Pac-10) beat the Wildcats (6-12, 0-7) at Tucson, Ariz., for their ninth consecutive victory.

Temple 68, No. 13 George Washington 66: Shanea Cotton's put back off her own miss with 23 seconds left capped a 15-5 game-ending run to lift the host Owls (9-10, 2-1 Atlantic 10 Conference) over the Colonials (14-4, 2-1) at Philadelphia.

No. 14 West Virginia 68, St. John's 44: Olayinka Sanni had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and the visiting Mountaineers (14-3, 4-1 Big East) used a 24-6 game-ending run to break from a 44-38 lead in beating the Red Storm (10-7, 1-3) in New York.