No. 1 South Carolina women top No. 2 UConn
Wyoming, CSU men win; Nevada beaten
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Dawn Staley’s top-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks turned up their defense in the fourth quarter to turn away UConn.
Aliyah Boston had 22 points and 15 rebounds and the Gamecocks held the No. 2 Huskies to three points in the final 10 minutes of a 73-57 victory in the championship game of the inaugural Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
“Our players are determined. They are resilient,” said Staley, South Carolina’s Hall of Fame coach. “We knew exactly what we had to do especially on the defensive side of the ball. We had to disrupt. UConn’s a team that’s a well-oiled machine. If you allow them to run their stuff, they’ve made teams look stupid. We had the personnel to disrupt and force them into contested shots.”
This was the 61st meeting between the top two teams in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll. The No. 1 team holds a 38-23 advantage. The last meeting of the top two teams was between these same squads back in February. UConn was the No. 2 team and won 63-59 in overtime.
The Gamecocks (6-0) wouldn’t let the Huskies (3-1) beat them in the Bahamas, outscoring them 16-3 in the final quarter.
“Our defense did a superb job for 40 minutes,” Staley said. “You didn’t see the impact in the first half. It’s in the third and fourth quarters when you start feeling what our defense does to teams.”
Paige Bueckers, UConn’s sophomore sensation, had 19 points to lead the Huskies, who had won nine of the 10 previous meetings between the schools.
With the championship game taking place around the same time the poll is released each Monday, the AP decided to delay the poll for a day so it would reflect the outcome – the second time since the poll began in 1976 that it has been delayed.
NO. 23 SOUTH FLORIDA 71, NO. 9 OREGON 62: In Paradise Island, Bahamas, Elisa Pinzan had a career-high 26 points to go with 10 assists while the Bulls scored 28 points off turnovers to beat the Ducks in the third-place game at the inaugural women’s tournament at the Atlantis resort.
Sydney Parrish and former UNM Lobo Ahlise Hurst each scored 15 points for Oregon.
Men Top 25
NO. 2 UCLA 75, BELLARMINE 62: In Las Vegas, Nev., Peyton Watson had 19 points, Johnny Juzang added 13 and the Bruins won in in the Empire Classic. UCLA (5-0) will face No. 1 Gonzaga in a rematch of last season’s Final Four on Tuesday night.
NO. 5 DUKE 107, THE CITADEL 81: In Durham, N.C., Duke beat The Citadel after Bulldogs coach Duggar Baucom collapsed on the court early in the first half.
Baucom fell along the sideline barely a minute into the game and was taken to Duke University Hospital. The 61-year-old Baucom was conscious as he was helped out of the gym.
Freshman forward Paolo Banchero scored a career-high 28 points and Wendell Moore Jr. had 22 for Duke (6-0). It was the Blue Devils’ last tuneup before Friday night’s clash with Gonzaga.
CINCINNATI 71, NO. 14 ILLINOIS 51: In Kansas City, Mo., Mike Saunders Jr. scored 20 points, Jeremiah Davenport added 19 and Cincinnati overcame an early 15-point deficit to blow out Illinois in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Classic.
Mountain West
WYOMING 68, GRAND CANYON 61: In Phoenix, Hunter Maldonado had 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as Wyoming beat Grand Canyon. Graham Ike had 13 points for Wyoming (4-0). Jeremiah Oden added 12 points.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 102, NEVADA 75: In Sioux Falls, S.D., Douglas Wilson scored 24 points as South Dakota State romped past the Wolf Pack.
The Jackrabbits (5-1) picked up their fourth straight win. Warren Washington had 20 points for the Nevada (1-4), which has lost four games in a row.
COLORADO STATE 71, NORTHEASTERN 61: In St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, David Roddy had 27 points, 19 in the second half, as the Rams rallied to win in the championship game of the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
The Rams trailed 44-24 just over three minutes into the second half; a 38-6 run got them from 20 down to 12 up in less than 14 minutes.
Roddy shot 10 for 13 from the floor and added seven rebounds to be named tournament MVP.