No. 1 South Carolina holds off No. 5 UConn, stays undefeated
No. 2 Stanford, No. 11 North Carolina fall to unranked foes
HARTFORD, Conn. — Aliyah Boston scored 23 of her 26 points in the second half, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to help No. 1 South Carolina beat fifth-ranked UConn 81-77 on Sunday.
The Gamecocks (23-0) have won 29 consecutive games since losing to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament title game last year.
They’ve also won four of the past five meetings with the Huskies, including a victory in the NCAA championship game last season.
South Carolina used its size again to top the Huskies. The 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso and Boston, the reigning AP Player of the Year helped the Gamecocks have a 42-30 advantage on the boards, including grabbing 25 offensive rebounds.
Boston finished with 11 rebounds for the 76th double-double of her career.
Aaliyah Edwards led UConn (21-3) with 25 points.
WASHINGTON 72, NO. 2 STANFORD 67:
In Seattle, Elle Ladine scored 21 points and Dalayah Daniels made two key free throws with 8 seconds left, helping Washington knock off Stanford.
Washington (13-9, 5-7 Pac-12) closed the game with a 9-2 run. Lauren Schwartz made two foul shots before Ladine put the Huskies in front with a layup with 1:41 left.
Daniels had 15 points in Washington’s first victory over a ranked opponent this season. Haley Van Dyke scored 14.
Haley Jones scored 18 points for Stanford (22-3, 10-2), and reserve Brooke Demetre had 15. Cameron Brink finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
NO. 3 LSU 72, TEXAS A&M 66:
In College Station, Texas, Angel Reese had 26 points and 22 rebounds to help LSU outlast Texas A&M.
Alexis Morris added 22 points before fouling out late to help LSU (23-0, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) remain undefeated ahead of next week’s showdown with top-ranked and undefeated South Carolina. It was Reese’s 23rd consecutive double-double.
An 8-0 run by Texas A&M (6-15, 1-10) cut the lead to 66-62 with less than two minutes to go. Reese made two free throws before Kay Kay Green made 1 of 2 free throws on the other end to leave LSU up 68-63 with less than a minute left.
Last-Tear Poa added two free throws for the Tigers to push it to 70-63 seconds later. LSU forced a turnover and Reese added a basket to make it 72-63 with 17 seconds left to secure the victory.
Sahara Jones had 14 points for the Aggies, who lost their third straight.
NO. 16 DUKE 57, NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 52:
In South Bend, Ind., Celeste Taylor scored 14 points in Duke’s come-from-behind victory at Notre Dame.
Trailing for most of the game’s first 28 minutes, the Blue Devils (20-3, 8-2 ACC) took the lead for good in the final two minutes of the third.
Maddy Westbeld led Notre Dame (18-4, 9-2) with 15 points and Sonia Citron scored 14.
LOUISVILLE 62, NO. 11 NORTH CAROLINA 55:
In Louisville, Ky., Chrislyn Carr scored 11 of her 17 points in the third quarter and Louisville ended North Carolina’s eightgame winning streak.
Hailey Van Lith also had 17 points for the Cardinals (17-8, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who made 9 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter of a game that was mostly a defensive struggle.
Deja Kelly scored 13 points but was just 3-of-16 shooting for the Tar Heels (17-6, 8-4), Paulina Paris added 12 points and Anya Poole had 10.
Men NO. 3 HOUSTON 81, TEMPLE 65:
In Philadelphia, Jarace Walker scored 23 points, Marcus Sasser had 13 and No. 3 Houston earned retribution against Temple.
The Owls failed in their bid for a second upset after they toppled the Cougars from No. 1 in the AP men’s college basketball poll with a 56-55 win last month in Houston.
The Cougars (22-2, 10-1 American Athletic Conference) are now poised to regain the top spot in the AP poll after a dominant second half in Philly. No. 1 Purdue lost to Indiana and No. 2 Tennessee lost to Florida, leaving an opening for Houston to ascend to No. 1 on Monday.
Khalif Battle led Temple (14-10, 8-3) with 24 points.