Women’s college basketball | Top 25 results | Thursday
No. 1 South Carolina 73, Tennessee 60
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Zia Cooke scored 19 points and Kierra Fletcher had 15 as No. 1 South Carolina spoiled Tennessee’s pack-the-paint strategy in a 73-60 victory Thursday night.
The Gamecocks (28-0, 15-0 Southeastern Conference) clinched at least a tie for the regular-season conference title.
The Lady Volunteers (20-10, 12-3) jammed the middle, trying to limit opportunities for star Aliyah Boston and daring the Gamecocks to beat them from the perimeter. Boston finished with 11 points.
Fletcher and Cooke combined to hit 5 of 8 3-pointers. The Gamecocks dominated the rebounding 48-34, with 20 of them on the offensive glass. Kamilla Cardoso had 15 boards and Brea Beal had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Rickea Jackson scored 21 points for Tennessee.
No. 3 Stanford 73, No. 21 Colorado 62, 2 OT
BOULDER, Colo. — Haley Jones scored 13 of her 23 points over the two overtime periods and Stanford held off Colorado.
Jones also had 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Cardinal (27-3, 15-2 Pac-12), who remain on top of the conference standings with one game left on their regular season schedule. Stanford was picked to win the Pac-12 in the preseason poll.
Lauren Betts, who grew up in Colorado, sent the game into double overtime by hitting one of two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining. She finished with 14 points.
Jones took over in overtime No. 2, helping the Cardinal pull away in a tight contest.
Jaylyn Sherrod led Colorado (21-7, 12-5) with 19 points, including the game-tying basket with 23.8 seconds remaining in regulation.
No. 5 LSU 82, Vanderbilt 63
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Angel Reese posted her 26th double-double of the season scoring 23 points and grabbing 18 rebounds as LSU beat Vanderbilt for the Tigers’ third straight win.
LSU (25-1, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) won its seventh straight against Vanderbilt sweeping the season series with this victory tying up the all-time series at 26 apiece. The Tigers improved to just 5-15 all-time at Memorial Gym.
Reese moved a double-double away from matching Sylvia Fowles’ single-season school record of 27 set in 2006-07, and the sophomore forward had her doubledouble with 10 points and 10 rebounds by halftime.
Ciaja Harbison scored 21 points to lead Vanderbilt (12-17, 3-11).
No. 8 Utah 101, California 76
SALT LAKE CITY — Alissa Pili scored 26 points and Jenna Johnson added 21 to help Utah beat California.
Returning from a sprained ankle that kept her out last game, Pili dominated her 26 minutes on the court and the Utes built enough of a lead to allow her to get some extra rest.
The Utes (24-3, 14-3 Pac-12) went 5-for-7 from behind the 3-point line and ran at every opportunity in the second half to break open a tight game and cruise to a wire-to-wire victory and keep them undefeated at home.
Jayda Curry paced the Bears (13-15, 4-13) with 28 points.
No. 9 Virginia Tech 61, No. 22 N. Carolina 59
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Elizabeth Kitley capped a night when she set Virginia Tech’s career scoring record by hitting a jumper at the buzzer to lift the Hokies past North Carolina.
The 6-foot-6 senior finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a game played in her home state, the last coming with the Hokies (23-4, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) locked in a tie game with 2.1 seconds left.
Cayla King inbounded to Kitley on the right side, who had space to calmly launch a jumper while UNC’s Anya Poole tried to close on her late. The shot dropped through the net, sending her skipping to midcourt to celebrate with her teammates in fast pursuit to mob her.
Deja Kelly scored 18 points to lead the Tar Heels (19-9, 10-7),
No. 10 Notre Dame 76, Georgia Tech 53
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Olivia Miles scored 13 points and Klee Watson added 12 points and 10 rebounds to help Notre Dame rout Georgia Tech.
Sonia Citron also had 12 points for the Irish (23-4, 14-3 ACC), who improved to 17-1 all-time against the Yellow Jackets. Maddy Westbeld scored 11 points, while KK Bransford had 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting off the bench for Notre Dame, which closed out its regular-season home slate with a 13-2 record.
Georgia Tech (13-15, 4-13 ACC) has lost five of its last six contests. Guard Cameron Swartz led the Yellow Jackets with 10 points.
No. 11 Duke 77, NC State 62
DURHAM, N.C. — Celeste Taylor scored 21 points, Elizabeth Balogun had a double-double and Duke pulled away from North Carolina State for a win to remain tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference with one game to go.
Balogun had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils (24-4, 14-3), who have won 6 of 7 heading into Sunday’s finale at home against No. 22 North Carolina. Taylor had six rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
Jada Boyd scored 19 points for the Wolfpack (18-10, 8-9
No. 12 Michigan 71, Rutgers 53
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Emily Kiser scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead shorthanded Michigan to a win over Rutgers.
On senior night Kiser, a graduate student, was 14-of17 shooting, draining both of her 3-pointers as well as all four free throws. That helped offset the absence of leading scorers Leigha Brown (18.2) and Laila Phelia (17.0).
Maddie Nolan scored 15 points with three 3-pointers, seven assists and three steals for the Wolverines (21-7, 11-6 Big Ten), who had lost two straight to ranked teams but clinched the fifth-seed in the league tournament.
Kaylene Smikle scored 14 points to lead Rutgers (1118, 5-12) and Kai Carter added 13.
Oregon 73, No. 14 Arizona 59
EUGENE, Ore. — Te-Hina Paopao scored 21 points, Endyia Rogers added 18 and Oregon ended the game with a 16-3 run and upset Arizona to end a seven-game losing streak.
The Ducks led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter before Arizona answered with a 11-2 run to pull to 57-56 with 7:58 remaining in the game. But Rogers scored the next four points, Paopao added 10 that included consecutive 3-pointers and the Ducks pulled away.
Cate Reese scored 19 points for Arizona (21-7, 11-6). Madison Conner added 10 points and Paris Clark had nine points and 10 rebounds.
No. 18 Gonzaga 73, San Diego 61
SAN DIEGO — Brynna Maxwell and Kaylynne Truong led a balanced attack with 14 points each and Gonzaga pulled away from San Diego in the fourth quarter for a win to clinch a share of the West Coast Conference title.
Yvonne Ejim added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (26-3, 16-1) and Eliza Hollingsworth scored 10.
Gonzaga is a game ahead of Portland, which had its game at BYU postponed because of travel cancellations due to snow in Portland.
Myah Pace scored 16 points for the Toreros (16-12, 10-7),
No. 23 Florida State 61, Wake Forest 60
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Valencia Myers scored 18 points, Ta’Niya Latson added 15 and Florida State beat Wake Forest.
Wake Forest guard Jewel Spear was fouled on a 3-pointer with 1:43 left in the fourth quarter and she made 2 of 3 free throws to get within 59-56. Spear was fouled going for an offensive rebound with 32.1 left and made two more free throws to cut the deficit to 61-60.
Latson dribbled down the clock before driving into the lane for a runner but it went hard off the glass and Wake Forest secured the rebound with 2.6 left. After a timeout Kaia Harrison inbounded the ball and got it back for an open 3-pointer but it hit the front of the rim as time expired.
Makayla Timpson had eight points and six rebounds before fouling out with 5:54 left in the fourth quarter for Florida State (23-7, 12-5 ACC), which closes its regular season on Sunday at Clemson.
Elise Williams had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Wake Forest (14-14, 5-12).
No. 24 UNLV 86, Utah State 32
LAS VEGAS — DesiRae Young scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Alyssa Durazo-Frescas had 17 points and six boards to lead UNLV to a rout of Utah State.
The Rebels jumped to a 23-2 lead after one quarter and held a 48-9 advantage at intermission. Christina Oliva’s jumper to start the third quarter finally got the Aggies (5-23, 1-15) into double-figure scoring, down 48-11.
Winners of 17 straight, UNLV (26-2, 16-0) already wrapped up the Mountain West regular season title with a five-game lead over its nearest rivals, Wyoming, San Diego State and Colorado State. The Rebels broke into the Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll last week for the first time since 1994.