Kentucky upsets Mississippi State
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Makayla Epps scored the goahead basket with 8.7 seconds remaining in overtime and Evelyn Akhator had eight points in the extra session to give No. 22 Kentucky a 78- 75 upset victory over No. 3 Mississippi State on Thursday night.
After Akhator’s layup with 55 seconds left tied it 75, Epps grabbed Makenzie Cann’s missed three- pointer and moved in for the soft tip- in to put Kentucky ahead to stay in a tense game featuring nine ties and 15 lead changes — with most coming after halftime. Maci Morris’s free throw with 1.8 seconds left sealed the victory and the Wildcats’ eighth consecutive 20- win season.
Akhator scored 22 points in the fourth quarter and OT to finish with 27 points. She also had 16 rebounds in her home finale. Epps had 22 points to help Kentucky ( 208, 11- 4 SEC) deny the Bulldogs’ quest to clinch a share of their first SEC title.
Victoria Vivians had 27 points, and Morgan William added 20 for Mississippi State ( 27- 2, 13- 2). It had won seven consecutive.
In other games involving Top 25 women’s teams Thursday, Lindsay Allen had 18 points and eight assists and No. 5 Notre Dame overpowered Boston College 82- 45. Erin Boley added 14 points for Notre Dame ( 26- 3, 14- 1 Atlantic Coast). Mariella Fasoula scored 14 points for Boston College ( 9- 19, 2- 13). … A’ja Wilson had 21 points and 15 rebounds and No. 7 South Carolina ( 23- 4, 13- 2) beat
Texas A& M 80- 64 to remain in SEC title contention. Scoring leader Danni Williams was held to 12 points on 4- of- 14 shooting for the Aggies ( 19- 9, 9- 6). … Brittany Brown and Chatrice White each scored 13 points and No. 8 Florida State rolled to a 79- 48 victory over Pittsburgh. Leticia Romero and Imani Wright added 12 apiece for the Seminoles ( 25- 4, 13- 2 Atlantic Coast). Brenna Wise scored 23 points for the Panthers ( 13- 15, 4- 11). … Asia Durr scored 24 points, Myisha Hines- Allen added 21 and No. 14 Louisville ( 24- 6, 11- 4 Atlantic Coast) defeated Virginia 66- 55 for its fourth consecutive victory. Breyana Mason scored 19 points for Virginia ( 18- 10, 7- 8). … Adrienna Motley scored a season- high 26 points, Keyona Hayes added 18 and No. 17 Miami overcame a slow start to defeat Virginia Tech 79- 69. Emese Hof finished with nine points for Miami ( 20- 7, 9- 6 Atlantic Coast). Chanette Hicks had 21 points and Vanessa Panousis 17 for the Hokies ( 16- 12, 3- 12). … Dominique Wilson scored 19 points, Ashley Williams added 18 on six three- pointers and No. 18 North Carolina State ( 21- 7, 11- 4 Atlantic Coast) started fast and cruised to an 80- 60 victory over North Carolina. Jamie Cheery had 25 points and Paris Kea 14 for the Tar Heels ( 14- 14, 3- 12). … Alexis Peterson scored 25 points, Briana Day had 17 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 20 Syracuse beat Wake Forest 85- 63. Brittney Sykes had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals for Syracuse ( 19- 9, 10- 5 Atlantic Coast). Elisa Penna led Wake Forest ( 15- 13, 6- 9) with 19 points and seven rebounds. … Sophie Cunningham made 5 of 7 from three- point range, 11 of 13 overall, and finished with 32 points to help No. 24 Missouri beat Mississippi 100- 65. Sierra Michaelis added 12 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists and Lindsey Cunningham scored 21 points for the Tigers ( 20- 9, 10- 5 SEC). Madinah Muhammad scored a career- high 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Rebels ( 16- 12, 5- 10). … Katelynn Flaherty made five three- pointers and scored 25 points and No. 25 Michigan defeated Nebraska 8860 to clinch third place in the Big Ten. Kysre Gondrezick added 21 points for Michigan ( 22- 7, 11- 4). Jessica Shepard had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists for the Cornhuskers ( 6- 21, 2- 13). … Diamond DeShields returned to action and came one assist away from a triple- double to spark Tennessee’s comeback in a 74- 70 victory over Florida. DeShields had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists for the Lady Vols ( 18- 10, 9- 6 SEC). Ronni Williams had 22 points and nine rebounds for Florida ( 13- 15, 4- 11) before fouling out.
TOP 25 MEN Cincinnati holds on CINCINNATI — Jacob Evans III scored 12 of his 15 points during Cincinnati’s dominant first half, and the No. 15 Bearcats held on for their 25th consecutive home victory, 87- 74 over Memphis.
Cincinnati ( 25- 3, 14- 1 American Athletic) led by as many as 24 points during its highest- scoring opening half in conference play this season, pulling ahead 51- 32 at the break. The Tigers cut the lead to six points before fading.
In other games involving Top 25 men Thursday, Josh Perkins and Jordan Mathews scored 15 points apiece, and Johnathan Williams had 14 points and 19 rebounds for No. 1 Gonzaga, which overwhelmed San Diego 96- 38 to improve to 29- 0 and clinch the West Coast Conference title. Nigel Williams- Goss scored 14 points for Gonzaga ( 17- 0 WCC). Olin Carter III scored 15 for San Diego ( 12- 17, 5- 12). … Allonzo Trier scored a season- high 25 points, including four three- pointers, and No. 4 Arizona beat Southern California 90- 77 to stay alone atop the Pac- 12 and set up a Saturday showdown against No. 5 UCLA. Rawle Alkins added 12 points for Arizona ( 26- 3, 15- 1). Bennie Boatwright scored 23 points for the Trojans ( 22- 7, 8- 7). … T. J. Leaf scored 25 points, and No. 5 UCLA survived an upset bid by Arizona State with an 87- 75 victory. Aaron Holiday added 17 points for UCLA ( 25- 3, 12- 3 Pac- 12). Torian Graham led Arizona State ( 13- 16, 6- 10) with 28 points. … C. J. Jackson scored 18 points on 4- for- 4 shooting from three- point range and Ohio State upset No. 16 Wisconsin 83- 73. JaQuan Lyle had 17 points and Jae’Sean Tate added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Buckeyes ( 16- 13, 6- 10 Big Ten). Bronson Koenig had 27 points for Wisconsin ( 22- 6, 11- 4). … Jock Landale had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead No. 20 Saint Mary’s ( 25- 3, 15- 2 West Coast) to a 78- 49 victory over Pepperdine. Lamond Murray Jr. had 17 points for Pepperdine ( 9- 20, 5- 12).
SEC MEN Georgia beats ‘ Bama TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — J. J. Frazier scored 28 points in his second consecutive huge game to lead short- handed Georgia to a 60- 55 victory over Alabama.
Frazier scored 11 consecutive points in the final minutes to help the Bulldogs ( 1612, 7- 8) hold on after losing most of a 14- point second- half lead. He scored 19 points after halftime to pick up much of the scoring load for injured Yante Maten.
Fresh from a season- best 36- point effort in a loss to No. 11 Kentucky, Frazier made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 50 seconds. Alabama ( 1611, 9- 6) missed a couple of three- point attempts and Juwan Parker made 1 of 2 foul shots.