Surging Hokies women dominate No. 9 Duke
Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore each scored 20 points to lead the No. 11 Virginia Tech women to a 61-45 victory over No. 9 Duke on Thursday night before 3,084 at Cassell Coliseum.
Taylor Soule added 11 points for the Hokies (21-4, 11-4 ACC), who have won five straight and eight of their past nine games. For the first time in program history, Tech has registered wins over Top 25 opponents in three consecutive games.
“We continue to do what we’re doing and play to this capability, there are a lot of teams we can beat,” Tech coach Kenny Brooks said. “I think [beating Duke] puts us in the upper echelon and it’s not far-fetched to think about it.”
Celeste Taylor scored 12 points for the Blue Devils (22-4, 12-3), who had their four-game winning streak halted and fell into a firstplace tie with Notre Dame, a game ahead of the Hokies. Virginia Tech is alone in third place.
ACC WOMEN N.C. State 77, No. 19 North Carolina 66 (OT):
Aziaha James, a sophomore from Princess Anne High, scored 18 points and led North Carolina State (18-8, 8-7) back from a 10-point deficit with just more than four minutes to play in regulation against the Tar Heels (18-8, 9-6), then scored seven points in overtime in Raleigh.
No. 10 Notre Dame 78, Louisville 76 (OT):
Olivia Miles made a fadeaway jumper from just inside the 3-point line at the overtime buzzer for the Irish (21-4, 12-3 ACC) in South Bend, Indiana. They had lost to Louisville (19-9, 10-5) six consecutive times.
TOP 10 WOMEN No. 1 South Carolina 87, Florida 56:
Zia Cooke scored 22 points as South Carolina (26-0, 13-0 SEC) won its 32nd straight game, beating the visiting Gators (14-10, 3-10).
No. 2 Indiana 68, No. 12 Michigan 52: Mackenzie Holmes scored 27 points and the host Hoosiers (25-1, 15-1 Big Ten) forced 21 turnovers for their ninth victory over a ranked team this season.
No. 5 LSU 69, Mississippi 60: Angel Reese had a season-high 36 points and 20 rebounds for the host Tigers (24-1, 12-1 SEC).
REGION/STATE MEN Stony Brook 71, William & Mary 66:
William & Mary scored four points in the final 24 seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime, but Stony Brook controlled the extra period to post a CAA victory in New York.
Tyler Stephenson-Moore had 17 points and five assists to lead the Seawolves (10-18, 6-9).
Ben Wight finished with 21 points and nine rebounds and Anders Nelson added 18 points for the Tribe (10-18, 5-10), which played without three injured players: starters Gabe Dorsey and Noah Collier and reserve Jake Milkereit.
W&M trailed 62-55 with 3:21 left, but scored the final seven points in regulation.
Hofstra 73, Hampton 43: Hampton dropped its fifth straight game, falling to surging Hofstra in Hempstead, New York.
Aaron Estrada, last season’s CAA Player of the Year and the preseason choice to repeat that honor, led all scorers with 21 points for the Pride (21-8, 14-2).
Jordan Nesbitt paced the Pirates (6-22, 3-12) with 19 points.
Kennesaw State 88, Liberty 81:
Despite Darius McGhee’s 43 points in Georgia, the Flames (21-7, 12-3) lost potentially the Atlantic Sun’s most important regular-season game to the Owls (21-7, 13-2). Kennesaw State overcame a 14-point second-half deficit.
With three regular-season games to go, Kennesaw State gained sole possession of first place. The top seed will get to stay at home throughout the conference tournament.
UNC Asheville 63, Radford 54:
Drew Pember had 19 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for the host Bulldogs (21-7, 13-2 Big South) as they took a two-game lead in the conference.
TOP 25 MEN Maryland 68, No. 3 Purdue 54:
Jahmir Young scored 20 points and Maryland (18-8, 9-6 Big Ten) used a dominant stretch in the middle of the second half in College Park to deal the Boilermakers (23-4, 12-4) their second consecutive loss.
No. 2 Houston 80, SMU 65:
Marcus Sasser scored 20 points, freshman Jarace Walker added 14 and the Cougars (24-2, 12-1 American Athletic) beat the Mustangs (9-18, 4-10) in Dallas.
With a win at home over Memphis on Sunday, the Cougars could be in line for their third stay atop the AP Top 25 poll this season. No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Purdue have lost this week.
No. 4 UCLA 73, Stanford 64: Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 26 points and UCLA (22-4, 13-2 Pac-12) rallied in the second half to improve to 14-0 at home this season.
Kerr Kriisa had 17 points and six assists, Courtney Ramey added 13 points and the host Wildcats (23-4, 12-4 Pac-12) bounced back from a loss at Stanford last weekend and avenged a loss to the Utes (17-10, 10-6) in Salt Lake City earlier this season.
No. 13 Gonzaga 108, Loyola Marymount 65: Julian Strawther scored 28 points as Gonzaga (22-5, 11-2 West Coast Conference) avenged an earlier loss to LMU (17-11, 7-7) with a rout in Los Angeles.
No. 8 Arizona 88, Utah 62: No. 17 Saint Mary’s 62, San Diego 59:
Mitchell Saxen had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Aidan Mahaney added 13 points for the WCC-leading Gaels (23-5, 12-1), who didn’t score in the last 7:05 in San Diego, yet held on for their 14th win in 15 games.
Middle Tennessee State 74, No. 25 Florida Atlantic 70:
Camryn Weston scored 16 points, Elias King added 15 and the host Blue Raiders (16-11, 9-7 Conference USA) gained their first win over a Top 25 opponent since 2016, beating the Owls (24-3, 14-2) in Murfreesboro.