Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Cunningham’s 27 lift Tigers to victory
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Sophie Cunningham was too much for South Carolina to handle for the second consecutive year, scoring 27 points to lead No. 15 Missouri to an 83-74 victory over the fourthranked Gamecocks on Sunday.
Cunningham, who suffered a right knee sprain last week and sat out Missouri’s loss to LSU on Thursday, returned with a knee brace but showed no ill effects. She made 9 of 10 shots from the field and had 7 assists and 6 rebounds.
Last year, Cunningham scored 26 points and hit the winning shot in Missouri’s home victory over the eventual national champions.
The Tigers (14-2, 2-1 SEC) shot 56.3 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from three-point range. Amber Smith had 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Bianca Jackson and Tyasha Harris led the Gamecocks (132, 2-1) with 14 points each.
South Carolina was hit with four offensive fouls in the first four minutes, with star forward A’ja Wilson drawing two of them. Missouri led 35-29 at halftime.
Gamecocks Coach Dawn Staley was ejected with 2:56 remaining in the game after being hit with her second technical foul. The ejection followed Wilson’s fifth foul, with Missouri leading 69-60. Staley waved to the cheering Missouri crowd as she left the court.
In other Top 25/SEC women’s games Sunday, Arike Ogunbowale scored 25 points, Jackie Young added 14 and No. 2 Notre Dame (15-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had no trouble winning its eighth consecutive game with a 77-54 victory over Georgia Tech (12-5, 1-3). … Asia Durr scored 21 points to lead No. 3 Louisville (18-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a 67-56 victory over Virginia Tech (12-4, 1-2). … Teaira McCowan had 31 points and 20 rebounds to help No. 5 Mississippi State (17-0, 3-0 SEC) stay unbeaten with an 83-70 victory against LSU (10-4, 2-1). … Mercedes Russell scored a career-high 33 points as No. 7 Tennessee (15-0, 3-0 SEC) came from behind in the second half to outlast Vanderbilt (4-13, 0-3) 86-73 and remain unbeaten. … Lashann Higgs scored 26 points and No. 8 Texas (13-1, 4-0 Big 12) used a big run to start the second half to beat Kansas State (9-6, 1-3) 7564. … Kelsey Mitchell scored 37 points, carrying No. 10 Ohio State (15-2, 4-0 Big Ten) through the final minutes of regulation and leading the Buckeyes to a 78-71 overtime victory over No. 22 Michigan (13-4, 2-2). … Miranda Drummond scored a career-high 38 points, including 11 consecutive late in the fourth quarter that lifted Syracuse (14-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a 76-69 victory over No. 11 Florida State (14-3, 2-1). … Naomi Davenport scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and No. 12 West Virginia (14-2, 2-2 Big 12) beat Iowa State (7-8, 1-3) 57-49. … Kristen Confroy, Kaila Charles and Eleanna Christinaki combined for 22 points in the first half when No. 13 Maryland (15-2, 4-0 Big Ten) took a 19-point lead on its way to a 77-44 victory over Wisconsin (7-10, 0-4) for the Terrapins’ 13th consecutive victory. … Kristen Simon scored 21 points as USC (11-4, 1-3) rallied to beat No. 16 Oregon State (11-4, 2-2) 65-61 for its first Pac-12 Conference victory. … Lexie Brown hit a season-high seven three-pointers and scored a career-high 34 points to lead No. 17 Duke (11-5, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a 69-56 victory over North Carolina State (125, 1-3). … Megan Gustafson scored 34 points with 12 rebounds for her 43rd career double-double, Kathleen Doyle had her second double-double and No. 18 Iowa (15-2, 3-1 Big Ten) turned back Illinois (9-9, 0-4) 84-71. … Khaalia Hillsman scored a career-high 31 points and Chennedy Carter added 22, combining for 19 points in the fourth quarter, and No. 19 Texas A&M (13-4, 3-0 SEC) turned back Auburn (10-5, 1-2) 82-73. … Loryn Goodwin scored 31 points with 8 rebounds and 5 assists to help lead No. 20 Oklahoma State (12-3, 3-1 Big 12) to a 96-82 victory over rival Oklahoma (7-8, 2-2). … Mikayla Cowling hit five three-pointers and scored 19 points and No. 23 California (11-4, 2-2 Pac-12) held on to defeat Arizona 53-51 (4-11, 0-3), ending a two-game losing streak. … Charnea Johnson-Chapman scored a career-high 16 points and No. 25 Arizona State (13-3, 4-0 Pac-12) made 10 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter to defeat No. 24 Stanford (9-7, 3-1) 73-66.