Jackson, Davis lead Lady Vols to victory

AUBURN, Ala. — Meme Jackson scored 27 points and Rennia Davis had 23 points and 14 rebounds in No. 10 Tennessee’s 78-69 victory over Auburn on Thursday night in the SEC opener for both teams. The Lady Vols (12-1) took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter, watched it slip away and then took control again. The Tigers (12-2) came in riding a nine-game winning streak and flirted with the upset into the final minutes. Jackson shot 5 of 8 on three-pointers and made all six foul shots for Tennessee after scoring just 10 points against Belmont. Davis went 8 of 11 for the hot-shooting Lady Vols, who hit 54 percent from the field. Tennessee led 58-50 going into the fourth but Auburn’s Erin Howard opened with two consecutive threes. The Tigers took a 62-61 lead on Crystal Primm’s layup with 5:41 remaining. The Lady Vols reclaimed control with Cheridene Green hitting back-to-back layups to punctuate a 10-2 spurt.

NO. 2 NOTRE DAME 100, PITTSBURGH 44

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Marina Mabrey scored 20 points, Arike Ogunbowale had 18 and No. 2 Notre Dame routed Pittsburgh for its sixth consecutive victory. The Fighting Irish (13-1) rolled in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Ogunbowale reached double figures for her 35th consecutive game, and Mabrey added seven assists. Notre Dame used two 21-0 runs in the first and second quarters to lead 60-14 at halftime and reached 100 or more points for the fifth time this season.

NO. 3 LOUISVILLE 73, NORTH CAROLINA 66

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jazmine Jones scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, Arica Carter added 14 points and No. 3 Louisville beat North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both schools. Louisville (13-0) led by 19 points late in the first half, but the Tar Heels (9-6) made it interesting with a couple third-quarter runs. Stephanie Watts’ layup with 38 second left in the quarter cut it to 55-47.

NO. 9 NO. CAROLINA ST. 63, DUKE 51

RALEIGH, N.C. — Grace Hunter put No. 9 North Carolina State on its way to a share of school history before she was hurt. That injury kept the Wolfpack from savoring their latest milestone. Hunter scored 14 points before injuring her right knee in the final minutes of a victory over Duke that helped N.C. State match its best start in program history.

NO. 14 SYRACUSE 84, CLEMSON 75

CLEMSON, S.C. — Miranda Drummond and Gabrielle Cooper combined for 45 points and 12 three-pointers to lead No. 14 Syracuse to a victory over Clemson in an Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Drummond had 23 points on 6-of-9 shooting, five of the makes from behind the arc. Cooper added 22 points, going 7 of 12 from three-point range with a free throw. The Orange (12-2), who had won six consecutive, went 16 of 38 behind the line, 11 of 31 inside.

NO. 16 KENTUCKY 77, VANDERBILT 55

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Rhyne Howard scored 16 points, Maci Morris added 14 and No. 16 Kentucky rolled to a victory over Vanderbilt in their SEC opener. The Wildcats (14-1) won their fifth consecutive and improved to 11-0 at home. After setting a program record for most victories before the new year, Kentucky now has its second-best start under Coach Matthew Mitchell after the 2012-13 team that started 18-1.