NO. 1 GAMECOCKS GET HUGE SCARE
Pushed to the brink, Zia Cooke and South Carolina finally exerted control once the game went into overtime.
No. 1 South Carolina 64, Mississippi 57 (OT)
Cooke scored five of her 24 points in overtime to help the No. 1 Gamecocks remain unbeaten with a 64-57 victory over host Mississippi on Sunday.
The defending national champion Gamecocks (27-0, 14-0 SEC) got one of their biggest scares of the season before winning their 33rd straight game. The Rebels (20-7, 9-5) never trailed by more than six points in regulation and flirted with their first win over a No. 1 team in 46 years.
“They were locked in,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “They played their zone and were committed to it, and we didn’t handle it well until we actually had to. So it was a good gameplan.”
She called the Rebels “an NCAA Tournament team,” and they certainly looked the part.
Cooke had six rebounds and four assists to help offset a 7-of-18 shooting performance. Aliyah Boston added 13 points and 11 rebounds on 4-of-14 shooting and didn’t score in the first quarter.
The deep Gamecocks didn’t get their usual supply of scoring help for the two stars, though Kamilla Cardoso had eight points and 11 boards.
Angel Baker led Ole Miss with 17 points. Snudda Collins added 11 while Marquesha Davis had nine points and seven rebounds. Rita Igbokwe blocked six shots.
Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin began her postgame news conference with a big sigh.
“Tough one. Man, today was an incredibly emotional game for me, our players, everybody,” she said. “I just grew up looking up to Dawn Staley. I just have so much respect for her as a person. She has become a mentor of mine.
“To be able to take them into overtime and have an opportunity to win after being our third game of the week was incredible.”
It was only the third single-digit margin and second overtime game for the defending national champions, who had been winning by an average of 33.5 points. The first two came against No. 3 Stanford (76-71 in overtime) and No. 6 UConn (8177). South Carolina dominated overtime, 9-2.
Cooke’s second basket of overtime matched South Carolina’s biggest lead to that point, 63-57, with 1:33 left. The teams swapped turnovers but Ole Miss missed three shots trying to stay alive, including two straight 3-point tries by Baker after offensive rebounds.
Cooke, who had scored South Carolina’s first eight points of the game, then made one of two foul shots.
Ole Miss had rallied from a six-point deficit over the final 7 minutes to force overtime.
Baker had a steal and layup and then gave Ole Miss its first lead since the opening minutes with a jumper to go up 55-54 with 1:20 left. Then Igbokwe blocked two shots by Boston to preserve the edge.
No. 4 Utah 74, Arizona State 69: Gianna Kneepkens scored 22 points and Jenna Johnson added 15 to push visiting Utah (23-13, 13-3) to a Pac-12 victory over stubborn Arizona State (718, 0-16).
No. 18 Arizona 61, No. 21 Colorado 42: Shaina Pellington scored 19 points with five assists and Arizona (21-6, 11-5 Pac 12) smothered visiting Colorado (21-6, (12-4), ending the Buffaloes’ five-game winning streak.
California 81, No. 25 USC 78 (OT): Jayda Curry scored 27 points and Michelle Onyiah had six points in overtime as California (13-14, 4-12 Pac-12) upended the Trojans (19-8, 9-7), back in the rankings for the first time since 2016.
Men
No. 2 Houston 72, Memphis 64: J’Wan Roberts had a career-high 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Marcus Sasser also scored 20 points as the Cougars (25-2, 13-1 AAC) won their seven straight game, beating Memphis (20-7, 10-4) at home.
No. 3 Purdue 82, Ohio State 55: Zach Edey had 26 points and 11 rebounds for his 21st double-double this season to lead the Boilermakers (24-4, 13-4 Big Ten) past visiting Ohio State (1116, 3-13).
No. 23 N.C. State 77, North Carolina 69: Jarkel Joiner took over for host North Carolina State (21-7, 11-6 ACC) during a critical second-half stretch, matching his season high with 29 points to lead the Wolfpack past rival North Carolina (16-11, 8-8).
Washington St. 68, Oregon 65: Mouhamed Gueye had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Justin Powell scored 11 points, including a layup that capped the scoring, and Washington State (13-15, 8-9 Pac-12) beat visiting Oregon (15-13, 9-8) for the Cougars’ third win in a row.
Boise St. 73, UNLV 69: Marcus Shavers scored 19 points to lead the host Broncos (21-6, 11-3 MW) to a win over the Rebels (16-11, 5-10).