No. 1 South Carolina tops No. 2 UConn in women’s showdown
Dawn Staley’s top-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks turned up their defense in the fourth quarter to turn away UConn on Monday.
Aliyah Boston had 22 points and 15 rebounds and the Gamecocks held the No. 2 Huskies to three points in the final 10 minutes of a 73-57 victory in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
“Our players are determined. They are resilient,” Staley said. “We knew exactly what we had to do, especially on the defensive side of the ball. We had to disrupt. UConn’s a team that’s a well-oiled machine. If you allow them to run their stuff, they’ve made teams look stupid. We had the personnel to disrupt and force them into contested shots.”
The Gamecocks (6-0) wouldn’t let the Huskies (3-1) beat them in the Bahamas, outscoring them 16-3 in the final quarter to set off a postgame celebration that had South Carolina swaying alongside a Bahamian dance group.
Paige Bueckers had 19 points
to lead the Huskies.
#23 South Florida 71, #9 Oregon 62: Elisa Pinzan had 26 points and 10 assists to lead the Bulls (4-2) past the Ducks (3-2) in the third-place game in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Sydney Parrish and Ahlise Hurst each scored 15 points for Oregon.
Colorado 81, Samford 48: Frida Formann’s 13 points led the host Buffaloes (4-0) by the Bulldogs (1-4).
MEN
#23 Florida 80, Cal 60: Colin Castleton scored 16 points, Tyree Appleby added 15 and the Gators (5-0) beat the Bears (2-3) in the Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-Off. Jordan Shepherd scored 15 points for Cal.
USF 83, Morgan State 67: Jamaree Bouyea scored 22 points and Julian Rishwain added 18 as the host Dons (6-0) defeated the Bears (2-4).
Santa Clara 85, TCU 66: Jalen Williams scored 22 points and the Broncos (5-0) hit 11 of their first 14 3-point attempts against the Horned Frogs (3-1) in the SoCal Challenge in San Juan Capistrano (Orange County).
#2 UCLA 75, Bellarmine 62: Peyton Watson scored 19 points as the Bruins (5-0) beat the Knights (0-5) in the Empire Classic at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
#5 Duke 107, Citadel 81: Paolo Banchero scored 28 points and Wendell Moore Jr. had 22 for the host Blue Devils (6-0) against the Bulldogs (3-2) in a game delayed in the first half when Citadel coach Duggar
Baucom collapsed on the court. Baucom, 61, was conscious when he left the court to be taken to a hospital.
#10 Kentucky 86, Albany 61: TyTy Washington scored 20 points to lead five Wildcats in double figures as host Kentucky (4-1) defeated the Great Danes (0-5).
#12 Houston 70, Butler 52: Fabian White Jr. scored 21 points and the Cougars (4-0) rode a dominating first half to a win over the Bulldogs (3-2) in the opening round of the Maui Invitational in Las Vegas.
#13 Arkansas 72, Kansas State 64: Connor Vanover scored 14 points for the Razorbacks (4-0) as they beat the Wildcats (2-1) in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Mo.
Cincinnati 71, #14 Illinois 51: Mike Saunders Jr. scored 20 points, Jeremiah Davenport added 19 and the Bearcats (5-0) overcame an early 15-point deficit to beat the Illini (2-2) in the Hall of Fame Classic. Kofi Cockburn had 18 points for Illinois.
Ohio State 79, #21 Seton Hall 76:
Meechie Johnson Jr. made a 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left to lift the Buckeyes (4-1) past the Pirates (3-1) in the
Fort Myers Tip-Off. E.J. Liddell led Ohio State with 28 points.
Washington State 92, Winthrop 86: Michael Flowers scored 20 points and Noah Williams added 19 as the host Cougars (5-0) beat the Eagles (2-3).
Oregon 73, Chaminade 49: Eric Williams Jr. scored 14 points, De’Vion Harmon added 13 and the Ducks (3-1) opened the Maui Invitational in Las Vegas with a rout of the Silverswords (2-1).
Washington 77, George Mason 74: Terrell Brown scored 23 points and PJ Fuller had 21 for the Huskies (3-2) against the Patriots (4-2) in the Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Colorado 54, Brown 52: Evan Battey scored 16 points and the Buffaloes (5-1) tuned up for their Pac-12 opener against Stanford on Sunday by beating the Bears (4-3) in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Top-25 poll: Gonzaga and UCLA held onto the top two spots in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, setting the stage for their showdown Tuesday in Las Vegas, while Purdue and Duke entered the top five.