Wilson, Gamecocks beat Rebels
OXFORD — Ole Miss kept things close for three quarters, but A'ja Wilson and No. 4 South Carolina had an answer for everything the Rebels gave them.
Wilson had 25 points and 15 rebounds. Alexis Jennings had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Victoria Patrick scored 11 points as the Gamecocks won 88-62 on Thursday night.
South Carolina (13-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) withstood multiple rallies from the Rebels but overpowered them in the fourth quarter. The Gamecocks used a 29-12 run to close out the game.
"I felt we defended and rebounded," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said of the late run. "We were contesting shots and we stopped fouling. We fouled them a lot at the end of that third quarter. We were able to put just a little more pressure on them to where we could affect the shot."
Madinah Muhammad scored 29 points to lead Ole Miss (10-5, 0-2). Alissa Alston had 11 points and eight assists while Shelby Gibson scored 10 points.
South Carolina shot 45 percent, including 16-for-29 in the second half, and outscored Ole Miss 40-22 in the paint. The Gamecocks won the rebound battle 45-30 and scored 17 points off 11 Ole Miss turnovers.
"I thought for three quarters we did a good job," Ole Miss coach Matt Insell said. "Got within nine there and then (South Carolina) made three straight threes and that just deflated us."
The Rebels shot 39 percent from the floor and went cold in the fourth quarter, shooting 4-for-13.
Ole Miss tried to lure Wilson from her comfort zone in the first half by having Gibson attempt multiple 3-pointers. Staley did not take the bait as Wilson stayed firmly underneath and continued to disrupt the Rebels' offense.
"(Gibson) shoots the ball well in practice and we were trying to get Wilson out of the paint," Insell said. "Wilson just hangs out in there, and if you don't force her out, you're not going to score in there."
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee has progressed to the point that it's not satisfied to win a game in which it doesn't play to its potential.
That's why the seventh-ranked Lady Vols weren't feeling particularly good about themselves Thursday night after surging down the stretch to beat Auburn and snap the Tigers' seven-game winning streak.
"It feels good to end on a win, but at the same time, we played terrible, definitely not what we're capable of," said Evina Westbrook, whose jumper with 1:43 left put Tennessee ahead for good. "At the same time, we'll bounce back."
Tennessee (14-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) withstood a season-high 28 turnovers and continued its best start since winning its first 18 games in 2005-06, a season that ended with a 31-5 record and an NCAA regional final appearance. The Lady Vols are one of four unbeaten Division I teams along with No. 1 Connecticut, No. 3 Louisville and No. 5 Mississippi State.
That's a major step forward for a program that entered the 2017-18 campaign having gone a combined 44-26 over the last two seasons, including an 18-14 mark in SEC competition.
"I told them great teams find a way to win," Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said. "We found a way to win tonight."
Jaime Nared scored 19 points as the Lady Vols went on a decisive 10-0 run with the game on the line and outscored Auburn 19-4 down the stretch. In a game that featured 12 ties and 16 lead changes, neither team ever was ahead by more than five points until the game's final minute.
Auburn (10-4, 1-1) has forced at least 20 turnovers in every game it has played this season and entered the night believing Westbrook and Anastasia Hayes - Tennessee's two freshman point guards - wouldn't be ready to handle the Tigers' pressure.
"There is no way anyone can simulate what we do," Auburn guard Janiah McKay said.
Westbrook ended up with nine turnovers and Hayes had five more, but both made huge plays in the final minutes.
The game was tied at 57-all in the final two minutes when Hayes prevented a wild Mercedes Russell pass from going out of bounds. Hayes then regrouped the offense and passed to Westbrook for the go-ahead basket. Warlick called Hayes' sequence the biggest play of the game.
"I guess I just used my athleticism," Hayes said. "It was a big moment. Even if (the pass) was going out of bounds, I was going to try and hustle to make it and not let it get out of bounds. I just drove to the rim and I saw Evina open and just dished it to her."
Westbrook scored 18 points and shot 4 of 5 from 3-point range, including 3 of 3 in the fourth quarter. Nared had 11 rebounds and four points to go along with her 19 points. Russell added 10 points.
Daisa Alexander scored 16 points off the bench for Auburn. Tiffany Lewis and McKay had 10 points each.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Khaalia Hillsman scored 20 points and Danni Williams added 19 as No. 19 Texas A&M held off Kentucky's late surge for a victory.
The Aggies (12-4, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) rebounded from a 61-59 loss to No. 4 South Carolina in Sunday's conference opener.
Hillsman scored six points and Williams added five during a 15-7 stretch that spanned the third and fourth quarters for a 66-57 lead with 7:32 to play. Maci Morris scored six points and Makenzie Cann made a 3-pointer as Kentucky used a 13-6 spurt to pull to 72-70 with 10 seconds left, but Anriel Howard made a pair of free throws for the Aggies to seal it.
Hillsman was 6 of 8 from the field and made all eight of her free throws. Williams was 7-of-12 shooting and matched a careerbest with five 3-pointers. Howard finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds, her 11th straight game with at least 10 boards.
Morris scored 22 points to lead the Wildcats (8-8, 0-2). Cann had 14 points, and Alyssa Rice added 10 points and eight rebounds.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Chloe Jackson scored 22 points, including four free throws in the last 10.4 seconds, and LSU ended No. 15 Missouri's 13-game winning streak.
With Amber Smith scoring 16 of her career-high 27 points in the fourth quarter, Missouri erased most of an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter but LSU made 8 of 10 free throws, six from Jackson.
Jackson's free throws with 10.4 seconds left put LSU up by four and her free throws with at 3.7 seconds sealed it after Smith had made a pair from the line with 7.8 seconds to go.
Missouri, which had tied the school record with 13 straight wins, was without leading scorer Sophie Cunningham (18.2 points per game). Cunningham suffered a right knee sprain in the previous game and is listed as day-to-day.
Missouri led 11-7 after one quarter but Jackson had seven points in a 19-2 run that gave LSU a 32-15 lead with two minutes left in the first half. LSU hit 4 of 5 3-pointers in the second quarter while Mizzou was just 2 of 9 from the field with seven turnovers.
Raigyne Louis added 16 points for LSU (10-3, 2-0).
Jordan Frericks had 19 points and 15 rebounds for Mizzou (13-2, 1-1)