Cardinals avoid upset at Wake Forest
No. 1 Louisville 65, Wake Forest 63: Dana Evans hit a driving shot for the goahead three-point play with 8.0 seconds left to help Louisville (14-0, 7-0 ACC) barely avoid a huge upset by holding off host Wake Forest (7-6, 4-5) on Sunday.
Evans’ driving shot against Gina Conti and free throw finally gave the Cardinals their winning margin. But Louisville had to survive a final shot from the Demon Deacons, with Ivana Raca missing a 3-pointer from the right at the horn that would’ve given Wake Forest its first-ever win against a No. 1ranked opponent.
Instead, the Cardinals survived to remain unbeaten less than a week after ascending to the top spot in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time.
No. 2 N.C. State 89, Virginia Tech 87: Kai Crutchfield scored 10 of her 20 points in the last 4½ minutes, Jakia Brown-Turner finished with 23 points and host North Carolina State (11-0, 6-0 ACC) rallied from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to remain undefeated, beating Virginia Tech (7-7, 2-7).
Kayla Jones, who made two free throws at the 15-second mark, tallied 22 points for N.C. State.
The Wolfpack hadn’t played since Jan. 3, and the three-week layoff showed. The lone absence related to the coronavirus test or contract tracing was a big one, with standout center Elissa Cunane missing the game. She is likely out for at least the next game, also against the Hokies.
No. 4 South Carolina 69, LSU 65: Aliyah Boston scored 11 of her 20 points in the second half and grabbed 14 rebounds to help South Carolina (12-1, 7-0 SEC) secure a victory at LSU (6-7, 4-3).
Destanni Henderson added 16 points and eight assists while Zia Cooke had 11 points for South Carolina, which won its 26th straight game against conference competition.
Khayla Pointer scored 18 and Tiara Young 16 for the Lady Tigers who’d defeated No. 8 Texas A&M earlier this month and looked primed to stage their second upset of a top 10 team in two weeks when they carried a lead into the fourth quarter.
No. 5 Stanford 86, Southern California 59: Haley Jones had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Kiana Williams knocked down five 3-pointers on the way to 16 points, and No. 5 Stanford bounced back from consecutive defeats and its lone two losses of the season to beat USC 86-59 on Sunday.
Freshman Cameron Brink grabbed nine rebounds and Anna Wilson seven boards and eight points as the Cardinal held a 53-22 advantage on the glass. Stanford took control with a 16-0 run spanning the first two quarters as USC went nearly 7 minutes without scoring.
No. 8 Texas A&M 76, Missouri 66: N’dea Jones and Ciera Johnson led a balanced attack with 14 points apiece and Jones grabbed 18 rebounds as No. 8 Texas A&M held off Missouri 70-66 on Sunday.
Jordan Nixon and Distiny Pitts each made a pair of free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the win.
Aaliyah Wilson added 13 points for the Aggies (15-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) and Pitts had 10.
No. 25 Tennessee No. 12 Kentucky 53: Tamari Key scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, Rennia Davis added 15 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, and host Tennessee (10-3, 4-1 SEC) throttled Kentucky (11-4, 4-3).
The Lady Vols took control in the third quarter when Key scored the first six points of the second half to start an 11-1 run for a 38-23 lead.
Tennessee scored the last eight points for a 49-31 lead entering the fourth quarter, which started with a 9-1 run for a 26-point lead.
Rae Burrell scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Lady Vols and played sterling defense on Kentucky star Rhyne Howard. Kasiyahna Kushkituah added 11 off the bench on 5 of 7 shooting.
No. 13 Oregon 69, Washington 52: Sedona Prince scored 16 points and blocked five shots, Lydia Giomi added a double-double off the bench and host Oregon (11-3, 9-3 Pac-12) defeated Washington (4-5, 1-5).
Giomi had 11 points and 10 rebounds and fellow reserve Sydney Parrish added 12 points for the short-handed Ducks, who were without starters Nyara Sabally and Erin Boley, who had made 84 consecutive starts.
Angela Dugalic scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting with eight rebounds in her first career start. Te-Hina Paopao scored 10 with six assists and three steals.
No. 16 Indiana 74, No. 21 Northwestern 61: Mackenzie Holmes scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Indiana (9-3, 7-1 Big Ten) took over after trailing by 13 midway through the fourth quarter to defeat host Northwestern (8-3, 6-3).
The Hoosiers came to life after Sydney Wood’s layup capped a 10-0 run to put the Wildcats up 49-36 at the 5:17 mark of the third quarter. Indiana held Northwestern without a field goal and closed within 54-48 by the end of the quarter.
Northwestern led 57-56 with 6:34 left in the game when the Hoosiers reeled off 12 straight points, with Holmes scoring seven, to lead 68-57 with two minutes to play.
No. 20 Gonzaga 79, Portland 61: Kayleigh Truong scored 17 points on 6for-7 shooting and Jenn Wirth scored 14 and No. 20-ranked Gonzaga beat Portland 79-61 on Sunday night for its 12th-straight win.
Gonzaga’s Jill Townsend scored 11 and 10-different Bulldogs players entered the scoring column. Gonzaga (12-2, 7-0 West Coast Conference) shot 58% (29 for 50) and broke the game open with a 24-8 second quarter charge. The Bulldogs made 8 of 10 in the decisive quarter.
Clemson 86, No. 23 Syracuse 77 (OT): Kendall Spray scored 24 points with seven 3-pointers, Amari Robinson added 23 points and host Clemson (9-5, 4-5 ACC) upended Syracuse (7-3, 4-3) after blowing a 25-point halftime lead.
The Tigers were outscored 23-9 in the third quarter and 20-9 in the fourth before scoring 16 points in overtime to end a four-game losing streak and beat the Orange for the first time ever in 10 tries.
Delicia Washington scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Clemson and Hannah Hank matched her career-high with 15 points, plus eight rebounds.