Aggies top Gamecocks for SEC title
No. 3 Texas A&M 65, No. 5 South Carolina 57: Aaliyah Wilson scored 17 points and N’dea Jones added 16 to lead host Texas A&M (22-1, 13-1) to a win over South Carolina (19-4, 14-2) on Sunday to give the Aggies their first regular-season SEC title.
It’s the 10th straight victory for the Aggies and their ninth win over a ranked opponent this season, which leads the nation. Texas A&M finished the season 13-0 at home.
The Gamecocks trailed by as many as 14 in the fourth quarter but cut the lead to 3 on a 3-pointer by Aliyah Boston with about three minutes to go.
Wilson pushed Texas A&M’s lead to 62-57 on a basket with less than 90 seconds remaining and Kayla Wells added two free throws with 12 seconds left to secure the victory.
The Aggies outscored South Carolina 19-8 in the third quarter to take a commanding lead before the Gamecocks get back in it late. Destanni Henderson and Zia Cooke had 15 points each for the Gamecocks, who won both the SEC regular-season and conference tournament titles last season.
No. 2 North Carolina State 68, Syracuse 61: Elissa Cunane had 17 points and nine rebounds, Jada Boyd added 16 points and North Carolina State (17-2, 12-2 ACC) held off host Syracuse (12-7, 9-7) for its fifth consecutive win.
The Wolfpack have won their last four games against the Orange and handed Syracuse its first loss of the season in the Carrier Dome.
The game had special meeting for both teams because it was part of the Play4Kay campaign. The Orange donned pink uniforms to honor former N.C. State coach Kay Yow, who battled breast cancer for 22 years until her death in 2009.
No. 4 Stanford 72, California 33: Kiana Williams scored 12 points in her final home game and defensive stopper fifthyear senior Anna Wilson added three steals playing a final home game, and the Cardinal (22-2, 19-2 Pac-12) used a big second half to beat California (1-15, 1-12) to close out the regular season.
Hannah Jump added 14 points with four 3-pointers for Stanford, which won its 11th straight game since a rare twogame
skid in January.
No. 6 Louisville 78, Notre Dame 61: Dana Evans and visiting Louisville took care of business quickly and wrapped up their fourth straight regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference title.
Evans, a senior point guard and the reigning ACC Player of the Year, had 26 points and five assists for coach Jeff Walz’s Cardinals (21-2, 14-2 ACC).
Sam Brunelle came off the bench to score 13 points for the Irish (10-9, 8-7).
No. 8 Maryland 62, Northwestern 50: Mimi Collins had 18 points and 10 rebounds to help Maryland (19-2, 15-1 Big Ten) beat host Northwestern (13-6, 11-6), clinching a share of its third consecutive Big Ten regular-season title.
The Terrapins can win an outright Big Ten championship with either a win at Michigan on Thursday or an Indiana loss to Iowa on Wednesday.
Diamond Miller also finished with a double-double, scoring 17 points and adding 10 rebounds. Ashley Owusu added 10 points and eight rebounds to help the Terrapins win a game they never
trailed after grabbing the lead 12 seconds in.
Arizona State 66, No. 9 Arizona 64 (OT): Taya Hanson scored 19 points, including hitting five 3-pointers, and Jaddan Simmons added 15 points to lead host Arizona State.
Maggie Besselink had seven points and 13 rebounds for the Sun Devils (11-9, 6-9), who lost 65-37 at Arizona on Dec. 10. Aari McDonald scored 30 points and Bendu Yeaney had 14 points for the Wildcats (15-4, 13-4), who have their first twogame losing streak of the season.
Oregon State 88, No. 14 Oregon 77: Aleah Goodman scored 20 points, leading six into double figures as a deep and balanced Oregon State (9-6, 7-6 Pac-12 Conference) offense knocked off Oregon (13-7, 10-7) in the annual rivalry game.
Sasha Goforth added 17 points for Oregon State, making 9 of 9 free throws.
No. 16 Arkansas 94, Alabama 76: Amber Ramirez scored a career-high 35 points with eight 3-pointers and host Arkansas (19-7, 9-6 SEC) beat Alabama (15-8, 8-8). With the win, Arkansas enters the SEC tournament as the No. 6 seed and will face 11th-seeded Ole Miss on Thursday.
No. 17 Georgia 95, Florida 80: Jenna Staiti scored 30 points, Maya Caldwell added 27, both career highs, and Georgia (18-5, 10-5 SEC) pulled away from host Florida (10-12, 3-11).
Combined with No. 19 Kentucky’s loss to Ole Miss, Georgia secured a top-four seed and a double-bye in next week’s Southeastern Conference tournament.
Mississippi 73, No. 19 Kentucky 69: Shakira Austin had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Madison Scott also had a double-double and Mississippi (10-10, 4-10 SEC) upended host Kentucky (16-10, 9-6) for the second time this season..
Two subpar offensive performances against the Rebels, who won just four conference games, dropped the Wildcats to the fifth-seed – with only one bye – for the Southeastern Conference tournament next week.
No. 21 Tennessee 88, Auburn 54: Rennia Davis scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and host Tennessee (15-6, 9-4) rolled to a win over Auburn (518, 0-15), clinching the third-seed in the SEC tournament next week.
Fellow senior Kasiyahna Kushkituah added a career-high 19 points for the Lady Vols. Rae Burrell scored 14 points, Jordan Horston added 12 and nine assists and Tamari Key 10 points and 10 rebounds for Tennessee, which will have its best seeding since being No. 2 in 2015.
No. 23 Missouri State 59, Loyola Chicago 45: Jasmine Franklin scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds off the bench and Missouri State (18-2, 14-0 Missouri Valley Conference) fought off a sluggish start to beat Loyola Chicago (10-10, 8-8).
Franklin came off a career-high 25 points set in a win against the Ramblers on Saturday.
No. 25 Rutgers 60, Penn State 55: Tyia Singleton and Tekia Mack led a fourthquarter rally as Rutgers (12-3, 8-3 Big Ten) overcame host Penn State (9-12, 611) for the Scarlet Knights’ seventh straight win.
Singleton had a pair of baskets and Mack two 3-pointers in a 10-0 run that gave Rutgers a 52-45 lead with four minutes remaining.