No. 9 Indiana opens with win
No. 9 Indiana 86, Butler 63: Nicole Cardano-Hillary scored 29 points to lead host Indiana to a victory over Butler on Wednesday night.
Cardano-Hillary shot 11 for 12 from the field, including 7 for 8 on 3-pointers, and had five rebounds and five assists to lead the Hoosiers, who shot 52%. Grace Berger added 18 points on 9-for-15 shooting, Mackenzie Holmes had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Ali Patberg had 10 assists.
Alex Richard scored 20 points on 10for-13 shooting and Zoe Jackson added 18 points for Butler.
Indiana led by 13 late in the first half before Butler pulled to 43-31 at the break. The Hoosiers extended the advantage to 16 points in the third quarter before pulling away in the fourth. Their largest lead was 25.
No. 15 Tennessee 59, Southern Illinois 49: Jordan Walker scored 14 points, Alexus Dye had a double-double and host Tennessee turned a 9-0 fourth-quarter run into a 17-2 gameclosing surge to beat Southern Illinois.
Walker had seven points and Tamari Key and Sara Puckett both had the only five points they scored in the critical run after the Salukis had the Lady Vols on the ropes.
Dye had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Tennessee. Rae Burrell, the top returning scorer, added 12 points but did not play in the second half after falling down hard on a layup with 1:24 left in the first half.
Love led Southern Illinois with 13 points.
No. 17 Ohio St. 71, Bucknell 48: Jacy Sheldon scored 20 points and host Ohio State pulled away from Bucknell in the second half for a win in the season opener.
The Buckeyes raced to a 20-7 lead late in the first quarter, which closed with a 7-0 Bucknell run.
Taylor Mikesell hit four 3-pointers and added 14 points for Ohio State, which shot 56% in the second half with five of its seven 3-pointers. The Buckeyes shot 28% in the first half, going 3 of 17 in the second quarter.
Taylor O’Brien scored 17 points for Bucknell.