No. 1 South Carolina wins a record 43rd straight SEC game
Watkins weathers 6 of 32 shooting night to lead No. 10 USC to win
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kamilla Cardoso had 16 points and 16 rebounds as No. 1 South Carolina rallied past Georgia 70-56 on Sunday to win its record 43rd straight Southeastern Conference regular-season game.
“I’m just proud of the former players and the current players to put together some of the most historical stretches in this league,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “It says something to be able to do that because this is a hard league.”
Not that it came easily. The Gamecocks (25-0, 12-0 SEC) trailed 37-28 when Javyn Nicholson hit the first basket of the third quarter as the sold-out crowd watched in disbelief.
But behind Cardoso, Te-Hina Paopao, Chloe Kitts and MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina cranked it up to remain the country’s only undefeated Division I team.
“I feel like we just didn’t get in the flow defensively,” said Kitts, who scored 10 of her 12 points in the final two quarters. “At the end of the day, we stopped (Nicholson) in the second half and we pulled through.”
Nicholson had a career-high 27 points for the Bulldogs (11-14, 2-10), who lost their 18th straight to the Gamecocks.
Sunday also marked Staley’s 599th career game in a coaching career she never aspired to. After 172 wins in eight seasons at Temple, she’s won 427 games in 16 seasons with the Gamecocks.
No. 6 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 86, GEORGIA TECH 85 (OT): In Raleigh, N.C., Aziaha James scored 30 points and the North Carolina State women held on in overtime to beat Georgia Tech.
N.C. State made its first five shots in overtime, but Kara Dunn nearly orchestrated a comeback from six points down for Georgia Tech.
Dunn, who hit a 3-pointer to force the extra session, banked in a desperation heave from close to midcourt with the shot clock about to expire with 46.7 seconds to play in overtime to cut the gap to 86-85.
After a defensive stop, the Yellow Jackets had the last shot, but Tonie Morgan’s baseline jumper was off the mark.
River Baldwin had 16 points and Madison Hayes had 15 points for N.C. State (23-3, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Dunn finished with 31 points on 11-for-15 shooting for Georgia Tech (15-12, 6-9).
No. 9 UCLA 74, OREGON 55: In Eugene, Ore., Lauren Betts had 17 points and nine rebounds to lead UCLA to a win over Oregon.
Londynn Jones added 15 points for the Bruins while Charisma Osborne had 11 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Kiki Rice had 10 points and nine rebounds for UCLA (20-5, 9-5 Pac-12), which bounced back from a last-second loss to No. 11 Oregon State on Friday.
Grace VanSlooten had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Oregon (11-16, 2-12), which lost its ninth straight game. Chance Gray added 15 points for the Ducks.
No. 10 SOUTHERN CAL 58, No. 11 OREGON STATE 50: In Corvallis, Ore., JuJu Watkins scored 18 points, despite having an off-shooting night, to help Southern Cal beat Oregon State.
The 6-foot-2 freshman guard, who is the second-leading scorer in Division 1 behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, was just 6 of 32 from the field.
Despite Watkins’ shooting struggles, USC (20-4, 10-4 Pac-12) extended its winning streak to six games, while the Beavers’ six-game winning streak came to an end.
Oregon State (21-4, 10-4 Pac-12) played without leading scorer and rebounder Raegan Beers, who sustained a facial injury early in the second quarter of Friday’s win over No. 9 UCLA.
No. 12 VIRGINIA TECH 86, No. 18 LOUISVILLE 70: In Louisville, Ky., Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore each recorded double-doubles and Virginia Tech beat Louisville.
Kitley scored 26 points shooting 12 of 16 and grabbed 13 rebounds while Amoore scored 23 points shooting 9 of 11 — including 3 of 4 from 3-point range — and distributed 10 assists.
The Hokies’ 65.4% shooting mark represents a program best in ACC play. Virginia Tech’s ninth-straight win marks another program best.
Kiki Jefferson scored 19 points, reserve Jayda Curry 13 and Nyla Harris and Nina Rickards 10 apiece for Louisville (21-6, 11-4 ACC).
No. 19 SYRACUSE 85, VIRGINIA 79: In Charlottesville, Va., On the day Baylor University retired Brittney Griner’s number, Syracuse’s Dyaisha Fair moved a step closer to passing her on the all-time scoring list with 33 points and the 19th-ranked Orange held off Virginia.
The 5-foot-5 Fair now has 3,257 career points; 26 behind the 6-foot-9 Griner (3,283) who is fifth on the all-time scoring list.
Syracuse (22-4, 12-3 ACC) led 66-51 after three quarters before the Cavaliers began a methodical climb back in it to get within 77-73 on Camryn Taylor’s layup with 1:32 left. But Fair countered with a jump shot 28 seconds later and she and Georgia Woolley combined to make six free throws to seal it.
Taylor led Virginia (12-12, 4-9 ACC) with 20 points.
No. 21 BAYLOR 61, TEXAS TECH 32: In Waco, Texas, Sarah Andrews scored 11 points, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 10 and Baylor held Texas Tech to a season low in scoring, beating the Lady Raiders that saw Baylor retire the uniform of former player Brittney Griner.
In an electric atmosphere for the home team the Lady Raiders were overwhelmed from the start. Baylor (19-6, 8-6 Big 12) held Texas Tech to a four-point first quarter, a nine-point second and five in the third for a 45-18 lead at the end of three.
Baylor had 10 players enter the scoring column and the Bears distributed 18 assists on 26 made baskets.
As for Texas Tech, the Lady Raiders’ (1611, 5-9) turnover total of 29 was just three shy of their total points scored.