LSU surprises West Virginia
LSU 74, NO. 16 WEST VIRGINIA 73
MORGANTOWN,W.Va.— Reserve guard Tim Quarterman scored 21 points and Josh Gray made the game-winning layup with 7.4 seconds left to help LSU upset No. 16 West Virginia 74-73 on Thursday night.
Jarell Martin had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Tigers (6-2), who overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half. Keith Hornsby scored 15.
West Virginia (7-1) was off to its best start since opening 11-0 during the 2009-10 Final Four season.
The Mountaineers were led by Juwan Staten’s 17 points. Daxter Miles added 13 and Tarik Phillip had 12.
West Virginia led 43-38 at halftime and extended its lead to 14 points in the second half before LSU went on a 15-3 run to pull within three.
Hornsby hit a three-pointer and two free throws to tie the score at 58.
West Virginia led 66-60 with 5:06 to go. Each team had held a one-point lead until Gray made the decisive layup with 7.4 seconds left.
TOP 25 WOMEN NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 82, CHARLOTTE 61
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Freshman forward A’ja Wilson had 17 points, Elem Ibiam scored 16 on 7-of-7 shooting and South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley earned her 300th career victory as the top-ranked Gamecocks beat Charlotte.
Alaina Coates had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Gamecocks, who improved to 7-0 for the third consecutive season. South Carolina got a much tougher-than-expected tuneup in winning its 23rd consecutive at home before traveling to face No. 9 Duke on Sunday.
Charlotte (1-6) led 19-18 about nine minutes in before the Gamecocks closed the opening half with a 28-9 run to move in front for good.
Lefty Webster had 17 points to lead the 49ers, whose six-game losing streak is the team’s longest in 15 years.
Aleighsa Welch added 10 points for South Carolina. For the 6-foot-5 Wilson, it was the fourth time she’s led the Gamecocks in scoring.
NO. 6 NORTH CAROLINA 96, NO. 18 RUTGERS 93, 2 OT
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Allisha Gray scored a season-high 29 points and No. 6 North Carolina rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to beat No. 18 Rutgers in double overtime in the ACC/ Big Ten Challenge.
In a back-and-forth game, Rutgers blew a 12-point lead over the final 9:47 of regulation. North Carolina was up five with 37 seconds left in overtime before the Scarlet Knights rallied to force another OT.
Xylina McDaniel’s layup gave the Tar Heels (8-0) a 90-88 lead with 1:45 left. Ariel Butts hit two free throws to tie it, the second of which sat on the rim for a few seconds before dropping in.
Gray then converted a layup with a minute left and Latifah Coleman had a steal and layup to give North Carolina a 94-90 lead. She then hit two free throws with 20.9 seconds left to seal the win.
Tyler Scaife (Little Rock Hall) had 25 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists for Rutgers (6-1). Betnijah Laney had 24 points, a career-best 24 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Scarlet Knights had the longest current winning streak in the country with 12 consecutive victories dating to last season’s WNIT championship run.
Rutgers heads to Fayetteville to take on the No. 25 Arkansas Razorbacks at 2 p.m. Sunday.
NO. 19 GEORGIA 68, MERCER 49
MACON, Ga. — Shacobia Barbee was one of three Georgia players to score a dozen points and she also made six steals in helping the 19th-ranked and undefeated Lady Bulldogs take a victory over Mercer.
Barbee, Tiaria Griffin and Mackenzie Engram scored 12 points each for Georgia, which became the nation’s first women’s team to reach 9-0. Georgia had 18 steals as Mercer committed 23 turnovers, though the Bulldogs had 15 turnovers themselves. Georgia made 29 of 62 shots for 46.8 percent.
The Bears (4-3) were led by Precious Bridges and Kahlia Lawrence with 13 points apiece, but Mercer made just 16 of 45 shots for 35.6 percent. They did make 14 of 18 from the free-throw line. Bridges had been averaging 24.8 points per game.
Georgia used a 15-2 run during the first half to roll to a 42-25 halftime lead.