Top-ranked Gamecocks romp
TOP 25 WOMEN NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 72, NO. 17 GEORGIA 54
ATHENS, Ga. — Aliyah Boston is making double-doubles look as automatic as South Carolina’s wins.
Boston scored 18 points with 12 rebounds and No. 1 South Carolina coasted after a strong start to beat No. 17 Georgia 72-54 on Sunday for their 11th consecutive win.
Boston posted her 17th consecutive double-double and 18th overall in 24 games. Destanni Henderson added 15 points for the Gamecocks (23-1, 11-1 SEC), who led by 30 points in the first half.
South Carolina kept its lead in double figures despite being outscored in the third and fourth periods.
“It’s just a hole that’s too big to dig yourself out of when you’re playing a team as talented as they are,” Georgia Coach Joni Taylor said.
South Carolina is unbeaten since losing at Missouri in overtime to open its conference schedule on Dec. 30.
Georgia (17-7, 6-6) suffered its third consecutive loss despite Jenna Staiti’s 15 points and 10 rebounds.
South Carolina, which had to hold on late to win at Kentucky 59-50 on Thursday night, was dominant in another road game against Georgia.
Staiti went to the bench with two fouls midway through the opening period. Soon after Staiti’s exit, teammate Maiury Bates was called for her second foul.
Boston and the Gamecocks immediately seized the advantage, finishing the first period with an 18-2 run, including the final 10 points, for a 29-10 lead.
NORTHWESTERN 71, NO. 4 MICHIGAN 69, 2OT
EVANSTON, Ill. — Veronica Burton hit two tiebreaking free throws in the closing seconds, Jillian Brown scored a career-high 18 points, and Northwestern beat a top-four team for the first time in 40 years, squeezing past No. 4 Michigan in double overtime.
The Wildcats (14-9, 6-6 Big Ten) had not beaten a team ranked this high since taking out No. 3 Long Beach on Jan. 16, 1982. Their most recent victory over a top-five opponent was over No. 5 Ohio State on No. 5 Ohio State on Jan. 14, 2016.
Burton made up for a rough afternoon when she made those winning free throws after getting fouled on an inbounds pass. The Wildcats’ star finished with 13 points on 2-for-13 shooting to go with 13 assists.
Danielle Rauch and Emily Kiser each scored 13. But the Wolverines (20-4, 11-3) lost again after falling at rival Michigan State on Thursday.
NO. 2 STANFORD 63, COLORADO 46
STANFORD, Calif. — Lexie Hull had 14 points and tied her season high with six steals and Stanford pulled away in the second half to beat Colorado.
The Cardinal (21-3, 12-0 Pac-12) trailed at halftime but outscored the Buffaloes 14-5 in the third quarter and got a big fourth from Haley Jones to remain unbeaten in conference play with two weeks left to play.
Lesila Finau scored 11 points for Colorado (16-7, 5-7).
NO. 3 LOUISVILLE 73, NO. 18 NOTRE DAME 47
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kianna Smith scored 17 points, Hailey Van Lith added 16 and Louisville outscored Notre Dame 29-6 over parts of the middle two quarters.
Louisville (22-2, 13-1 ACC) took control of an initially close contest late in the second quarter after two quick fouls sent 6-3 Fighting Irish forward Maya Dodson to the bench with 3:54 left. The Cardinals followed with six points over 1:16 for a 27-19 lead before Chelsea Hall added a three-pointer and Kianna Smith two free throws to cap the 11-2 spurt for a 32-21 halftime lead.
NO. 8 UCONN 72, MARQUETTE 58
MILWAUKEE — Azzi Fudd scored 24 points and Dorka Juhasz added 21 as UConn broke open a close game in the fourth quarter to beat Marquette.
UConn (17-5, 11-1 Big East) has won two in a row since its 169-game conference winning streak ended with a 72-69 home loss to Villanova.
NO. 5 NC STATE 77, DUKE 62
DURHAM, N.C. — Jakia Brown-Turner scored 15 of her 19 points after halftime while North Carolina State missed only one shot in the fourth quarter to pull away late and beat Duke.
Brown-Turner made 9 of 11 shots overall and came up with multiple key baskets in the fourth, including a three-pointer from the right wing with 2:38 left that was part of a game-clinching 13-0 run.
It was part of a lights-out shooting performance over the final period for N.C. State (23-3, 14-1 ACC), which made 11 of 12 shots in the fourth quarter and finished the game at 57%.
NO. 11 GEORGIA TECH 92, CLEMSON 84, OT
GEORGIA — Eylia Love scored a career-high 26 points — offsetting a career-best 40 points by Clemson’s Delicia Washington — and Georgia Tech survived an upset bid, defeating the Tigers.
Love sank 10 of 16 shots as the Yellow Jackets (19-6, 10-4 ACC) ended a two-game skid by beating the Tigers (9-17, 3-12) for the ninth straight time.
NO. 13 TENNESSEE 66, VANDERBILT 52
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jordan Horston had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Tennessee used a strong second half to defeat Vanderbilt.
Tennessee opened the fourth quarter with a 14-1 run that put the game well in hand. The lead peaked at 62-40 when Horston hit a three-pointer near the six-minute mark of the period.
Tennessee (20-4, 10-2 SEC) swept the regular-season series and defeated Vanderbilt (12-14, 3-9) for the fourth consecutive time and 14th in the last 15 matchups.
NO. 14 LSU 74, TEXAS A&M 58
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Khayla Pointer and Alexis Morris scored 25 points each and LSU defeated Texas A&M.
Autumn Newby had 13 rebounds and seven points for LSU (21-4, 9-3).
Kayla Wells had 23 points for Texas A&M (14-10, 4-8 SEC) and Aaliyah Patty added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
After LSU trailed 33-27 at halftime, Pointer scored five points early in the third quarter and the Tigers drew within 35-34 near the 7-minute mark. Texas A&M clung to its lead until LSU finally went in front when Newby made two free throws for a 43-42 lead at 3:29 of the third.
VIRGINIA TECH 66, NO. 23 NORTH CAROLINA 61
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Georgia Amoore put up 17 points and Virginia Tech posted a second consecutive win over a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time in program history, knocking off North Carolina.
The Hokies (19-6, 11-3) knocked off No. 11 Georgia Tech, 73-63, Thursday.