Shannon scores 16 in return for Illini
NO. 14 ILLINOIS 86, RUTGERS 63
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Justin Harmon scored 18 points and Terrence Shannon Jr. added 16 in his return to lead five Illinois players with 10 or more points as the No. 14 Illini beat Rutgers 86-63 on Sunday.
Shannon, in his first game back since the university was ordered to lift his suspension, came off the bench and played 28 minutes. He had four assists and made 8 of 10 shots from the free-throw line.
Shannon was suspended by the university on Dec. 28 because he’s facing a rape charge in a September incident in Kansas. But U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Lawless ruled Friday that the university had violated Shannon’s civil rights and granted a preliminary injunction that required Illinois to reinstate Shannon to the team.
The Illini (14-4, 5-2) were 4-2 in six games without Shannon, who hadn’t played since Illinois’ 97-73 victory over Missouri in St. Louis on Dec. 22.
Harmon said he was happy to see Shannon back on the floor.
“Our team feels whole again. We have our best player back,” he said.
Teammate Quincy Guerrier, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds, said Shannon was a big reason for the victory.
“He got our transition game going and he improved our defense,” he said.
Illinois Coach Brad Underwood said he was pleased with Shannon’s performance considering he hadn’t practiced with the team or played for three weeks.
“You could tell he was tired at times,” Underwood said. “He integrated in a nice way. He was pretty solid.”
Clifford Omoruyi had 22 points and nine rebounds for Rutgers (10-8, 2-5).
TULANE 81,
NO. 10 MEMPHIS 79
NEW ORLEANS — Sion James scored a season-high 22 points, and Tulane held off 10th-ranked Memphis to hand the Tigers their second consecutive loss.
James hit a pivotal corner three-pointer that put Tulane (12-6, 3-3) up 77-75 with 2:22 left. And Collin Holloway capped his 13-point performance with a layup and two free throws in the final 1:43 to put the Green Wave in front for good.
Kevin Cross (Little Rock, Mills) added 21 points for Tulane, which nearly beat another ranked team 10 days earlier, when the Wave fell 85-84 to No. 23 Florida Atlantic after a disputed foul call on a desperation three-point shot with less than a second on the clock.
David Jones had 32 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis (15-4, 4-2).
NO. 23 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 112, UTSA 103 (OT)
SAN ANTONIO — Johnell Davis had 34 points, including three free throws to force overtime, and Florida Atlantic overcame a career-high 38 points by Jordan Ivy-Curry to beat UTSA.
Alijah Martin added 26 points as Florida Atlantic won its fourth in a row.
The Owls (15-4) remain tied with Charlotte atop the American Athletic Conference at 5-1 while the Roadrunners (7-12) fell to 1-5.
After trailing most of the game, Florida Atlantic went on a 9-0 run to take a 102-96 lead with 2:26 remaining in overtime.
The Roadrunners finished 12 for 27 on three-pointers and the Owls were 17 for 35.
TOP 25 WOMEN NO. 18 OHIO STATE 100, NO. 2 IOWA 92 (OT)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cotie McMahon had a career-high 33 points and 12 rebounds as No. 18 Ohio State rallied to stun No. 2 Iowa in overtime, despite 45 points from Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark.
The Buckeyes (15-3, 6-1) trailed by as many as 12 points in regulation but forced the extra period, tied at 83
Clark scored all of Iowa’s nine overtime points. A three-pointer from Rebeka Mikulasikova gave Ohio State a six-point lead with 1:14 left in overtime. A basket by McMahon and four late free throws from Jacy Sheldon sealed with win and fans streamed out of the stands to celebrate.
Clark and a fan collided on the court, knocking her to the floor.
The Buckeyes win snapped a 15-game win streak for the Hawkeyes (18-2, 7-1).
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 99, TEXAS A&M 64
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — MiLaysia Fulwiley scored a career-high 21 points off the bench and Kamilla Cardoso added 17 points with 13 rebounds as South Carolina raced to a huge early lead and didn’t let up in a rout of Texas A&M.
Sania Feagin added 15 points as South Carolina (17-0, 5-0) remained perfect as the country’s last unbeaten team.
The Gamecocks were up by 31 at halftime and had pushed the lead to 34 after three.
Texas A&M (14-4, 2-3) made four free throws to get within 30 with about eight minutes to go. But the Gamecocks used an 8-2 run, with five points from Cardoso, to make it 89-53 with about 5 ½ minutes left.
Endyia Rogers scored 21 for the Aggies, who have lost three of their last five.
NO. 3 COLORADO 63, NO. 6 SOUTHERN CAL 59
BOULDER, Colo. — Aaronette Vonleh hit a go-ahead layup with under a minute remaining as Colorado took advantage of Trojans standout JuJu Watkins fouling out to escape with a over Southern California.
The Buffaloes (16-2, 6-1 ) finished 2-1 over a difficult stretch of playing three in a row against top-10 opponents. They beat No. 8 Stanford last Sunday before losing to fifth-ranked UCLA on Friday night in front of a record crowd.
Quay Miller scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Point guard Jaylyn Sherrod finished with 17 points and one big assist that set up Vonleh’s late basket.
Watkins scored 20 points before fouling out for the Trojans (13-3, 3-3).
NO. 4 NC STATE 72, DUKE 57
RALEIGH, N.C. — Aziaha James scored a career-high 33 points and North Carolina State got 24 points off turnovers to beat Duke.
The 5-9 junior guard made 12 of 20 shots to go with eight rebounds. Her effort, along with N.C. State capitalizing on Duke’s turnovers, helped the Wolfpack (16-2, 4-2) regroup from a loss at Miami on Thursday.
James set her new personal high with three consecutive free throws with 6:13 left in the game after the Blue Devils (12-6, 4-3) had trimmed a 23-point deficit to 62-49.
NO. 23 NORTH CAROLINA 79, NO. 13 LOUISVILLE 68
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Deja Kelly scored 23 points, 10 in a pivotal third quarter, Alyssa Ustby had a double-double with a career-high seven blocks, and North Carolina handed Louisville its first Atlantic Coast Conference loss.
Kelly scored 11 points in the third quarter, nine from the foul line, as the Tar Heels (145, 6-1) who are off to their best ACC start since 2013, broke away from a halftime time to take a 60-49 lead into the fourth quarter.
Myla Harris scored 16 points for the Cardinals (16-3, 5-1).
NO. 14 VIRGINIA TECH 74, CLEMSON 62
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Elizabeth Kitley scored 31 points, the 10th 30-point game of her career, and No. 14 Virginia Tech ended a two-game losing streak with a win over Clemson.
Kitley had 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting in the second half as the Hokies finally overcame the absence of point guard Georgia Amoore.
Matila Ekh scored 16 points for the Hokies (14-4, 5-2).
VIRGINIA 91,
NO. 15 FLORIDA STATE 87
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Kymora Johnson scored a career-high 35 points with 7 rebounds and 6 assists, leading Virginia to an upset of Florida State.
Johnson, a freshman averaging 12.2 points per game, made 14 of 20 shots with 3 of 7 from three-point range and went 4 for 5 from the free-throw line as Virginia (9-9, 1-6) picked up its first ACC win of the season.
Ta’Niya Latson scored 22 and had six assists for Florida State (14-6, 5-3).
NO. 16 INDIANA 74, PURDUE 68
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Chloe Moore-McNeil and Sara Scalia both had 20 points and Makenzie Holmes scored seven of her 15 in the fourth quarter to help Indiana fend off Purdue.
Scalia made 7 of 15 shots, including 6 of 9 from three-point range for the Hoosiers (16-2, 7-1), adding four rebounds and three assists.
Caitlyn Harper had 18 points to top the Boilermakers (9-9, 2-5), who have lost four in a row. Mary Ashley Stevenson and Roshunda Jones both scored 13.
NO. 19 NOTRE DAME 75, WAKE FOREST 66
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Hannah Hidalgo scored 21 points, Sonia Citron added 18 and Notre Dame handed Wake Forest its seventh-consecutive loss.
Maddy Westbeld and KK Bransford both had 10 points for the Fighting Irish (14-3, 5-2) and Anna DeWolfe and Kylee Watson added eight apiece.
Malaya Cowles had 13 points for the Demon Deacons (4-15, 0-7).
NO. 21 CREIGHTON 63, VILLANOVA 49
VILLANOVA, Pa. — Morgan Maly had 24 points and 13 rebounds, Emma Ronsiek scored 19 points and Creighton defeated Villanova, snapping the Wildcats’ five-game Big East Conference winning streak.
Creighton (14-3, 5-2) led 43-32 through three quarters. The teams traded baskets for much of the fourth quarter until a three-pointer by Lauren Jensen gave the Bluejays a 14-point lead with less than three minutes remaining. A couple of minutes later, Jensen’s layup put Creighton up 61-45 entering the final minute.
Lucy Olsen scored 29 points for Villanova (12-6).