Gamecocks romp after slow 1st half
AUBURN, Ala. — Ashlyn Watkins had 14 points and 15 rebounds, reserve MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 15 points and No. 1 South Carolina overcame a slow start to beat Auburn 7654 on Thursday night.
In a matchup between the top offense and the top defense in the SEC, the Gamecocks broke through in the second half, going on a 13-2 run late in the third quarter to put away the Tigers.
Kamilla Cardoso added 13 points and six rebounds for South Carolina (20-0, 8-0), which out-rebounded Auburn 48-35.
Auburn’s Honesty ScottGrayson matched her career high with 31 points, but no one else scored more than six points for the Tigers (14-7, 3-5).
NO. 5 N.C. STATE 63, NO. 24 NORTH CAROLINA 59
RALEIGH, N.C. — Aziaha James scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter and fifth-ranked North Carolina State’s defense locked down late to hold off 24thranked rival North Carolina.
Saniya Rivers had 14 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists for the Wolfpack (19-2, 7-2)
Deja Kelly scored 21 points to lead the Tar Heels (15-7, 7-3).
NO. 8 OHIO STATE 87, WISCONSIN 49
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jacy Sheldon scored 17 points, Cotie McMahon had 15 and Eboni Walker 11 as No. 8 Ohio State won its eighth consecutive game by beating Wisconsin.
The Buckeyes (18-3, 9-1) shot 50% (33 for 66) from the floor, their best performance in nine games, and went 13 for 16 from the line.
Serah Williams led Wisconsin (10-10, 3-7) with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
NO. 12 TEXAS 67, NO. 13 BAYLOR 55
WACO, Texas — Freshman Madison Booker scored 22 points and Aaliyah Moore added 19 points as No. 12 Texas pulled away from No. 13 Baylor in the fourth quarter to earn a victory, giving the Longhorns’ their first back-to-back wins at Waco since the 2009-10 season.
Baylor knocked off Texas (20-3, 7-3) at Austin on Dec. 30, but the Bears (164, 5-4) now have lost three of their last four games.
NO. 14 NOTRE DAME 85, GEORGIA TECH 48
ATLANTA — Hannah Hidalgo scored 35 points, surpassing the Notre Dame freshman record of 34 she had five days earlier, and the No. 14 Fighting Irish coasted to a win over Georgia Tech.
Kylee Watson had a season-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting for the Fighting Irish (16-4, 6-3), and grabbed nine rebounds.
Kara Dunn scored 17 points for the Yellow Jackets (13-9, 4-6).
NO. 16 LOUISVILLE 81, NO. 21 SYRACUSE 69
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kiki Jefferson had 21 points and Nyla Harris totaled 18 points and 14 rebounds to guide No. 16 Louisville to an 81-69 victory over No. 21 Syracuse on a Thursday night that saw the Orange’s Dyaisha Fair move into fifth place on the all-time scoring list.
Jefferson made 6 of 12 shots and 9 of 11 free throws for the Cardinals (19-3, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Fair scored 28 on 10-for-23 shooting for the Orange (17-4, 7-3).
NO. 17 VIRGINIA TECH 76, VIRGINIA 63
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Elizabeth Kitley scored a season-high 33 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, Georgia Amoore had 20 points and 14 assists and No. 17 Virginia Tech beat Virginia for its fifth consecutive victory in the series.
Virginia Tech (17-4, 8-2) has won four consecutive games overall, after its first two-game skid since 2021-22, for the most wins in the first 10 ACC contests in program history.
NO. 19 GONZAGA 80, SAN DIEGO 52
SAN DIEGO — Brynna Maxwell scored 19 points and made four three-pointers in the third quarter, when Gonzaga was 8 of 8 behind the arc, to lead the 19th-ranked Bulldogs to a win over San Diego, their 15th-consecutive win.
Dylan Horton had 13 points for the Toreros (4-17, 0-8).
TOP 25 MEN
NEBRASKA 80,
NO. 6 WISCONSIN 72, OT
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska came back from an 18-point second-half deficit to knock off No. 6 Wisconsin in overtime, the second top-10 opponent the Cornhuskers have beaten this season.
Rienk Mast scored early in overtime to give the Huskers the lead for good, and when time expired the students spilled onto the court for the second time this season. The first was Jan. 9 when the Huskers beat then-No. 1 Purdue 88-72.
C.J. Wilcher scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, Mast finished with 20, and the Huskers (16-6, 6-5) improved to 6-0 at home in Big Ten play.
NO. 11 ARIZONA 91, CALIFORNIA 65
TUCSON, Ariz. — Oumar Ballo scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Keshad Johnson added 15 points and No. 11 Arizona rolled to a win over California.
Arizona (16-5, 7-3) never trailed, jumping out to a 29-11 lead by midway through the first half. The 7-foot, 260-pound Ballo scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds during that opening stretch.