Lady Bears raise banner, maul Wildcats in opener
No. 2 Baylor 97, New Hampshire 29
WACO, Texas — NaLyssa Smith and preseason AP All-America post Lauren Cox had double-doubles for the Lady Bears as the defending national champion Baylor opened the season with a solid victory Tuesday night.
Smith had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Lady Bears, while Cox had 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting with 10 rebounds. The Lady Bears got their championship rings and raised a third national title banner in a pregame ceremony, then scored the game’s first 37 points.
Amanda Torres led the Wildcats with 12 points.
No. 4 Maryland 119, Wagner 56
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The Terrapins outplayed the overmatched Seahawks, with the Terrapins falling two points shy of tying their all-time scoring record.
Kaila Charles, Shakira Austin and Ashley Owusu each had 18 points for Maryland. Stephanie Jones scored 17 and Sara Vujacic added15.
Wagner freshman Alex Cowan had 25 points and Emilija Krista Grava added 20.
No. 6 Texas A&M 78, Little Rock 35
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Ciera Johnson had 24 points and 13 rebounds, and the Aggies overwhelmed the Trojans.
The Aggies shot 48 percent (31 of 65) from the field compared to 28 percent (16 of 57) for the Trojans.
SEC Preseason Player of the Year Chennedy Carter had 10 points at the half and finished with 16 for the Aggies.
Kyra Collier led the Trojans with 13 points and was the only Little Rock player to reach double digits.
No. 8 South Carolina 103,
Alabama State 43
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Freshman Aliyah Boston had a triple-double in her South Carolina debut, leading the eighth-ranked Gamecocks to victory over the Hornets.
Boston finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks.
Ayana Emmanuel led Alabama State with nine points.
No. 9 Louisville 75, Western Kentucky 56
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Dana Evans had 19 points and Elizabeth Balogun and Elizabeth Dixon combined for 25 points and 17 rebounds in their Cardinals debuts.
Balogun had 15 points, including three 3-pointers in the first quarter as Louisville made its first seven shots. Dixon added 13 rebounds, 10 rebounds and a block.
Bionca Dunham added 10 points while Jazmine Jones had 10 assists, eight points and eight boards.
Sherry Porter had 15 points, Dee Givens 13 in the second half and Whitney Creech 10 for the Hilltoppers.
Liberty 67, Norfolk State 48
NORFOLK — Ashtyn Baker scored 19 points to lift Liberty to a non-conference victory over Norfolk State at Echols Hall in the season opener for both teams.
Emily Lytle added 12 points and Bridgette Rettstatt scored 10 for the Flames (1-0), who led for all but 1:47.
Chanette Hicks led NSU (0-1) with 18 points, and La’Deja James scored nine.
William & Mary 77, Army 65
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Eva Hodgson scored a career-high 27 points as the Tribe overcame the Black Knights.
Sophomore Sydney Wagner finished with 15 points off of the bench for the Tribe, while junior Gabby Rogers had 10 points and four rebounds.
W&M outscored Army 18-9 in the first quarter, led 36-29 at the half and built the margin to 58-43 after three quarters.