Kitley dominates, keeps Hokies on roll
No. 12 Virginia Tech women have won eight straight
Elizabeth Kitley matched her career high with 34 points Thursday night as No. 12 Virginia Tech extended its winning streak to eight with a 61-56 victory over Duke at Cassell Coliseum.
Kitley, who scored 34 twice two seasons ago, made 13 of 17 shots from the floor — many on fadeaways — and 8 of 9 free throws for the Hokies (21-4, 12-2), who have won 24 in a row at home and lead the Atlantic Coast Conference. She added 12 rebounds for her fifth straight double-double and her 18th of the season.
Kitley had 11 points and five rebounds in the fourth quarter as Tech pulled away from a 42-all tie.
Ashlon Jackson made three 3-pointers and scored 18 to lead the Blue Devils (16-8, 8-5), whose threegame winning streak ended.
Local men
Towson 61, William &
Mary 52: William & Mary shot just 30% as it lost to Towson at Kaplan Arena.
The Tribe (8-18, 3-10 CAA) overcame a 12-0 deficit to lead 26-25 late in the first half and 34-33 about five minutes into the second half, though the Tigers (16-10, 9-4) were ahead for most of the game. Towson shot 55% in the second half.
Trey Moss paced the Tribe with 18 points, while Gabe Dorsey had 15. Chase Lowe had 11 rebounds and five assists, while Caleb Dorsey grabbed nine rebounds.
Christian May had 15 points for Towson. Stony Brook 93, Hampton
73: Tyler Stephenson-Moore scored 22 points and Stony Brook shot 64.2% from the field in a CAA victory over Hampton at Island FCU Arena in New York.
The Pirates (5-21, 0-13) dropped their third straight and 16th in 17 games. They slipped to 0-10 on the road.
Keenan Fitzmorris added 20 points for the Seawolves (14-12, 7-6), while Toby Onyekonwu had 13 and Aaron Clarke 11.
Kyrese Mullen paced Hampton with a gamehigh 23 points, while Jordan Nesbitt added 20 and Jerry Deng had 10. Lighthouse Christian
76, Apprentice 73: Despite the 1,000th career point by the Builders’ Karree Smith, Apprentice (19-5) lost in Newport News to the Makos (17-4) of Pensacola, Florida. That broke Apprentice’s 19-game home winning streak, which began in February 2023.
Smith surpassed 1,000 with his first basket and finished with 15 for the night. Avin Hawkins led the Builders with 23, and Adrion Wall had 18 points and seven rebounds.
State
James Madison 83, Georgia
Terrence State 63: Edwards scored 28 points and fellow Georgia native T.J. Bickerstaff added 21, leading the Dukes (23-3, 11-3) past the Panthers (11-14, 5-8) in Harrisonburg. JMU pulled even with Troy, which lost Thursday, for second place in the Sun Belt.
Edwards hit all 12 of his free throws. Bickerstaff, who often has struggled at the line but said he has been working on free throws, sank 11 of 12.
Julian Mackey finished with 18 points and two steals for Georgia State.
Winthrop 85, Radford 69: KJ Doucet had 25 points and five rebounds for the Eagles (16-11, 7-5 Big South) in a road victory. Kelton Talford, who had nine rebounds, and Kasen Harrison added 13 points apiece.
DaQuan Smith paced the Highlanders (13-13, 3-8) with 23 points. Former Oscar Smith High guard Kenyon Giles added 15 points and Bryan Antoine had 14.
Top 25
No. 2 Purdue 84, Minnesota
Zach Edey overcame 76: a slow start with 24 points and 15 rebounds as the Boilermakers (23-2, 12-2 Big Ten) rallied in West Lafayette, Indiana. Dawson Garcia led Minnesota with 24 points.
The Boilermakers, who trailed the Gophers (15-9, 6-7) by 10 after the opening possession of the second half, turned to their 7-foot-4 senior to lead the comeback. No. 18 Saint Mary’s 103,
Pepperdine 59: Augustus Marciulionis scored a career-high 28 points and Alex Ducas beat the halftime buzzer with a halfcourt shot in Moraga, California, to lead Saint Mary’s to its 13th straight win.
The Gaels (21-6, 12-0 West Coast) celebrated their return to the AP Top 25 for the first time since the opening week of the season with another dominant victory to match No. 1 UConn for the longest active winning streak in the country. Jevon Porter scored 13 points for the Waves (10-17, 3-9).
No. 24 Florida Atlantic 80, Temple 68: Johnell Davis scored 17 points, Alijah Martin and Brandon Weatherspoon each had 16 and FAU won a clash of Owls in Boca Raton.
FAU (20-5, 10-2 American Athletic) pulled away with an early 15-2 run. Temple (8-17, 1-11), led by Jordan Riley’s 19 points, has lost 10 straight.
Women
No. 1 South Carolina 66,
Tennessee 55: Kamilla Cardoso had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the visiting Gamecocks (24-0, 11-0 SEC). She had missed two previous games while playing for Brazil in an Olympic qualifying tournament. Ashlyn Watkins added 14 points and 10 rebounds for South Carolina, while Raven Johnson had 15 rebounds.
Rickea Jackson scored 19 points for Tennessee (15-9, 8-4), who led by three points at halftime but could miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Division II player sets
rebounding record: Francis Marion center Lauryn Taylor set the NCAA singlegame rebounding record with 44 in an 85-62 win over North Greenville in Florence, South Carolina.
Taylor had the most ever in any NCAA contest in the three divisions. She topped the Division I mark of 40 set by Deborah Temple of Delta State against Alabama Birmingham in February 1983.