No. 1 South Carolina wins at UConn to stay undefeated

STORRS, Conn. (AP) Aliyah Boston scored 23 of her 26 points in the second half, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to help No. 1 South Carolina beat fifth-ranked UConn 81-77 on Sunday. The Gamecocks (230) have won 29 consecutive games since losing to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament title game last year. They've also won four of the past five meetings with the Huskies, including a victory in the NCAA championship game last season. Boston scored 23 of her 26 points in the second half, including 14 in the final period. “Aliyah is just relentless, she plays relentlessly although she had a subpar (first half) as far as statistics, she impacted the game,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “She doesn't get flustered. she knew she didn't play up to her standards. What does she do? Raise her standard. Bad first half or not she's going to continue to play.” South Carolina used its size again to top the Huskies. The 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso and Boston, the reigning AP Player of the Year helped the Gamecocks have a 42-30 advantage on the boards, including grabbing 25 offensive rebounds. UConn coach Geno Auriemma received a technical after spiking a water bottle onto the court late in the fourth quarter after getting frustrated by the officiating. “I thought there were a lot of things being overlooked. It was difficult for some of our guys to move out on the floor,” Auriemma said. “I didn't think it was one key play, I just couldn't keep quiet any longer. It was bad . ... Dumb mistake by me. Bad decision.” Boston finished with 11 rebounds for the 76th double-double of her career. Aaliyah Edwards led UConn (21-3) with 25 points.

NO. 3 LSU 72, TEXAS A&M 66

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Angel Reese had 26 points and 22 rebounds to help LSU outlast Texas A&M. Alexis Morris added 22 points before fouling out late to help LSU (23-0, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) remain undefeated ahead of next week's showdown with top-ranked and undefeated South Carolina. It was Reese's 23rd consecutive double-double. LSU coach Kim Mulkey raved about the job Reese did to close out the win. “She's just a talent,” Mulkey said. “She's a talent that hates to lose. She has an unbelievable will to win.” An 8-0 run by Texas A&M (6-15, 1-10) cut the lead to 66-62 with less than two minutes to go. Reese made two free throws before Kay Kay Green made 1 of 2 free throws on the other end to leave LSU up 68-63 with less than a minute left. Last-Tear Poa added two free throws for the Tigers to push it to 70-63 seconds later. LSU forced a turnover and Reese added a basket to make it 72-63 with 17 seconds left to secure the victory. Sahara Jones had 14 points for the Aggies, who lost their third straight.

NO. 4 INDIANA 69, PURDUE 46

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Sydney Parrish and Mackenzie Holmes each scored 15 points and Indiana won its 10th straight game, pulling away from Purdue in front of a record Boilermakers crowd. The announced attendance of 14,876 was the largest for a Purdue women's home game. It marked the first sellout for a women's matchup at Mackey Arena since 2000 and third in program history. Sara Scalia had 14 points and Chloe Moore-McNeil had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Hoosiers (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten). Lasha Petree scored 13 points and Abbey Ellis had 10 to lead the Boilermakers (15-7, 6-6).

NO. 6 IOWA 95, PENN STATE 51

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Caitlin Clark had 23 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to lead Iowa over Penn State. Monika Czinano scored 14 points and Kate Martin added 11 for the Hawkeyes (19-4, 11-1 Big Ten), who took the lead midway through the first quarter and pulled away in a lopsided second half to win their eighth straight game. Taniyah Thompson led Penn State (13-11, 4-9) with 11 points while Leilani Kapinus had 10. Kapinus, Makenna Marisa and Shay Ciezki, all averaging double figures this season, combined to go 2 for 15 from the floor in the first quarter.

NO. 14 UCLA 82, ARIZONA STATE 63

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charisma Osborne had 23 points, Londynn Jones added 20 off the bench, and No. 14 UCLA pulled away in the second half, defeating Arizona State 82-63 on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak. Osborne made 7-of-15 shots, including 4-of-7 3-pointers, and was 5 of 5 from the free-throw line. She added five rebounds and four assists. Jones shot 5 for 8, made 4 of 6 3-pointers, and was perfect in five free-throw attempts for the third 20-point game of her freshman season. Gabriela Jaquez added 14 points off the bench for the Bruins (18-6, 7-5 Pac12), who had a 42-6 advantage in bench scoring. Two free throws from Jones and a 3-pointer by Jaquez gave the Bruins a 52-40 lead with 2:44 remaining in the third period. ASU's Tyi Skinner hit a 3-pointer — her third of the period — in the final minute of the quarter to get the Sun Devils within 57-48 heading to the fourth. Jones scored the first five points of the fourth and Osborne scored another five soon after, putting the Bruins ahead 67-50 with 7:33 remaining.

NO. 16 DUKE 57, NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 52

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Celeste Taylor scored 14 points in Duke's comefrom-behind victory at Notre Dame. Trailing for most of the game's first 28 minutes, the Blue Devils (20-3, 8-2 ACC) took the lead for good in the final two minutes of the third. Maddy Westbeld led Notre Dame (18-4, 9-2) with 15 points and Sonia Citron scored 14.

LOUISVILLE 62, NO. 11 NO CAROLINA 55

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Chrislyn Carr scored 11 of her 17 points in the third quarter and Louisville ended North Carolina's eight-game winning streak. Hailey Van Lith also had 17 points for the Cardinals (17-8, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who made 9 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter of a game that was mostly a defensive struggle. Deja Kelly scored 13 points but was just 3-of-16 shooting for the Tar Heels (17-6, 8-4), Paulina Paris added 12 points and Anya Poole had 10.

NO. 18 MICHIGAN 77, MICHIGAN STATE 67

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Leigha Brown scored 19 of her 29 points in the second half and finished two assists shy of a triple-double to lead No. 18 Michigan to a 77-67 win over rival Michigan State on Sunday. Brown scored 10 in the fourth quarter, eight from the foul line, and Maddie Nolan had two big 3-pointers in the fourth and scored 22 points for the Wolverines (19-5, 9-4 Big Ten Conference). Michigan pulled out a second-straight win without leading scored Laila Phelia, who has a lower leg injury. Brown was 8 of 9 and Nolan 5 of 6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. Matilda Ekh and Moira Joiner both had 12 for the Spartans (11-12, 3-9), who lost their third straight since coach Susy Merchant had a medical issue and a minor car accident on Jan. 28. Dean Lockwood is the interim head coach. DeeDee Hagemann added 11 points and a season-high nine assists.

NO. 8 MARYLAND 90, NO. 10 OHIO ST. 54

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Diamond Miller scored 16 of her 29 points in the third quarter, and No. 8 Maryland routed No. 10 Ohio State 90-54 on Sunday in the program's most lopsided win over a top-10 opponent. Abby Meyers added 22 points and Shyanne Sellers contributed 19 for the Terrapins, who rebounded emphatically from their loss at No. 6 Iowa on Thursday night with a 36-point win. Taylor Thierry scored 21 for Ohio State. The Buckeyes (20-4, 9-4 Big Ten) have dropped four of five since starting the season 19-0. Maryland (19-5, 10-3) took control by scoring the final 12 points of the first quarter to lead 19-7. Meyers had 11 points in the opening quarter, and after the Terps entered halftime up 42-30, Miller took over. The Buckeyes couldn't keep the 6-foot-3 guard away from the hoop. Miller's 3-point play made it 52-37, and after another layup, she connected from 3-point range to put the Terps up by 17.