Texas A&M falls to 0-2 in the SEC

BATON ROUGE, La. — Khayla Pointer scored 16 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter, and LSU outscored No. 21 Texas A&M 12-0 over the final three minutes for a 63-52 victory on Sunday.

Pointer, who came in shooting under 50 percent from the free-throw line, made nine of 10, all in the fourth quarter, including two with three minutes left for a 53-52 lead and the start of the 12 straight Tigers points.

Chennedy Carter’s free throw gave Texas A&M its final point before she fouled out with 2:37 to go with her first double-double this season: 20 points and 10 rebounds. Without the SEC’s leading scorer, the Aggies missed their final four shots and committed three turnovers.

Jaelyn Richard-Harris added 11 points, and Ayana Mitchell had 10 for LSU (10-4, 1-1 SEC).

Ciera Johnson added 13 points for the Aggies (11-4, 0-2), who lost to No. 23 South Carolina on Thursday — their first back-toback losses since February 2017.

TEXAS 70 WEST VIRGINIA 58

Sug Sutton scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, Destiny Littleton had three 3-pointers in the pivotal third quarter, and the No. 13 Longhorns defeated the Mountaineers in Morgantown, W.Va.

Texas (12-2, 2-0 Big 12), which has won five straight, was down two at halftime, but Littleton helped build a 48-40 lead entering the fourth quarter. When she opened the final quarter with her fourth 3 in the midst of what turned out to be an 11-0 run, Texas had a double-figure lead it kept until West Virginia scored eight straight late.

After the Mountaineers cut it to 64-58 on Madisen Smith’s 3-pointer with 48 seconds left, the Longhorns closed the game with the final six points.

BAYLOR 73, TEXAS TECH 56

Freshman Queen Egbo had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the No. 8 Lady Bears followed their victory over top-ranked Connecticut with a win against the Red Raiders in their Big 12 opener in Lubbock.

Baylor (11-1, 1-0), which has won the last eight Big 12 titles, went ahead to stay by scoring the last seven points of the first quarter. Egbo then hit a short jumper on her first shot of the game in the opening seconds of the second quarter, making it 24-16.

NaLyssa Smith, another Baylor freshman, added 14 points and seven rebounds. Graduate transfer Chloe Jackson scored 11 points, and Kalani Brown had 10 points.

Chrislyn Carr scored 19 points for Texas Tech (9-4, 0-2).

NOTRE DAME 76 GEORGIA TECH 55

Jessica Shepard scored 19 points, most on layups, and the No. 2 Fighting Irish strengthened their case for the top spot in the Top 25 by routing the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta.

With No. 1 Connecticut’s loss to Baylor on Thursday, Notre Dame (14-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) could claim the top spot in Monday’s new poll. UConn gave the Fighting Irish their only loss on Dec. 2.

MISSISSIPPI ST. 86 KENTUCKY 71

Anriel Howard had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Chloe Bibby added 18 points, and the No. 7 Bulldogs beat the No. 16 Wildcats in Starkville, Miss.

MISSOURI 66 TENNESSEE 64

Sophie Cunningham scored 20 points, and Haley Troup added a career-high 16 points as the Tigers edged the No. 10 Lady Vols in Knoxville, Tenn., for their fifth consecutive victory.

INDIANA 68 MICHIGAN ST. 64

Jaelynn Penn scored 17 points, including a goahead 3-pointer in the final minute, to give the Hoosiers a victory over the No. 15 Spartans in Bloomington, Ind.

ILLINOIS 66, MINNESOTA 62

Brandi Beasley scored 18 points, and the Fighting Illini closed the game with an 11-2 run to upset the 12th-ranked Golden Gophers in Minneapolis.