Buckeyes close in on Big Ten crown

TOP 25 WOMEN NO.2 OHIO STATE 79, MARYLAND 66

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Celeste Taylor scored 20 points and No. 2 Ohio State clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament with a 79-66 win over Maryland on Sunday.

Jacy Sheldon had 17 points for the surging Buckeyes (24-4, 151), who won their 14th consecutive game with two to go in the regular season. They can capture the conference title outright with a win in either.

Cotie McMahon finished with 15 points despite picking up her fourth foul on a technical in the third period and spending considerable time on the bench. She scored five, including a three-pointer, and had three rebounds after re-entering the game with 6:13 left.

“Maryland played great. They really had some great stretches there,” Ohio State Coach Kevin McGuff said. “But I was really proud of our kids for making sure we had the poise to execute and do the things necessary to come away with the win.”

Bri McDaniel had 21 points and Brinae Alexander added 16 for the Terrapins (16-11, 8-8), who had their four-game win streak snapped.

Taylor scored 13 points, going 3 for 4 from three-point range, as the Buckeyes led 4431 at the half. Ohio State was 7 for 14 from beyond the arc in the first half.

NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 103, KENTUCKY 55

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Bree Hall scored 18 points, MiLaysia Fulwiley added 17 off the bench and South Carolina claimed its third consecutive SEC regular-season title and eighth in 11 years.

With 6-7 star center Kamilla Cardoso sitting out a second straight game, the Gamecocks (27-0, 14-0) built a 20-point lead at the break and led 74-43 lead after three quarters.

Sania Feagin scored 16 points, Ashlyn Watkins had 13 points and Chloe Kitts 10 as the Gamecocks had their sixth 100-point outing this season.

Ajae Petty scored 16 points and Sania Tyler 15 for the Wildcats (11-17, 5-9).

NO. 3 STANFORD 81, ARIZONA STATE 67

STANFORD, Calif. — Kiki Iriafen had 22 points and 20 rebounds, Cameron Brink added 14 points and Stanford rebounded after an upset loss to Arizona without Brink to wrap up at least a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title.

The Cardinal took at least a share of the regular-season title for the fourth consecutive season, and 27th time in program history.

Brink returned from an illness and had nine rebounds, seven assists and five blocks.

Stanford (24-4, 13-3) hosted its final regular-season Pac-12 home game, with the Cardinal moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference next season and Arizona State (11-17, 3-1) going to the Big 12.

Jalyn Brown led Arizona State with 18 points.

NO. 4 IOWA 101, ILLINOIS 85

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark had 24 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists as Iowa bounced back from a loss to No. 14 Indiana.

Hannah Stuelke scored 20 points for Iowa (24-4, 13-3).

Molly Davis scored 17 points and Kate Martin 13 for the Hawkeyes. Iowa topped the 100-point mark for the ninth time this season. Makira Cook scored 26 points to lead Illinois (13-13, 7-9).

DUKE 69, NO. 6 N.C. STATE 58

DURHAM, N.C. — Taina Mair scored 19 points and Duke beat a ranked opponent for the second time in four days.

Reigan Richardson scored 15 points and Kennedy Brown added 14 as Duke (18-9, 10-6) avenged a 15-point loss to N.C. State last month.

Aziaha James scored 15 points, River Baldwin added 14 and Saniya Rivers had 13 for N.C. State (23-5, 11-5).

NO. 8 VIRGINIA TECH 74, NORTH CAROLINA 62

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Elizabeth Kitley scored 34 points and Virginia Tech won its 10th straight game.

Kitley shot 11 for 17 from the floor and 12 for 14 from the line for the Hokies (23-4, 14-2), who clinched a share of the ACC’s regular-season crown.

Deja Kelly led the Tar Heels (18-10, 106) with 29 points.

WASHINGTON 61, NO. 9 OREGON STATE 51

SEATTLE — Elle Ladine scored 23 points, Dalayah Daniels added 15 and Washington dealt Oregon State a blow in its hopes of at least sharing the Pac-12 Conference regular-season title.

With the Beavers playing without leading scorer and rebounder Raegan Beers, the Huskies (15-12, 5-11) opened the game with an 8-0 run of points in the paint, converting three turnovers into three field goals, and never trailed.

Timea Gardiner had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Oregon State (22-5, 11-5).

KANSAS 58,

NO. 10 KANSAS STATE 55

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Freshman S’Mya Nichols scored 22 points to lead Kansas to its sixth win in seven games.

Taiyanna Jackson added 11 points and Holly Kersgieter scored 10 for Kansas (1611, 9-7), which closed out the victory with an 11-4 run.

Ayoka Lee scored 14 points and Taryn Sides added 11 for Kansas State (23-5, 12-4), which has gone 3-4 in its last seven games.

NO. 13 LSU 75, TENNESSEE 60

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Hailey Van Lith scored 12 of her 26 points in the fourth quarter and Angel Reese added 11 points and 16 rebounds as LSU used a late 16-2 run for the win.

Reese scored four points in the decisive run and surpassed 2,000 career points. Mikaylah Williams had 15 points for LSU (24-2, 11-3).

Rickea Jackson scored 16 points, giving her 1,009 for her career, and added nine rebounds for the Lady Vols (16-10, 9-5).

NO. 15 UCONN 104, DEPAUL 67

CHICAGO — Paige Bueckers scored 30 points, Aaliyah Edwards added 23 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, and No. 15 Connecticut rolled to a victory over DePaul, beating the Blue Demons for a 25th consecutive time.

Bueckers made 9 of 15 shots and 11 of 13 free throws for the Huskies (24-5, 16-0), who have won four in a row since an 83-65 loss to No. 1 South Carolina.

Freshman Ashlynn Shade had 13 points and KK Arnold scored 12 for UConn. Nika Muhl pitched in with 10 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds.

Kate Clarke scored 24 to lead the Blue Demons (12-17, 4-12).

NO. 17 SYRACUSE 63, PITTSBURGH 53

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Dyaisha Fair scored 15 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter and moved into the fifth spot on the women’s NCAA Division I career scoring list as Syracuse used a late rally for the win.

Fair passed Brittney Griner, who scored 3,283 points for Baylor from 2009 through 2013.

Georgia Woolley scored 14 points and Sophie Burrows added 11 for Syracuse (23-5, 13-4). Liatu King had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Pittsburgh (8-21, 2-14).

NO. 18 UTAH 74,

NO. 7 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 68

LOS ANGELES — Alissa Pili had 23 points and nine rebounds against her old team and Utah defeated Southern California despite 30 points from Trojans star JuJu Watkins.

The Utes (20-8, 10-6) ended the Trojans’ seven-game winning streak and completed a season sweep. Utah had never beaten a team ranked higher than 15th away from home.

Kaitlyn Davis added 13 points on 6-of6 shooting before fouling out with 3:18 remaining for USC (21-5, 11-5).

NO. 19 NOTRE DAME 79, BOSTON COLLEGE 55

BOSTON — Hannah Hidalgo scored 19 points, Maddy Westbeld added 18 and Notre Dame overcome a poor first quarter for the win.

The Irish outscored Boston College 18-4 in the second quarter and 42-19 in the middle periods.

Sonia Citron scored 16 and Anna DeWolfe 11 for the Fighting Irish (21-6, 115). Dontavia Waggoner scored 25 points on 9-for-17 shooting for the Eagles (1118, 3-13).

VIRGINIA 73,

NO. 20 LOUISVILLE 68

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Camryn Taylor scored nine of her 22 points in the fourth quarter, Kymora Johnson made three free throws in the last 14.6 seconds to lead Virginia.

The Cavaliers are the first unranked Atlantic Coast Conference team to win in the KFC Yum! Center since it opened, ending a streak of 56 straight victories for the Cardinals.

Johnson finished with 18 points for Virginia (14-13, 6-10), which beat its third ranked team. Nyla Harris had 17 points and nine rebounds for Louisville (22-7, 11-5).

MEN’S TOP 25 NO. 3 PURDUE 84, MICHIGAN 76

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Zach Edey matched his season high with 35 points and had 15 rebounds, helping No. 3 Purdue bounce back from a rough start to beat Michigan.

The Boilermakers (25-3, 14-3) are closing in on a conference championship, building a 2 1/2-game lead over No. 12 Illinois with three regular-season games left on their schedule.

The Wolverines (8-20, 3-14) moved closer to clinching last place in the Big Ten with their fifth consecutive loss and 10th setback in 11 games under embattled Coach Juwan Howard.

Dug McDaniel had 19 points and six assists for the Wolverines.

The 7-4 Edey made 14 of 18 shots and scored 35 points for the third time this season, falling three short of equaling his career high.

NO. 7 MARQUETTE 88, XAVIER 64

MILWAUKEE — Kam Jones celebrated his 22nd birthday by scoring 34 points for a second consecutive game and Marquette trounced slumping Xavier.

Tyler Kolek added 11 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds to help Marquette (21-6, 12-4) win for the 10th time in 11 games.

Xavier (13-14, 7-9) lost its fourth in a row. Trey Green scored 16 points for the Musketeers.

ST. JOHN’S 80, NO. 15 CREIGHTON 66

NEW YORK — Daniss Jenkins scored a season-high 27 points and St. John’s shredded Creighton for its biggest victory under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.

Jordan Dingle added 18 points and the Red Storm (16-12, 8-9) finally closed out a quality conference opponent following a string of blown leads.

Trey Alexander scored a season-best 31 points for Creighton (20-8, 11-6), which had won four in a row and seven of nine. Ryan Kalkbrenner had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 8 blocks for Creighton.

Sheldon