COLLEGE HOOPS / TOP 25 WOMEN
Tiffany Mitchell scored 22 points, Alaina Coates had her 13th double-double this season with 14 points and 11 rebounds and No. 2 South Carolina bounced back from its loss to top-ranked UConn with an 86-71 victory over No. 16 Florida on Thursday night. The Gamecocks (23-1, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) overcame a sluggish start — likely a hangover from its 66-54 showdown loss to the Huskies here Monday night. They went on a 16-0 run in the second quarter to take control, up 35-16. The Gators (19-5, 7-4) closed to 65-57 with seven minutes left when Coates had two inside baskets to restore South Carolina’s double-digit lead. A’ja Wilson added to South Carolina’s dominance underneath with 13 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Carla Batchelor had a career-high 18 points to lead the Gators, who have lost seven straight to South Carolina.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 23, Brionna Jones had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 5 Maryland beat Purdue for a season sweep. Coming off a 94-86 loss at Ohio State, the Terrapins (22-3, 11-2 Big Ten) never trailed in defeating the Boilermakers for the second time in nine days. Maryland has lost only two Big Ten games since joining the conference last season — both this year against the Buckeyes. Ashley Morrissette led Purdue (16-8, 7-6) with 18 points and April Wilson added 14. The Boilermakers have dropped three in a row and six of eight. The last time these teams met, Walker-Kimbrough scored 41 in an 87-67 rout. In this one, Walker-Kimbrough had only 10 points at halftime.
Shakayla Thomas scored 14 points and No. 10 Florida State beat Duke for its 10th straight win. Kai James added 11 points for the Seminoles (20-4, 10-1 ACC). They never trailed, shot 46 percent and overcame 19 turnovers by forcing 22 of them in their first win at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 2001. Freshman Angela Salvadores had 13 points for the Blue Devils (17-9, 6-6), who lost their third in four games and already have their most conference losses since finishing with seven in 1996-97. Duke shot 39 percent, had at least 20 turnovers for the ninth time and finished with more giveaways than made field goals (20).
Myisha Hines-Allen had a career-high 29 points, Cortnee Walton had a double-double and No. 12 Louisville rolled over Pittsburgh. Walton hit 8 of 9 shots for a career-high 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, seven on the offensive end, for the Cardinals (19-6, 11-1 ACC), who bounced back after their 15game winning streak was ended by No. 3 Notre Dame on Sunday. Mariya Moore had 21 points and six assists. Louisville outscored the Panthers 19-7 in the second quarter to take a 40-29 lead, shooting 52 percent. Then the Cardinals shot 64 percent (18 of 28) in the second half, pulling away in the fourth quarter. Stasha Carey had 21 points for the Panthers (10-14, 2-9).
Teniya Page scored 20 points, including a tiebreaking basket with a minute remaining, and Penn State upset No. 17 Michigan State. Page gave the Lady Lions (9-15, 4-9 Big Ten) a 62-61 lead and added another bucket with 20 seconds left. A free throw by Lindsey Spann closed out the scoring.