Top 25 Capsules
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A'ja Wilson scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds to lead No. 4 South Carolina to a 99-31 win over Alabama State on Friday night.
The party started before final warmups, with rings passed out and the title banner unveiled in the rafters.
And it continued after tip. Alabama State's Amber Hunt hit a 3 to put the Lady Hornets (0-1) up 3-2. South Carolina (1-0) would score the next 23 points. The Gamecocks also ended the first half with another 23-0 run.
The 68-point margin was the second-largest win at South Carolina for coach Dawn Staley.
No. 3 BAYLOR 121, LAMAR 62
WACO, Texas (AP) - Kalani Brown scored 26 points and had 21 rebounds to lead Baylor to a rout of Lamar.
Brown, the 6-foot-7 preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, had no problem with Lamar's much smaller inside players - none taller than 6-2. Baylor controlled inside, outscoring Lamar in the paint, 68-12. The Lady Bears also outrebounded Lamar, 62-29, and blocked eight shots.
Natalie Chou added 20 points and nine rebounds, Dekeiya Cohen had 16 points. Kristy Wallace scored 15 and Alexis Morris scored 12 for Baylor.
Chastadie Barrs scored 14 and Jaelyn Pimentel had 10 points for Lamar.
No. 5 OHIO STATE 85, No. 10 STANFORD 64
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Kelsey Mitchell scored 30 points and Stephanie Mavunga added 17 points and a career-high 26 rebounds to help Ohio State rout Stanford in the season opener for both teams.
Ohio State dominated the pace of play in the third quarter, outscoring the Cardinal 24-14, despite shooting just 6 of 22 from the field in the quarter. The Buckeyes made 11-of-13 free throws in the period.
In the fourth, Mitchell put Ohio State up 21 with a 3-pointer at 8:03 remaining. The basket moved her into second on the Buckeyes' all-time scoring list with 2,583 points.
Brittany McPhee scored 24 points to lead Stanford.
No. 7 MISSISSIPPI STATE 68, VIRGINIA 53
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Victoria Vivians scored 22 points, Roshunda Johnson added 18 and Mississippi State beat Virginia.
Virginia kept things close for a while, tying the game at 18 midway through the second quarter. But Mississippi State methodically pulled away from that point, pushing ahead 33-23 at halftime and 54-37 after the third quarter.
It was an emotional night for Mississippi State, which raised its national finalist banner to the Humphrey Coliseum rafters during a pregame ceremony. The Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament Final Four for the first time in school history last year and went on to upset No. 1 UConn in the semifinals before losing to South Carolina in the national championship game.
Virginia was led by Dominique Toussaint, who scored 17 points. The Cavaliers had 23 turnovers.
No. 8 UCLA 129, SAN JOSE STATE 69
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jordin Canada had the second triple-double of her career with 26 points, 11 steals and 10 assists to lead UCLA to a win over San Jose State.
The Bruins scored the most points in school history, bettering the previous mark of 125 set in 1971 (against Utah State) and 1976 (Oregon State). Freshman Kayla Owens made a 3-pointer to put UCLA over the 125-point mark.
UCLA extended its homecourt win streak at Pauley Pavilion to 30 consecutive games, a span that now spreads over parts of three seasons. The streak is second only to UConn.
Myzhanique Ladd scored all of her team-high 11 points in the first half and Megan Anderson also had 11 for San Jose State.
No. 9 LOUISVILLE 80, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE 40
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Jazmine Jones scored 12 points and Louisville used a dominant start to defeat Southeast Missouri State in a WNIT first-round game.
After missing their first two shots, the Cardinals made nine of their next 14 shots. Meanwhile, the RedHawks missed their first nine shots and trailed 16-0 before LaTrese Saine made a pair of free throws at the 3:15 mark.
Ashton Luttrull hit a 3-pointer for Southeast Missouri State that made it 22-5, but the Cardinals closed the first half on a 14-0 to lead 42-11.
Tesia Thompson had 10 points for the Redhawks, who scored 15 points in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth.
No. 11 OREGON 91, CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 43
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Sabrina Ionescu led a balanced offense with 15 points and Oregon opened the season with an easy win over Cal State Northridge.
Ruthy Hebard and freshman Satou Sabally each added 11 points, and Mallory McGwire and Maite Cazorla added 10 for the Ducks, who closed the first quarter on a 14-2 run for a 23-6 lead.
A 20-5 run in the second quarter pushed the Oregon lead to 53-20 at the half.
Ionescu and Cazorla had seven assists each as Oregon had 23 assists on 34 baskets and only nine turnovers. The Ducks forced the Matadors into 29 turnovers, garnering 21 steals, getting 36 points off the miscues. The high-octane Ducks also had 22 fast-break points.
Channon Fluker had nine points and nine rebounds for Northridge.
No. 13 WEST VIRGINIA 102, CENTRAL CONNECTICUT 52
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - Teana Muldrow scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead West Virginia to a rout of Central Connecticut State.
Muldrow was 11 of 19 from the field to reach her 11th career double-double. Naomi Davenport added 17 points and 11 rebounds in her debut for the Mountaineers. Kristina King added 14 points and Katrina Pardee 13.
Kiana Patterson scored 14 points and Morgan Johnson had 11 for Central Connecticut State.
No. 15 MARYLAND 91, ALBANY 58
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Blair Watson scored 16 points, Stephanie Jones had her first career double-double with 11 points and 18 rebounds and Maryland beat Albany.
Before the game, Maryland players received their Big Ten championship rings.
Kristen Confroy and Brianna Fraser each scored 14 points for Maryland. Fraser also grabbed 10 rebounds as the Terrapins outrebounded Albany 60-42. Kaila Charles had 13 points and eight rebounds. Jones also had four assists and three blocks.
WEWSTERN KENTUCKY 79, No. 16 MISSOURI 76
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Tashia Brown scored 13 of Western Kentucky's 18 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 30 as the Hilltoppers opened the season with an upset of Missouri at the Hawkeye Challenge.
The Tigers took their last lead at 66-65 with 3:35 to play on two free throws by Sophie Cunningham but Brown quickly responded with a 3-pointer. Cunningham tied the game at 70 with a layup with 2:04 to go and Sidnee Bopp answered that with a 3-pointer. Brown scored the last six points for Western Kentucky in the final minute, including a contested pull-up jumper with 17.5 seconds to play and two free throws with 1.1 to go.
Dee Givens added 20 points for the Hilltoppers.
Cunningham finished with 25 points to become the 35th member of Missouri's 1,000-point club, and the junior is the second-fastest to reach the milestone. Jordan Frericks added 24 points for the Tigers, who have their highest ranking since Nov. 11, 1984. Cierra Porter had her 14th double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
No. 18 FLORIDA STATE 109, NORTH FLORIDA 51
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Chatrice White had a career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds and Imani Wright added 17 points and eight assists to help Florida State beat North Florida.
AJ Alix hit 5-of-8 3-pointers and finished with 17 points and Shakayla Thomas had 16 points and nine rebounds for Florida State. Nicki Ekhomu scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half and finished with 13 rebounds.
Keonna Farmer led North Florida with 17 points.
No. 19 OREGON ST 65, NORTH DAKOTA 55
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) - Marie Gulich and Mikayla Pivec each had double-doubles, and Oregon State pulled away from North Dakota.
Gulich had a pair of jumpers in a 6-0 run that gave the Beavers a 56-49 lead with 6:18 to play and Taya Corosdale followed a Katie McWilliams jumper to make it 63-43 with 3:06 to go.
Gulich finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks, giving her 105 for her career. Pivec had 15 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, seven assists, also a career best, and three steals. McWilliams scored 13 for the Beavers, who won their opener for the 20th straight season.
Milissa Dailey had 15 points to lead the Fighting Hawks.
No. 20 TEXAS A&M 83, HOUSTON 65
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Danni Williams scored 21 points while Khaalia Hillsman and Anriel Howard each had double-doubles to help Texas A&M beat Houston in the first round of the Preseason WNIT.
The Aggies will host Louisiana in the second round on Sunday.
Hillsman had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Howard added 11 and 14 and Chennedy Carter scored 15 points for Texas A&M.
Texas A&M hit 31 of 36 from the free-throw line, while the Cougars made 13 of 18.
Dorian Branch had 17 points and Harris scored 14 for Houston.
No. 20 CALIFORNIA 87, SAINT MARY'S 80
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Kristine Anigwe scored 17, Penina Davidson added 10 points and 12 rebounds and California beat Saint Mary's.
The Bears took the lead for good at 74-73 on Mi'Cole Cayton's 3-pointer with 4:37 left in the game. That sparked a 9-2 run capped at 80-75 by Anigwe's jumper with 40 seconds left and California made 7 of 8 free throws to secure the win.
Cayton and Mikayla Cowling finished with 13 points each, Asha Thomas scored 12 and Alaysia Styles had 11 for Cal.
Stella Beck had 22 points and eight rebounds to lead Saint Mary's. Megan McKay added 17, Jasmine Forcadilla 12 and Sydney Raggio had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Gaels had their largest lead after opening the game up 16-9. Cal scored 10 straight to go in front and mostly led from there.
No. 22 OKLAHOMA 96, BELMONT 73
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Vionise Pierre-Louis scored 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds to help Oklahoma beat Belmont.
Maddie Manning added 17 points, Mandy Simpson scored 12, and LaNesia Williams and Gabbi Ortiz added 10 each.
Oklahoma had its largest lead at 61-29 after opening the second half with a 12-0 run. The Bruins responded with 11 straight points to get to 61-40 but got the deficit no closer than 18 the rest of the way.
Sally McCabe led Belmont with 18 points, Darby Maggard scored 14 and Kylee Smith 11.
No. 23 SOUTH FLORIDA 61, LSU 55
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Maria Jespersen scored 20 points, Kitija Laksa added 16 and South Florida held off LSU.
Raigyne (Moncrief) Louis, who scored LSU's last seven points, scored five straight points, the last three from the foul line, to pull the Tigers within 55-53 with 1:13 to play. But LSU missed its last three shots in the final minute while the Bulls were making 4 of 6 free throws and Jespersen drove through traffic for a layup.
South Florida made 14 of 16 free throws in the second half, including all 10 in the third quarter, to overcome 27 percent shooting after the break, which included going 1 of 11 behind the 3-point line.
No. 24 MICHIGAN 75, GEORGE MASON 61
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Katelynn Flaherty scored 29 points, Hallie Thome had a double-double and No. 24 Michigan pulled away from George Mason for a season-opening in the preseason WNIT.
Thome had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolverines, who won the WNIT post-season tournament last spring. Nicole Munger added 14 points.
Flaherty scored five-straight points, with a 3-point play, early in the third quarter and had a 3-pointer in another 5-0 burst that helped built a 55-48 lead going into the fourth.
The Patriots were within six midway through the fourth after Jacy Bolton knocked down a 3-pointer. But Flaherty had a pair of 3s in a 10-0 run to seal it.
Freshman Nicole Cardano-Hillarty hit five 3-pointers and scored 22 points for the Patriots.
NORTHERN COLORADO 94, No. 25 DEPAUL 88
CHICAGO (AP) - Savannah Scott had a career-high 35 points and Courtney Smith scored 24 to help Northern Colorado beat DePaul.
Scott shot 9 of 13 from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and hit all of her 13 free throw attempts.
DePaul took a 43-41 lead into halftime, but Scott hit three 3s during an 11-3 run to open the second half and never again trailed. After Chante Stonewall's 3-pointer trimmed DePaul's deficit to 52-49 midway through the third quarter, the Bears scored 11 consecutive points to take a 63-49 lead three minutes later.
Tanita Allen had 17 points and nine rebounds, Amarah Coleman added 16 points and Millender scored 14 for DePaul.