Late free throws push No. 24 Tar Heels over No. 3 Cardinals

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Kennedy Todd-Williams knocked down the go-ahead free throws with 16.2 seconds left and No. 24 North Carolina survived Louisville's two final-play missed shots to upset the third-ranked Cardinals 66-65 on Thursday night.

Todd-Williams finished with 19 points to lead the Tar Heels (20-5, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), who ended an eight-game skid against the Cardinals in dramatic fashion.

After Todd-Williams' free throws, Louisville called timeout to set up a final play. As the clock dwindled down, Kianna Smith hit the front rim on a 3-point attempt. Chelsie Hall managed to grab the rebound and toss the ball up as she fell to the court. The ball sat on the rim before slowly rolling off as the horn sounded.

Deja Kelly had 18 points for UNC, which shot just 38% and made only 5 of 19 3-pointers.

Hailey Van Lith scored 17 points to lead Louisville (22-3, 13-2), which had won all eight meetings with UNC since joining the ACC for the 2014-15 season.

NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 75, AUBURN 37

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Aliyah Boston had 10 points and 12 rebounds for her 18th straight double-double, Zia Cooke scored 20 points and South Carolina won its 12th straight with a victory over Auburn.

Boston moved within a game of the Southeastern Conference mark of 19 straight games with double-figure points and rebounds that was set in 2006 by LSU great Sylvia Fowles. Boston now has 49 career double-doubles.

South Carolina (24-1, 12-1) took a 10-point lead in the first eight minutes, and Auburn (9-15, 1-12) could not catch up. The Gamecocks won their 12th straight in the series.

Aicha Coulibaly led Auburn with nine points, half her season's average, on 4-of-18 shooting. She also had nine rebounds.

NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 92, WAKE FOREST 61

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Diamond Johnson scored 16 points, and North Carolina State moved closer to an Atlantic Coast Conference title with a victory over Wake Forest.

The Wolfpack (23-3, 14-1) racked up its most points in any quarter this season - 37 in the third - on the way to its fifth straight victory.

With No. 3 Louisville losing at No. 24 North Carolina, the Wolfpack is closing in on its first ACC regular-season title since the 1989-90 season. The Wolfpack holds a 1ˆ½-game lead with two games to play.

Jakia Brown-Turner rolled up 15 points, reserve Camille Hobby posted 14 points, Kayla Jones had 11 points and Elissa Cunane added 10 points for N.C. State.

Elise Williams had 14 points and Christina Morra scored 13 for Wake Forest (13-13, 3-12), which lost for the 10th time in its last 11 games. ACC scoring leader Jewel Spear notched 11 points, well below her average of 19.2.

NO. 5 INDIANA 69, NORTHWESTERN 58

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - Aleksa Gulbe scored 20 points and Grace Berger had 11 of her 15 points in the second half to help Indiana pull away for a win over Northwestern.

Nicole Cardaño-Hillary scored 17 points, including three 3-pointers, for Indiana (19-4, 11-2 Big Ten). Mackenzie Holmes scored 6 points and had six rebounds in her first game back since Jan. 5 after having surgery on her left knee.

Veronica Burton led Northwestern (14-10, 6-7) with 20 points. Lauryn Satterwhite and Jillian Brown each added 14 points.

NO. 11 LSU 71, MISSISSIPPI STATE 59

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Alexis Morris scored 10 of her 23 points in the 17-3 run to close the game, Khayla Pointer finished with 18 points and LSU beat Mississippi State for its fifth victory in a row.

LSU (22-4, 10-3 SEC) moved into a three-way tie with Florida and Tennessee for second in the conference standings, behind No. 1 South Carolina.

Jailin Cherry had 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for the Tigers. Autumn Newby and Faustine Aifuwa each scored six points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Anastasia Hayes led Mississippi State (15-10, 6-7) with 17 points and Jerkaila Jones scored 12, but the duo combined to shoot just 29.7% (11 of 37) from the field.

ALABAMA 74, NO. 12 TENNESSEE 64

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Megan Abrams tied her career best with 27 points, Brittany Davis added 23 - including four 3-pointers - and Alabama upset Tennessee to snap a three-game skid against the Lady Vols.

The Lady Vols (21-5, 10-3 SEC) shot 39% (23 of 59) from the field but hit just 3 of 12 from 3-point range and 15 of 26 (58%) from the free-throw line.

Alabama (13-11, 4-9) made 10 of 25 from behind the arc - just the sixth time this season the Crimson Tide reached double figures in made 3s - and shot 88% (14 of 16) from the foul line.

Tamari Key finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds for Tennessee. Burrell scored 13 points and Jordan Horston added 12, but left the game with 1:44 left with an apparent elbow injury.

NO. 13 MARYLAND 77, NO. 18 OHIO STATE

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Angel Reese scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Maryland over No. 18 Ohio State.

It was the eighth straight win for Maryland (20-6, 12-3), which is tied with fifth-ranked Indiana atop the Big Ten standings. Ohio State (19-5, 11-4) ended a four-game win streak.

Diamond Miller added 18 points for Maryland, while Mimi Collins had 12 points and Katie Benzan 11.

Taylor Mikesell had 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting to lead Ohio State. Sheldon finished with 22 points. The pair made eight of the Buckeyes' 11 3-pointers.

NO. 19 NOTRE DAME 72, NO. 16 GEORGIA TECH 66, OT

ATLANTA (AP) - Freshman Olivia Miles finished with 18 points and eight assists, Dara Mabrey scored six of her 11 points in overtime and Notre Dame upended Georgia Tech.

Mabrey grabbed a rebound and fed Miles for a layup to open the scoring in the extra period and the Fighting Irish (20-6, 11-4 ACC) never relinquished the lead.

The Yellow Jackets (19-7, 10-5) hit 3 of 4 free throws to pull within 68-66, but Miles sank two foul shots with 24 seconds left and Mabrey added 1 of 2 11 seconds later to preserve the win.

With the victory, Notre Dame moves into sole possession of fourth place.

Maya Dodson tallied 11 points and 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season, while Sonia Citron had 10 points and 11 boards and Maddy Westbeld had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Lotta-Maj Lahtinen scored a season-high 24 for Georgia Tech. Lorela Cubaj had 10 points and 15 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the campaign.

NO. 17 FLORIDA 76, ARKANSAS 67

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Kiara Smith had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Emanuely de Oliveira added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Florida beat Arkansas.

Florida led by 19 points early in the fourth quarter but went without a field goal for the final six minutes as Arkansas used a 10-0 run to pull within 69-60. The Razorbacks wouldn't get closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Zippy Broughton also scored 15 points for Florida (20-6, 10-3 SEC), which has its most conference wins since finishing with 10 in the 2015-16 season.

Samara Spencer, a four-time SEC freshman of the week, scored 19 points and Sasha Goforth added 18 points for Arkansas (16-9, 6-6).

NO. 20 BYU 77, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 54

PROVO, Utah (AP) - Shaylee Gonzales had 19 points and eight rebounds, Paisley Harding added 18 points and BYU eased past Loyola Marymount for its 29th straight home victory.

BYU took control with an 11-2 run in the second quarter and a 13-2 run in the third to build a 56-38 lead. LMU only made one field goal in the final five minutes of the third, and trailed by at least 18 points in the fourth.

Lauren Gustin added seven points and 12 rebounds for BYU (22-2, 12-1 West Coast Conference), which has won 22 straight conference games at home.

Jasmine Jones had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Ariel Johnson also scored 12 points for Loyola Marymount (8-16, 3-11). The Lions turned it over 23 times, leading to 28 BYU points.

NO. 21 GEORGIA 74, MISSOURI 49

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Jenna Staiti scored 22 points for the second straight game against Missouri and Georgia powered past the Tigers.

Staiti also scored 22 points and had 12 rebounds in the Bulldogs' 72-62 win over Missouri on Jan. 17 in Columbia. Georgia now has won three straight against the Tigers and five of its last seven.

Que Morrison added 12 points for Georgia (18-7, 7-6 SEC) and now has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 Southeastern Conference games. Reigan Richardson added 11 points off the bench.

Hayley Frank, Ladazhia Williams and Jayla Kelly each scored 10 points to lead Missouri (16-10, 5-8). The Tigers have lost four games against ranked opponents since upsetting No. 1 South Carolina in its SEC opener.

NO. 23 VIRGINIA TECH 102, SYRACUSE 53

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Elizabeth Kitley had a season-high 24 points and a career-best 11 rebounds, Aisha Sheppard scored 18 points on six 3-pointers, and Virginia Tech routed Syracuse for its fifth straight win.

Virginia Tech set several program records in the victory, including its most points scored in an Atlantic Coast Conference game and the largest margin of victory in an ACC contest. The Hokies also set a Carrier Dome record for most points scored at Syracuse.

Virginia Tech (20-6, 12-3) surpassed 11 conference wins for the first time since joining the ACC in 2004. The only season the Hokies won 11 times in ACC play was 2019-20.

Kitley was 11 of 17 from the field and also had four assists, and Cayla King and Kayana Traylor added 14 points apiece for Virginia Tech. Sheppard extended her conference record to 383 made 3s.

The Hokies shot 58% (36 of 62) from the floor and 54% (14 of 26) from long range. It was their highest scoring output since beating Central Connecticut 116-65 on Dec. 5.

Teisha Hyman scored 18 points and Chrislyn Carr 14 for Syracuse (11-14, 4-11).

NO. 25 FLORIDA GULF COAST 64, KENNESAW STATE 48

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Kendall Spray scored 15 points to lead Florida Gulf Coast over Kennesaw State.

Spray sank two of her three 3-pointers and scored eight as the Eagles (23-2, 12-1 Atlantic Sun Conference) grabbed an 18-9 lead after one quarter and never looked back.

A layup by Julia Rodriguez and a free throw by Alexis Poole pulled the Owls (9-15, 5-8) within 51-45 with 3:59 remaining in the game. Emma List answered with a 3-pointer and the Eagles closed the game on a 13-3 run to preserve the win.

Seneca Hackley finished with 14 points for FGCU and List had 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Spray has made 439 career 3-pointers, fifth best all-time in NCAA Division I play.

Amani Johnson led Kennesaw State with 16 points on 7-of-20 shooting.

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