Boston helps South Carolina beat Texas A&M
Aliyah Boston had 19 points and 15 rebounds for her 10th consecutive double-double and No. 1 South Carolina used a third-quarter surge to put away Texas A&M 65-45 on Thursday night.
Boston had already tied the program best with nine consecutive double-doubles last time out and moved on top when she grabbed her 10th rebound 17 minutes into the game. She already had 15 points.
Still, the Gamecocks (16-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) needed a 15-2 run after halftime to take control. The Aggies (10-6, 0-4) tied it at 26-all on Kayla Wells' opening basket of the period. That's when South Carolina turned things up. Destanni Henderson had a pair of 3-pointers while Boston added another inside bucket.
Qudashiah Hoppie led the Aggies with 15 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
No. 3 LOUISVILLE 84, SYRACUSE 71
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Kianna Smith and Hailey Van Lith each scored 20 points, with Van Lith making a couple of clutch baskets to spark a critical 9-0 run in the final minutes to help Louisville escape Syracuse.
The determined Orange rallied to tie the game at 62 early in the fourth before Smith and Van Lith delivered consecutive 3s to give the Cardinals (14-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 68-64 edge. Van Lith made another basket before Olivia Cochran followed with a three-point play to make it 73-66 with 3 minutes remaining. Van Lith added a jumper and Emily Engstler two free throws for a 77-66 cushion, Mykasa Robinson added a layup and Engstler closed with the game's final five points to cap Louisville's 14th consecutive victory.
Christianna Carr had 19 points and Chrislyn Carr 17 for Syracuse (8-8, 1-5)
No. 4 N.C. STATE 66, VIRGINIA 43
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - Elissa Cunane had 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes of action and No. 4 North Carolina State stretched its winning streak against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents to 14 with a victory over Virginia.
The Wolfpack (15-2, 6-0) trailed 15-6 after missing 12 consecutive shots during a 13-0 run by Virginia in the opening period, but used a 20-1 run to take command and led 29-20 at halftime.
Amandine Toi scored 14 to lead Virginia (3-10, 0-3), which lost its fourth in a row.
No. 5 TENNESSEE 65, VANDERBILT 51
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Jordan Horston scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Tennessee beat Vanderbilt for their seventh straight victory.
The Lady Vols (16-1, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) also won their seventh consecutive game in Memorial Gym against their in-state rival. They've won 13 of the last 14 and are now 31-7 in games played in Nashville in this series.
Rae Burrell had a season-high 11 points off the bench in her fourth game back for Tennessee, and Tamari Key added 10.
Vanderbilt (10-7, 1-2) now has lost two straight, this time after being held to their worst shooting performance of the season at 26.7% (20 of 75).
No. 6 INDIANA 72, NEBRASKA 65
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - Grace Berger scored 22 points and Indiana survived a late push from Nebraska to win.
Aleksa Gulbe added 17 points and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary scored 13 for the Hoosiers (13-2, 5-0 Big Ten), who are 5-0 in the conference for the first time.
Mackenzie Holmes, who leads Indiana in points per game and rebounds per game, missed the matchup with a left knee injury. Kiandra Browne had her first career start in Holmes' place and had two points and five rebounds in 25 minutes.
Alexis Markowski led Nebraska (13-3, 2-3) in scoring with 17 points and Jaz Shelley added 15.
No. 7 ARIZONA 55, OREGON STATE 53
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) - Shaina Pellington hit a foul-line jumper with 0.5 seconds remaining, lifting Arizona to a victory over Oregon State.
Pellington, a senior guard, scored all 12 of her points in the second half as the Wildcats (12-1, 2-1 Pac-12) got back on track after losing their last game at USC.
Oregon State (7-4, 0-1) was valiant in defeat, playing its first game since Dec. 19 because of COVID-19 issues.
The Beavers final hope went awry when the in-bounds pass at midcourt was deflected.
No. 11 MICHIGAN 74, PENN STATE 57
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) - Naz Hillmon had 21 points, Leigha Brown scored 15 of her 17 points in the first half and Michigan beat Penn State for its sixth straight win in the series.
The game featured two of the Big Ten's four 20-point scorers as Hillmon entered averaging 20 points and Penn State's Makenna Marisa 21.7.
Maddie Nolan had 15 points and Emily Kiser added 13 for Michigan (14-2, 5-1 Big Ten), which plays at No. 8 Maryland on Sunday.
Leilani Kapinus also scored 17 points for Penn State (7-7, 1-3) and Ali Brigham added 11.
No. 12 LSU 87, MISSOURI 85, OT
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Khayla Pointer scored at the basket with five seconds left in overtime to liift LSU past Missouri, in a shootout between the two top-shooting teams in the Southeastern Conference.
Alexis Morris gave LSU the lead with a minute to go in the extra period, 85-83, but Missouri got a pair of free throws from Haley Troup to tie the game with :13 remaining. Pointer scored following an LSU timeout, and Mama Dembele's layup attempt at the buzzer was blocked by Morris.
LSU (16-2, 4-1) now is 12-4 all-time against Missouri and has won seven of the eight meetings between the programs. Missouri (13-4, 2-2) has not won in Baton Rouge since 1988.
No. 15 GEORGIA TECH 68, FLORIDA STATE 64
ATLANTA (AP) - Lorela Cubaj scored a career-high 24 points and Georgia Tech closed on a 13-2 run for a victory over Florida State.
Cubaj made 10 of 18 shots and grabbed nine rebounds. Lotta-Maj Lahtinen added 16 points for Georgia Tech (13-3, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Lahtinen made a 3-pointer that gave Georgia Tech a 63-62 lead with 2:16 remaining. Morgan Jones answered with a pair of free throws for Florida State. On the next possession, Nerea Hermosa fired a pass from the top of the arc to Eylia Love, who made a layup under the basket that gave the Yellow Jackets the lead for good at 65-64 with 48.5 seconds to play.
Jones and Makayla Timpson each scored 12 points to lead Florida State (7-7, 1-3).
VIRGINIA TECH 65, No. 16 DUKE 54
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Elizabeth Kitley had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Aisha Sheppard hit three fourth-quarter 3-pointers as Virginia Tech beat Duke.
The Hokies swept Duke for the first time in a season series after having beaten the Blue Devils 77-55 on Dec. 30. It's also their third straight win over the Blue Devils, who hold a 27-6 advantage all-time in the series, and Kenny Brooks' 450th victory as a head coach.
Kitley, who had 27 points and 13 rebounds in the first over Duke (11-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) this season, collected her sixth straight double-double and 28th of her career. Sheppard finished with 13 points and Georgia Amore 10 for the Hokies (12-4, 4-1). Azana Baines grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to go with eight points.
Elizabeth Balogun scored 15 points, Miela Goodchild had 12 points and 11 rebounds for her first career double-double and Shayeann Day-Wilson added 10 points for Duke.
No. 18 BYU 78, SAINT MARY'S 36
PROVO, Utah (AP) - Paisley Harding scored 18 points and BYU held Saint Mary's to just 10 first-half points en route to a rout of the Gaels.
Taycee Wedin hit a 3-pointer with 7:37 left in the first quarter to get Saint Mary's within three, 6-3, but the Gaels were scoreless for the final six minutes of the first period while BYU built a 24-5 lead.
The Cougars (13-1, 3-0 West Coast Conference) have now won three straight since falling to Oklahoma in overtime December 10.
Ali Bamberger had 14 points to lead Saint Mary's (7-6, 1-1).
No. 20 NOTRE DAME 74, WAKE FOREST 64
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Dara Mabrey scored a season-best 22 points, Olivia Miles added 15 points and 12 assists and No. 20 Notre Dame built a big lead early and cruised to a victory over Wake Forest.
Notre Dame (12-3, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which rebounded from a two-point loss to ranked Duke that ended a four-game win streak, made nearly half its shots (27 of 56) while forcing 19 turnovers. Sam Brunelle added 16 points and Maya Dodson had 12 for Notre Dame.
Jewel Spear scored 12 of her 17 points in the second half to lead Wake Forest (12-5, 2-4).
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