GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Jewell Loyd scored 18 of her 26 points in the second half, and No. 2 Notre Dame capped its perfect first run through the Atlantic Coast Conference by beating No. 10 Duke 69-53 on Sunday night in the league tournament final.
Kayla McBride added 25 points to help the top-seeded Fighting Irish (32-0) - last year’s Big East champions - win their second consecutive conference tournament and extend the best start in school history with their third victory over the Blue Devils in five weeks.
Haley Peters had 18 points and Elizabeth Williams finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds for the second-seeded Blue Devils (27-6), who shot 44 percent but had 20 turnovers.
They reached the ACC title game for the sixth time in seven years under coach Joanne P. McCallie, but were denied their second straight championship and fell to 1-9 in the series.
NO. 1 CONNECTICUT 83, RUTGERS 57
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) - Breanna Stewart scored 22 points and UConn breezed into the final of the inaugural American Athletic Conference tournament with a victory over Rutgers.
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored 19 points, hitting five 3-pointers, to help the Huskies (33-0) extend the school’s third-longest winning streak to 39 games.
Connecticut, which won 18 conference tournament championships in the Big East, will play for the inaugural American title Monday against No. 3 Louisville.
Briyona Canty had 16 points to lead Rutgers, which fell to 22-9 and must wait to see whether it has done enough to earn an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament.
NO. 3 LOUISVILLE 60, SOUTH FLORIDA 56
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) - Shoni Schimmel hit a pullup in the lane with 6 seconds left to lift Louisville past South Florida in the American Athletic Conference semifinals.
With the game tied at 56, Courtney Williams missed a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left for South Florida. Schimmel then drove up the court and pulled up in the lane for the go-ahead jumper.
Her sister, Jude, then stole the ball at midcourt from Williams and hit two free throws to seal the win.
Shoni Schimmel led Louisville (30-3) with 17 points. Williams and Inga Orekhova each scored 19 points for South Florida (19-12).
NO. 6 TENNESSEE 71, NO. 12 KENTUCKY 70
DULUTH, Ga. (AP) - Meighan Simmons scored 17 points, including two go-ahead free throws with 1:45 remaining, and Tennessee beat Kentucky to win its record 17th Southeastern Conference tournament title.
Simmons, who struggled with her shooting from the field throughout the tournament, made the two free throws to snap a 63-63 tie. The free throws gave the Lady Vols (27-5) only their second lead of the second half, and they didn’t trail again as Simmons added a layup and two more free throws in the final 22 seconds.
Isabelle Harrison had 16 points for Tennessee.
Kentucky (24-8) played in its fourth final in the last five years but still hasn’t won the tournament since 1982. DeNesha Stallworth led the Wildcats with 21 points.
NO. 7 WEST VIRGINIA 67, TEXAS 60
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Bria Holmes scored 23 points to help West Virginia beat Texas in the Big 12 tournament semifinals for its 12th straight victory.
Christal Caldwell added 15 points for the Mountaineers (29-3).
West Virginia advanced to play No. 9 Baylor in the championship game Monday night.
Chassidy Fussell scored 15 points, and Nekia Jones added 14 for the Longhorns (21-11).
NO. 9 BAYLOR 65, NO. 18 OKLAHOMA ST. 61
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Nina Davis scored 18 points and Odyssey Sims added 17 for Baylor in its victory over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 semifinals.
Davis made 8 of 13 shots and had 12 rebounds. Sims, the Big 12 Player of the Year, shot 6 of 22 but made a critical shot with about 1:30 to play that put the Lady Bears (28-4) ahead by six.
Brittney Martin had 11 points and 15 rebounds for Oklahoma State (23-8).
NO. 16 NEBRASKA 72, NO. 23 IOWA 65
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Rachel Theriot scored 19 of her 24 points in the second half, leading Nebraska past Iowa for the Big Ten tournament title.
It’s the first time the Cornhuskers (25-6) have won a conference tourney crown, earning the league’s automatic NCAA bid. Nebraska also posted its second straight 25-win season and tied for the second-most victories in school history.
Ally Disterhoft had 20 points for Iowa (26-8).
NO. 25 DEPAUL 78, GEORGETOWN 54
CHICAGO (AP) - Megan Rogowski and Megan Podkowa each scored 17 points in top-seeded DePaul’s victory over Georgetown in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.
Rogowski made three 3-pointers for DePaul (25-6). Jessica January added 11 points.
Logan Battle had 20 points for Georgetown (11-21).
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