COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Kia Nurse scored 23 points and Katie Lou Samuelson added 20 as No. 1 UConn powered past defending national champ South Carolina 83-58 on Thursday night.
The Huskies opened things up early to lead 53-24 at the half on their way to a 21-0 start for the fourth time in five seasons. They extended their NCAA mark with their 48th straight road win and, if anyone needed more evidence, marked themselves the clear favorite for another NCAA title.
No. 7 South Carolina (18-4) fell to 0-6 all-time against UConn and 0-15 in program history against No. 1 teams.
A’ja Wilson, the two-time defending Southeastern Conference player of the year, struggled from the field, going 4 of 18 for 14 points. She also had 16 rebounds and six blocks. Wilson was recruited hard by UConn before picking the Gamecocks and lost to the Huskies all four of her college seasons.
No. 2 MISSISSIPPI STATE 57, No. 15 MISSOURI 53
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Victoria Vivians made a go-ahead jumper with four seconds left and Mississippi State continued its perfect season with a road victory against Missouri.
The Bulldogs and Tigers played a tight fourth quarter. Missouri’s Sophie Cunningham tied the game at 53 with nine seconds left with a 3-pointer.
Vivians then hit her shot to make it 55-53. After an offensive foul on Jordan Frericks, Teaira McCowan hit two free throws to seal the game for Mississippi State (23-0, 9-0 Southeastern Conference).
Blair Schaefer led the Bulldogs with a season-high 20 points, but Mississippi State struggled shooting the ball all night. However, the Bulldogs’ defense held Missouri (17-6, 5-4) to just 32 percent from the field in the second half.
No. 4 LOUISVILLE 77, VIRGINIA 41
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - Asia Durr scored 21 points and Louisville broke open a tight game with 16 consecutive points in the third quarter and beat Virginia.
Bionca Dunham added 13 points and Arica Carter 12 for the Cardinals (23-1, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Louisville led just 31-29 after Virginia scored first after halftime, but had a 51-31 lead after the scoring burst. The Cardinals outscored Virginia 46-14 after halftime.
The Cavaliers (15-8, 8-2) were led by Aliyah Huland El with nine points, including the 1,000th of her career in the final minute. Virginia hurt its cause with 22 turnovers, which the Cardinals turned into 20 points.
No. 5 NOTRE DAME 94, NORTH CAROLINA 62
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Marina Mabrey scored a season-high 25 points and fellow guard Arike Ogunbowale added 24 as Notre Dame rolled past North Carolina for its sixth straight victory.
Kristina Nelson added 11 points for the Irish (21-2, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who had a season-high 28 assists on their 37 baskets. Mabrey had a season-high eight assists, two more than Jessica Shepard and three more than Ogunbowale.
Jamie Cherry led the Tar Heels (14-8, 4-5 ACC) with 15 points, Paris Kea scored 13 and Janelle Bailey had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
N.C. STATE 65, No. 10 FLORIDA STATE 56
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Akela Maize scored eight of her 18 points in the final five minutes as North Carolina State beat Florida State.
Kiara Leslie added 16 points for the Wolfpack (18-5, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their sixth consecutive game.
Maize was helped off the court after twisting her right ankle early in the third quarter, but she returned and scored in the lane to break a 47-47 tie with 4:14 to play in the game.
Maize added another basket and four consecutive free throws to help N.C. State build a 58-50 lead with 1:53 remaining.
Imani Wright scored 13 points to lead Florida State (18-4, 6-3), which lost for the second game in a row.
No. 11 MARYLAND 88, RUTGERS 60
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Kaila Charles and Eleanna Christinaki combined for 42 points on 17-of-26 shooting and Maryland rolled to a win over Rutgers.
Charles had 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting with six rebounds and five assists. Christinaki had 20 on 8-of-13, including 2 of 4 from 3-point range, eight rebounds and six assists.
Stephanie Jones added 16 points for the Terrapins (19-3, 8-1 Big Ten) and Kristen Confroy had 11, hitting all four of her shots, three behind the arc. Maryland made 7 of 9 from distance and shot 59 percent overall (32 of 54) with 25 assists.
The Scarlet Knights scored the first two points of the game but Maryland scored the next nine and turned that into a 16-2 run. It was 41-28 at the half, with Charles scoring 17 points.
Khadaizha Sanders had 12 points for Rutgers (17-7, 5-5), which has lost four straight.
No. 12 TENNESSEE 87, No. 14 TEXAS A&M 62
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Jaime Nared scored 23 points and Mercedes Russell had a double-double as Tennessee dominated the fourth quarter to pull away for a victory over Texas A&M.
Russell had 18 points and 13 rebounds to help Tennessee rebound in its first game since falling out of the top 10. Tennessee (18-4, 6-3 SEC) entered the night having lost four of its last six games after a 15-0 start.
In a game that featured 30 lead changes, Tennessee broke away by outscoring Texas A&M 25-8 in the fourth quarter. Texas A&M (17-7, 6-3) had led 59-57 at the end of the third period.
Chennedy Carter scored 25 points and Jasmine Lumpkin had a career-high 22 points for the Aggies. All of Lumpkin’s points came before halftime, and she attempted only one shot in the second half.
PURDUE 81, No. 13 MICHIGAN 79
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Dominique Oden scored 26 points, including the last four in regulation, and Karissa McLaughlin added 21, including back-to-back 3-pointers in overtime, and Purdue shocked Michigan.
The Boilermakers (15-8, 6-3 Big Ten) scored the last 16 points in regulation with Oden’s basket with 0.7 seconds to go tying the game at 72. The referees then called a foul on Purdue with 0.3 to go but Kayla Robbins missed both free throws.
Michigan (19-5, 8-3), which had won six straight, which missed its last six shots over six-plus minutes with five turnovers, took the lead three times in OT but each time Purdue answered. McLaughin’s 3 with 1:09 to play made it 80-79.
The Wolverines came up empty on their last two possessions and Oden added a final free throw with 0.2 to go.
Lamina Cooper had 18 points for Purdue, which got six 3s from McLaughlin and four from Oden.
Katelynn Flaherty scored 24 points, Hallie Thome 20 and Hailey Brown 18 for Michigan.
LSU 71, No. 17 GEORGIA 60
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Chloe Jackson scored 21 points, Ayana Mitchell and Raigyne Louis had double-doubles and LSU defeated Georgia.
Mitchell scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Louis had 15 and 10 - and was an assist shy of a triple-double - for the Tigers (14-6, 5-3).
Mackenzie Engram, who surpassed 1,000 career points, hit a 3-pointer in the first minute of the fourth quarter to put the Bulldogs (19-3, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) within one but the Tigers scored the next five and turned that into an 11-2 run for a 62-52 lead.
LSU outscored Georgia 20-13 in the fourth quarter with 14 points coming from the foul line on 18 attempts. The last 11 points free throws came in the last 1:42 after a four minute scoring drought for both teams.
Georgia, which was 7-0 in January, got 15 points from Que Morrison and 5 of 20 in the fourth quarter.
No. 19 DUKE 77, GEORGIA TECH 59
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Lexie Brown scored 24 points with six rebounds and six assists and Duke tied the school record with its 30th straight regular-season home win, topping Georgia Tech.
Rebecca Greenwell had 18 points, giving her 1,718 for her career and seventh on the Blue Devils’ career list. Jade Williams added a career-high 16 on 7-of-8 shooting and matched Greenwell’s eight rebounds. Brown surpassed 1,900 points for her career at Maryland and Duke.
The Blue Devils (18-5, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) were without injured Haley Gorecki, who is day to day,
The Yellowjackets (13-10, 2-8), down a dozen at halftime, were within four midway through the fourth quarter but a 15-2 run wrapped it up as Tech went 0 for 5 with three turnovers and Duke made its last seven shots.
Antonia Peresson had 17 on five 3s and Kaylan Pugh 16 for Georgia Tech.
No. 20 GREEN BAY 58, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 41
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Jessica Lindstrom scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Green Bay beat Northern Kentucky to avenge its only Horizon League loss.
The Phoenix (20-2, 10-1) have won 15 of their last 16, the only loss coming to the Norse, 62-54, on Dec. 30. Green Bay’s other loss was against Mississippi State, currently ranked No. 2.
Green Bay scored the game’s first four points and added a 13-0 run in taking a 17-8 first-quarter lead and led the entire way. NKU (5-17, 3-8) got as close as eight late in the third quarter. Green Bay had a double-digit lead throughout the fourth.
Molly Glick scored 13 points for NKU.
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