Jacy Sheldon registered 25 points as No. 8 Ohio State earned a vital home win over No. 10 Indiana 74-69 on Sunday in Columbus, Ohio.
Cotie McMahon complemented Sheldon’s production with 20 points and seven rebounds for Ohio State before fouling out in the final minutes. Taylor Thierry and Rebeka Mikulasikova each chipped in 11 points for the Buckeyes (19-3, 10-1 Big Ten), who won their ninth straight game and scored their second Top 10 victory this season.
Sara Scalia led Indiana (18-3, 9-2) with 25 points while Mackenzie Holmes and Yarden Garzon added 14 apiece, but the Hoosiers’ turnover troubles doomed them in the second half.
Indiana led 37-32 at halftime but quickly unraveled in the third quarter against Ohio State’s tenacious defense. The Buckeyes overwhelmed the Hoosiers with their full-court press and forced 11 turnovers as Ohio State outscored Indiana 23-10 in the period to enter the final frame ahead 55-47.
No. 1 South Carolina 85, Ole Miss 56
Kamilla Cardoso posted 17 points as the top-ranked Gamecocks raced past the Rebels in Columbia, S.C.
Ashlyn Watkins and Te-Hina Paopao both supplied 11 points and Watkins added 10 rebounds for South Carolina (21-0, 9-0 Southeastern Conference), which extended the longest active home winning streak in women’s Division I basketball to 51 games. The Gamecocks flipped 21 takeaways into 17 points and outmuscled Ole Miss 50-26 in points in the paint.
Madison Scott finished with 17 points to lead the Rebels (16-6, 6-3), who kept within a point late in the second quarter until South Carolina ended the half on an 8-0 to carry a nine-point lead into the break. The Gamecocks outscored Ole Miss 45-25 in the second half.
No. 12 Texas 61, No. 2 Kansas State 54
Aaliyah Moore delivered 10 points and 15 rebounds as the Longhorns knocked off the Wildcats in Austin, Texas.
Madison Booker scored 20 points and Taylor Jones added 13 points and eight boards before fouling out for Texas (21-3, 8-3 Big 12) in its first win this season by single digits. The Longhorns outrebounded Kansas State 39-30 and held a 21-12 edge in second-chance points.
The Wildcats (20-3, 9-2) relied on 18 points from Eliza Maupin and 14 from Serena Sundell. Kansas State shot 19-for-53 from the field (35.8 percent), missed 18 of its 21 3-pointers and finished with its lowest scoring output in a game this season.
No. 4 Stanford 80, No. 7 UCLA 60
Cameron Brink was dominant down low as the host Cardinal blasted the Bruins.
Brink, who entered Sunday leading the Pac-12 with 3.4 blocks per game, swatted seven shots and grabbed 19 rebounds to go along with her 19 points as Stanford (20-3, 9-2 Pac-12) bullied UCLA to a 52-12 advantage in points in the paint. Kiki Iriafen scored 18 points and Hannah Jump tacked on 10 amid the Cardinal’s most efficient shooting performance this season (63.5 percent) as Stanford resoundingly recovered from its 67-58 home setback to USC on Friday.
UCLA (17-4, 6-4) started flat by shooting 25 percent (5 of 20) in the opening quarter and dug itself into a 45-27 halftime hole. Charisma Osborne and Londynn Jones each had 13 points as the Bruins slogged to a 20-of-68 outing from the field (29.4 percent) en route to their fourth loss in their last seven games.
No. 6 Colorado 80, Washington 57
Aaronette Vonleh made 10 of 13 field goals and finished with 21 points as the Buffaloes walloped the Huskies in Seattle.
All of Vonleh’s shot attempts came from inside the arc, while Maddie Nolan did the damage from deep by drilling all three of her 3-point attempts. They energized an efficient Colorado offense that shot 35-of-60 from the field (58.3 percent) en route to the Buffaloes’ third straight win. Colorado (19-3, 9-2 Pac-12) outrebounded Washington 41-29 and bullied the Huskies to a 48-26 advantage in paint points.
Washington’s Dalayah Daniels recorded 14 points, leaving her two shy of 1,000 for her career. Sayvia Sellers managed 12 points as the only other double-digit scorer for the Huskies (13-8, 3-7), who are 1-3 amid a stretch of five consecutive games against ranked opponents.
No. 9 LSU 106, Florida 66
Six players scored in double figures as the Tigers trounced the Gators in Baton Rouge, La.
Mikaylah Williams and Hailey Van Lith each scored 21, Aneesah Morrow had 18, Angel Reese tallied 14, Aalyah Del Rosario notched 11 and Flau’jae Johnson tallied 10 for LSU (19-4, 6-3 SEC), which shot 49.3 percent from the field (37-of-75) to snap its two-game skid.
Aliyah Matharu fueled Florida (11-9, 2-6) with 20 points on 7-for-23 shooting in her first action since missing the Gators’ previous two games with an illness. Florida committed 20 turnovers and was overpowered 59-34 on the glass, which translated to a 24-4 disadvantage in second-chance points.
No. 11 UConn 78, St. John’s 63
Aaliyah Edwards ran up a season-high 33 points to lift the Huskies over the visiting Red Storm in Storrs, Conn.
Edwards went 12-of-20 from the field and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Paige Bueckers complemented Edwards’ big day with 26 points, five boards and three assists for UConn (19-4, 11-0 Big East). No other scorer registered more than six points for the Huskies, who outpaced St. John’s 21-8 in transition and limited the visitors to 4-of-18 shooting (22.2 percent) from 3-point range.
Ber’Nyah Mayo hit for 16 points before fouling out for the Red Storm (14-10, 8-4), which had its three-game winning streak snapped. Unique Drake added 14 points for St. John’s, while Jailah Donald and Jillian Archer each supplied 10 points.
No. 13 Baylor 83, Houston 60
Yaya Felder and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs combined for 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting to lead the Lady Bears’ efficient offense as Baylor coasted past the host Cougars.
Felder shot 6-of-8 to log 14 points, while Littlepage-Buggs hit five of her six shots and finished with 12 points as the Lady Bears (17-4, 6-4 Big 12) defeated Houston for the second time this season. Dre’Una Edwards added 15 points for Baylor, which shot 55.9 percent (33-of-59) from the field, outrebounded the Cougars 52-26 and owned a 44-22 advantage in points in the paint.
Houston (12-10, 3-8) was led by Laila Blair’s 14 points as the Cougars’ 30.6 percent shooting clip (22-for-72) prevented them from capitalizing on their 26 takeaways.
No. 14 Notre Dame 78, Pitt 53
Hannah Hidalgo ran up 22 points as the Fighting Irish powered past the Panthers in South Bend, Ind.
Hidalgo added six rebounds, dished out five assists and hit four 3-pointers for Notre Dame (17-4, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), which shot 10-of-25 from distance to notch its third straight win. Maddy Westbeld racked up 15 points and 14 boards, Sonia Citron matched Westbeld’s scoring output and the Fighting Irish stifled Pitt to 28.8 percent shooting (17-of-59).
Liatu King (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Jala Jordan (17 points, 10 boards) each logged double-doubles for the Panthers (7-16, 1-9).
No. 15 Southern California 79, Cal 69
JuJu Watkins followed up her scintillating 51-point outing against No. 4 Stanford on Friday with a 29-point effort as the Trojans rallied past the Bears in Berkeley, Calif.
Watkins canned 12 of her 27 field goals and added five assists to go with four rebounds as USC (16-4, 6-4 Pac-12) recovered after trailing 26-15 after the first quarter to win its second straight game. McKenzie Forbes chipped in 12 points for the Trojans, including six free throws in the fourth quarter, as USC outscored the Golden Bears 21-8 in the final period to avoid the upset.
Ionna Krimili’s 21 points led California (13-10, 3-8), which also got 18 points and nine rebounds from Marta Suarez.
No. 17 Virginia Tech 70, No. 24 North Carolina 61 (OT)
Georgia Amoore scored seven of her team-leading 21 points in overtime as the Hokies outlasted the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Amoore added a game-high 11 assists to notch her first double-double this season, while Elizabeth Kitley paired 15 points with 15 rebounds in her 14th double-double of the campaign for Virginia Tech (18-4, 9-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Deja Kelly guided North Carolina (15-8, 7-4) with 26 points and Alyssa Ustby tacked on 10 points and 16 boards as the Tar Heels dropped their third straight game and fell to 11-2 at home this season.
No. 18 Oregon State 64, Oregon 60
Lily Hansford scored all 10 of her points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Beavers outlasted the Ducks in Eugene, Ore.
Hansford drilled 3 of 4 3-pointers in the final frame for Oregon State (18-3, 7-3 Pac-12), which entered the period shooting 2-of-16 from distance but made 4 of 8 treys in the fourth to notch its sixth win in seven games. Raegan Beers racked up 14 points and 16 rebounds in the victory. The Beavers outscored Oregon 34-11 in bench points, fueled by Hansford’s effort and a career-high 19 points from Timea Gardiner.
The Ducks (11-12, 2-8) lost their fifth straight game despite Phillipina Kyei’s 16-point, 18-rebound performance. Chance Gray and Grace VanSlooten added 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Ducks.
No. 20 Utah 73, Washington State 61
Isabel Palmer scored seven points on 3-of-3 shooting in the fourth quarter as the Utes clawed past the Cougars in Pullman, Wash.
Palmer finished with 14 points, shooting 6-of-8 from the field, and led a diverse cast of scorers for Utah (17-6, 7-4 Pac-12) that included Alissa Pili (15 points) and Ines Vieira (10), as well as Jenna Johnson and Kennady McQueen (13 apiece). The Utes entered the fourth quarter leading by three before stifling Washington State to 3-of-10 shooting in the final frame to pull away.
Bella Murekatete and Eleonora Villa carried the Cougars (15-8, 4-6) with 15 points apiece, while Tara Wallack tallied 10 points and 10 boards to register her first double-double this season. Washington State was outscored 25-4 in points off turnovers in its second straight loss since upsetting then-No. 2 UCLA last Sunday.
No. 21 Syracuse 75, Boston College 63
Dyaisha Fair racked up 25 points in the second half and finished with 38 to propel the Orange past the Eagles in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Fair canned 13 of her 25 field-goal attempts, including 5 of 11 from 3-point range, and made all seven of her free throws as Syracuse (18-4, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) outscored Boston College 26-14 in the fourth quarter to snap its two-game losing streak.
Teya Sidberry produced a career-best 23 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for the Eagles (11-13, 3-8) in their sixth loss against a ranked opponent this season and 10th straight overall.
No. 22 Creighton 75, Butler 65
Emma Ronsiek poured in 26 points as the visiting Bluejays beat the Bulldogs in Indianapolis.
Lauren Jensen finished with 19 points, Morgan Maly had 10 and Mallory Brake packaged five points with 12 rebounds for Creighton (18-3, 9-2 Big East), which secured its eighth straight win.
The Bulldogs (9-13, 1-10) hung with the Bluejays behind their quintet of double-digit scorers. Sydney Jaynes led Butler with 15 points and Riley Makalusky had 11, while Caroline Strande, Karsyn Norman and Rachel Kent each hit for 10.
–Field Level Media