COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Joyce Edwards scored 25 points and No. 3 South Carolina won its 24th straight game over previously undefeated Alabama 83-57 on Thursday to start Southeastern Conference play.
Raven Johnson added 17 points for the Gamecocks (14-1, 1-0 SEC), who played without injured Ta’Niya Latson, who is second on the team with a 16.9-point average.
South Carolina built a double-digit lead late in the first half and, after the Crimson Tide (14-1, 0-1) cut it to 40-34 at halftime, used a 23-10 run in the third quarter to take control for good.
It was another outing in which the Gamecocks were less than full strength. Latson sprained her left ankle in Sunday’s win over Providence and did not play. The absence did not seem to affect South Carolina much, as it took a 40-26 lead with 2:18 to go before halftime.
But the Crimson Tide scored the final eight points off 3-pointers by Jessica Timmons and Dina Collins to trim the deficit to seven points.
Collins led Alabama with 17 points.
ILLINOIS 73, NO. 7 Maryland 70
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) —Berry Wallace scored 22 points including two free throws with 15.6 seconds left to lead Illinois to a victory over Maryland.
Maryland’s Saylor Poffenbarger missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer. The previously undefeated Terrapins (14-1, 2-1 Big Ten) had won 42 straight games and were 78-1 over four seasons when leading going into the fourth quarter. The Terps led the Illini 54-52 after three quarters.
It was the 11th consecutive win for Illinois (13-1, 3-0), which is off to the best start in program history.
Cearah Parchment had 17 points and eight rebounds and was 8 of 10 at the free-throw line for the Illini, who were 20 of 23 on foul shots overall.
Gretchen Dolan scored 17 points including two free throws with 1:05 to go to put the Illini up 71-68. Maryland’s Yarden Garzon cut Illinois’ lead to 71-70 with a pair of free throws with 50.5 seconds to go.
Garzon scored 17 points and had seven rebounds for the Terps, who were 1 for 12 from deep and committed 18 turnovers after scoring at least 80 points in 13 games of their first 14 games.
Poffenbarger had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Oluchi Okananwa had 12 points for Maryland.
NO. 12 VANDERBILT 88, ARKANSAS 71
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Mikayla Blakes had 35 points, a career-high tying eight assists and three steals, Sacha Washington added 12 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, and Vanderbilt beat Arkansas in the SEC opener for both teams.
Vanderbilt (14-0) is off to the best start in program history. The Commodores won 13 straight to open the 1992-93 and 1995-96 seasons.
Aubrey Galvan hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points and six assists for Vanderbilt.
Arkansas (11-4) jumped to an 11-5 lead when Bonnie Deas made a driving layup about 4 1/2 minutes into the game but the Commodores answered with a 15-1 run over the next four minutes. Galvan capped the spurt with a 3-pointer that made it 20-12 and Vanderbilt led by double figures the rest of the way.
Taleyah Jones made five 3s and finished with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting for the Razorbacks. Jenna Lawrence added 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
NO. 13 LOUISVILLE 91, SMU 58
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Tajia Roberts scored 15, Imari Berry and Elif Istanbulluoglu both recorded 11 points, and Louisville beat SMU.
The Cardinals (13-3, 3-0 ACC) pulled away with a 14-0 run in the second quarter to go up 33-17 and didn’t lose momentum the rest of the game. Louisville shot 49% (22 of 48) from the field and 91% (10 of 11) from the free-throw line.
Berry led Louisville with nine boards and the Cardinals outrebounded SMU 41-27.
Paulina Paris scored 20 points for the Mustangs (7-8, 0-3). Zahra King and Sahnya Jah added nine points apiece. SMU ended the game with a 9-0 run, holding Louisville scoreless for the final 2:15 of the game.
Skylar Jones added 10 points and five steals for the Cardinals.
NO. 14 IOWA 86, NO.20 NEBRASKA 76
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Chit-Chat Wright scored 24 points, Hannah Stuelke made 7 of 11 from the field and finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Iowa beat Nebraska.
Wight made 11 of 12 from the free-throw line and Stuelke hit 7 of 7. Ava Heiden scored 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting for Iowa (12-2, 3-0 Big Ten) and Taylor Stremlow added eight points, eight assists and three steals.
Nebraska (12-2, 1-2) has lost back-to-back games after the second-best start to a season in program history. The Cornhuskers opened the season with 14 consecutive wins before a 74-66 loss Monday to No. 24 USC last time out. Nebraska opened the 2009-10 season with 30 consecutive wins.
Emily Fisher converted a three-point play that made it 70-all with 5:44 left in the game but Iowa scored the next 10 points to spark a 14-1 run over the next five minutes. The Cornhuskers missed four consecutive field-goal attempts and committed turnovers in the spurt.
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Iowa made 9 of 10 from the free-throw line — 6 of 6 by Wright — in the final five-plus minutes.
Britt Prince led Nebraska with 27 points and Jessica Petrie added 17. Eliza Maupin had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
NO. 15 MISSISSIPPI 79, GEORGIA 62
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Cotie McMahon had 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists on Thursday to help Mississippi beat in the SEC opener for both teams.
Latasha Lattimore scored 13 points, Christeen Iwuala added 12 for Ole Miss (14-2, 1-0). Debreasha Powe and Kaitlin Peterson had 10 points apiece.
McMahon made a jumper and then hit two free-throws to spark a 9-2 spurt that gave the Rebels a 45-39 lead three minutes into the second half. Dani Carnegie made back-to-back baskets in the paint that made it a two-point game, but Ole Miss scored 17 of the last 22 third-quarter points to take a 62-48 lead into the fourth. McMahon scored 11 points and Powe added eight — which included two 3-pointers — in the third quarter.
Carnegie made 11 of 17 from the field and led the Bulldogs with 24 points and eight rebounds. Trinity Turner had 16 points and five assists, but was 6-of-20 shooting, 0 for 7 from 3-point range, and committed six turnovers.
NO. 16 NORTH CAROLINA 71, CALIFORNIA 55
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) —Indya Nivar had 16 points and six assists, Nyla Harris had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. No. 16 North Carolina beat California 71-55 on Sunday.
Ciera Toomey also scored 13 and finished with nine rebounds and three blocks for North Carolina (13-3, 2-1 ACC).
The Tar Heels have won four in a row.
Lanie Grant hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer that sparked a 10-2 run that culminated with Reniya Kelly made another 3 that made it 50-45 with 1:05 left in the third quarter.
Nivar scored six points before Kelly converted a three-point play that capped a 16-4 run to open the fourth that pushed UNC’s lead to 16 points with 3:56 to play.
Sakima Walker led Cal (9-6, 0-2) with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. The rest of the team shot 33% (13 of 39) from the field.
GEORGIA TECH 95, NO. 18 NOTRE DAME 90, OT
ATLANTA (AP) — Talayah Walker scored 24 of her career-high 33 points after halftime and finished with 10 rebounds and six assists Thursday night to help Georgia Tech beat Notre Dame in overtime and snap the Fighting Irish’s five-game win streak.
Walker, who had seven points in overtime, made 10 of 17 from the field and hit 12 of 14 from the free-throw line. La’Nya Foster scored a career-best 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting for Georgia Tech (6-9, 1-2 ACC), and Catherine Alben added 18, which included four 3-pointers. Erica Moon had 12 points and six assists, and Brianna Turnage finished with 13 rebounds and 10 assists to go with three points.
Foster made a layup with 3:48 left that made it 83-81 and gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead since the first half. Cassandre Prosper and Hannah Hidalgo answered with back-to-back layups to give Notre Dame a two-point lead with 2:58 to go, but Alben hit a 3-pointer 19 seconds later. Walker then made a layup and then four consecutive free throws to make it 92-85 with 34 seconds remaining.
Hidalgo had 26 points and tied a season-high with 10 assists for Notre Dame (10-3, 2-1). Prosper added 19 points and 10 rebounds while Vanessa de Jesus scored 16 points, Malaya Cowles 14 and Iyana Moore 10.
NO. 23 TENNESSEE 76, FLORIDA 65
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Talaysia Cooper scored 17 points and Zee Spearman added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Tennessee in a win over Florida.
Tennessee was leading 65-60 with 4:34 left to play in the game when a foul on Florida’s Me’Arah O’Neal was upgraded to a Flagrant 1, which put Janiah Barker on the free-throw line and gave the Lady Vols the ball at half court. Barker sank both shots and set up a 7-0 run to seal the win.
Mia Pauldo added 10 points for Tennessee (9-3, 1-0 SEC). Barker had 12 rebounds to go with nine points. Spearman had her second double-double of the season.
Liv McGill scored 32 points for Florida (12-4, 0-1), her third 30-point game this season. Jade Weathersby added 11 for the Gators.
NO. 24 MICHIGAN STATE 80, INDIANA 60
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Jalyn Brown scored a season-high 20 points in her first career start and Grace VanSlooten recorded her third double-double for Michigan State in a win over Indiana.
The Spartans (13-1, 2-1 Big Ten) pulled away in the second half, including an 11-1 run late in the fourth quarter that lasted over five minutes. Brown scored 18 of her points in the first half, and Rashanda Jones scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half, six in the run.
VanSlooten had 18 points and 14 boards. Kennedy Blair added 13 points.
Michigan State shot 53% (29 of 55) from the field and 88% (14 of 16) from the free throw line. The Spartans have now won five games in a row.
Indiana (11-4, 0-3) was led by Shay Ciezki, who scored 18 points. Lenee Beaumont added 14 and Nevaeh Caffey with 10.
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