Louisville and NC State stay unbeaten

WINSTON SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Dana Evans hit a driving shot for the go-ahead three-point play with 8.0 seconds left to help top-ranked Louisville barely avoid a huge upset by holding off Wake Forest 65-63 on Sunday.

Evans’ driving shot against Gina Conti and free throw finally gave the Cardinals their winning margin. But Louisville had to survive a final shot from the Demon Deacons, with Ivana Raca missing a 3-pointer from the right at the horn that would’ve given Wake Forest its first-ever win against a No. 1-ranked opponent.

Instead, the Cardinals survived to remain unbeaten less than a week after ascending to the top spot in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time.

Evans scored 25 points for Louisville (14-0, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who trailed by nine midway through the fourth quarter before going on a 14-2 run to push back in front and set up a tense finish.

Conti scored 13 points while Raca had 12 to lead the Demon Deacons (7-6, 4-5), who erased an early nine-point deficit by getting on the boards.

No. 2 N.C. STATE 89, VIRGINIA TECH 87

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Kai Crutchfield scored 10 of her 20 points in the last 4½ minutes, Jakia Brown-Turner finished with 23 points and North Carolina State rallied from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to remain undefeated, beating Virginia Tech.

The Wolfpack (11-0, 6-0 ACC) hadn’t played since Jan. 3, and the three-week layoff showed. The lone absence related to the coronavirus test or contract tracing was a big one, with standout center Elissa Cunane missing the game. She is likely out for at least the next game, also against the Hokies.

Georgia Amoore’s 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds to play for Virginia Tech (7-7, 2-7) cut the gap to 88-87 before Raina Perez hit a free throw for the Wolfpack. A heave from near midcourt was well off the mark.

No. 4 SOUTH CAROLINA 69, LSU 65

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Aliyah Boston scored 11 of her 20 points in the second half and grabbed 14 rebounds to help South Carolina secure a victory over LSU.

Destanni Henderson added 16 points and eight assists while Zia Cooke had 11 points for South Carolina (12-1, 7-0 SEC), which won its 26th straight game against conference competition.

Khayla Pointer scored 18 and Tiara Young 16 for the Lady Tigers (6-7, 4-3) who’d defeated No. 8 Texas A&M earlier this month and looked primed to stage their second upset of a top 10 team in two weeks when they carried a lead into the fourth quarter.

LSU took a 45-43 lead into the fourth quarter after Faustine Aifuwa’s jumper beat the clock at the end of the third period, and Awa Trasi’s layup briefly widened the lead to 47-43 before South Caroina suddenly seized momentum with a 9-0 run.

No. 6 STANFORD 86, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 59

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Haley Jones had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Kiana Williams knocked down five 3-pointers on the way to 16 points, and Stanford bounced back from consecutive defeats and its lone two losses of the season to beat USC.

Freshman Cameron Brink grabbed nine rebounds and Anna Wilson seven boards and eight points as the Cardinal held a 53-22 advantage on the glass. Stanford took control with a 16-0 run spanning the first two quarters as USC went nearly 7 minutes without scoring.

The Cardinal (12-2, 9-2 Pac-12) lost their previous two games by a combined nine points, 77-72 in overtime at Colorado last weekend then 70-66 to UCLA on Friday night.

Endiya Rogers scored 19 points to lead USC (6-7, 4-6

No. 8 TEXAS A&M 70, MISSOURI 66

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — N’dea Jones and Ciera Johnson led a balanced attack with 14 points apiece and Jones grabbed 18 rebounds as Texas A&M held off Missouri.

Jordan Nixon and Distiny Pitts each made a pair of free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the win.

Aaliyah Wilson added 13 points for the Aggies (15-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) and Pitts had 10.

Ladazhia Williams scored 20 points for the Tigers (5-5, 1-4), Aijha Black added 11 with 16 rebounds and Haley Troup scored 10.

No. 25 TENNESSEE 70, No. 12 KENTUCKY 53

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tamari Key scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, Rennia Davis added 15 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, and Tennessee throttled Kentucky.

The Lady Vols (10-3, 4-1 SEC) took control in the third quarter when Key scored the first six points of the second half to start an 11-1 run for a 38-23 lead. Tennessee scored the last eight points for a 49-31 lead entering the fourth quarter, which started with a 9-1 run for a 26-point lead.

Chasity Patterson led Kentucky (11-4, 4-3) with 15 points and Howard added 14, six below her average, but was 3 of 16 shooting.

No. 13 OREGON 69, WASHINGTON 52

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Sedona Prince scored 16 points and blocked five shots, Lydia Giomi added a double-double off the bench and Oregon defeated Washington.

Giomi had 11 points and 10 rebounds and fellow reserve Sydney Parrish added 12 points for the short-handed Ducks (11-3, 9-3 Pac-12 Conference), who were without starters Nyara Sabally and Erin Boley, who had made 84 consecutive starts.

Angela Dugalic scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting with eight rebounds in her first career start. Te-Hina Paopao scored 10 with six assists and three steals.

Haley Van Dyke scored 13 to lead the Huskies (4-5, 1-5).

No. 16 INDIANA 74, No. 21 NORTHWESTERN 61

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Mackenzie Holmes scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Indiana took over after trailing by 13 midway through the fourth quarter to beat Northwestern.

The Hoosiers (9-3, 7-1 Big Ten) came to life after Sydney Wood’s layup capped a 10-0 run to put the Wildcats up 49-36 at the 5:17 mark of the third quarter. Indiana held Northwestern without a field goal and closed within 54-48 by the end of the quarter.

Northwestern (8-3, 6-3) led 57-56 with 6:34 left in the game when the Hoosiers reeled off 12 straight points, with Holmes scoring seven, to lead 68-57 with two minutes to play.

The Wildcats went 3 of 21 after their big lead.

No. 20 GONZAGA 79, PORTLAND 61

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Kayleigh Truong scored 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting and Jenn Wirth scored 14 and No. 20-ranked Gonzaga beat Portland for its 12th-straight win.

Gonzaga’s Jill Townsend scored 11 and 10-different Bulldogs players entered the scoring column. Gonzaga (12-2, 7-0 West Coast Conference) shot 58% (29 for 50) and broke the game open with a 24-8 second quarter charge. The Bulldogs made 8 of 10 in the decisive quarter.

Haylee Andrews scored 25 points for Portland (7-5, 4-2 West Coast Conference), Alex Fowler 13 and McKelle Meek 10.

CLEMSON 86, No. 23 SYRACUSE 77, OT

Kendall Spray scored 24 points with seven 3-pointers, Amari Robinson added 23 and short-handed Clemson upended Syracuse after blowing a 25-point halftime lead.

The Tigers were outscored 23-9 in the third quarter and 20-9 in the fourth before scoring 16 points in overtime to end a four-game losing streak and beat the Orange for the first time ever in 10 tries.

Delicia Washington scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Clemson (9-5, 4-5 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Kiara Lewis scored 25 points with eight rebounds and Emily Engstler added 17 and nine for the Orange (7-3, 4-3), who were playing their fourth game in eight days after going more than three weeks without a game.

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More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25.

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