COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Aliyah Boston had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Zia Cooke added 18 points to lift No. 1 South Carolina to an 81-56 victory over No. 17 Maryland on Friday night.
Shortly after the Indiana Fever won the WNBA draft lottery — with Boston expected to be the No. 1 pick — the South Carolina star led her team to a fairly routine victory in its first real test of the season. The defending champions held off a gritty Maryland team that was playing without its own potential lottery pick. Diamond Miller was out with a right knee injury.
Abby Meyers scored 21 points to lead Maryland (1-1), but aside from her ability to score from the midrange and beyond the arc, the undersized Terrapins had a tough time offensively. Perhaps no stat summed up this game better than the Gamecocks’ 11-0 advantage in blocked shots.
No. 2 STANFORD 98, PACIFIC 44
STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) —- Kiki Iriafen had game-high totals of 15 points and eight rebounds, leading Stanford to a victory over Pacific.
Iriafen was one of three players who scored in double figures for Stanford, including Hannah Jump (14 points) and Ashten Prechtel (11).
Iriafen scored twice inside during a 14-0 run midway through the second quarter that allowed Stanford (3-0) to pull away, and the Cardinal added to their lead steadily the remainder of the game.
Pacific (1-1) put up more shots than Stanford in both the first and second quarters, but was limited to just 25% shooting from the field at halftime and just 23.6% overall. The Tigers were led by Liz Smith’s 13 points and six rebounds.
No. 3 TEXAS 68, LOUISIANA 45
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Taylor Jones had 21 points and five blocks in her debut for Texas after transferring from Oregon State, and the Longhorns defeated Louisiana.
The Longhorns opened their season without their best player, point guard Rori Harmon, who wore a protective boot on her right foot. Texas released a statement before the game that gave no details on Harmon’s injury and said her status is day to day.
Harmon, a sophomore, led Texas to the Big 12 tournament championship last season.
Tamera Johnson led Louisiana (0-2) with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Lanay Wheaton scored 13.
No. 11 INDIANA 93, UMASS LOWELL 37
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Mackenzie Holmes scored 17 points, Sara Scalia added 15 points and Indiana beat UMass Lowell for the fourth largest margin of victory in program history.
Indiana pulled away in the second quarter as UMass Lowell went nine-plus minutes without a field goal. The Hoosiers went on a 23-3 run during the drought and led 49-17 at halftime.
Lilly Meister had 10 points for Indiana (2-0), which plays No. 5 Tennessee on Monday. The Hoosiers finished with 34 points off 20 turnovers.
Jaini Edmonds and Ella Ner each scored nine points for UMass Lowell (0-2).
No. 13 VIRGINIA TECH 67, BUCKNELL 41
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Elizabeth Kitley scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Virginia Tech pulled away from Bucknell.
Cayla King, who had 33 points with a school-record nine 3-pointers on opening night, and Kitley combined for eight points as the Hokies closed the half with a 9-2 run to open a 31-23 lead. Kitley had 12 points, but Virginia Tech (2-0) only shot 36%.
Bucknell stayed close by shooting 48% but only shot 35% in the second half.
Virginia Tech scored 23 points off 20 turnovers and had a 16-4 advantage in offensive rebounds. Georgia Amoore added 11 points. King scored eight.
Cecelia Collins led the Bison (0-2) with 13 points.
No. 15 OKLAHOMA 97, SMU 74
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Madi Williams had 25 points, five rebounds and four assists and Oklahoma made 14 3-pointers in a victory over SMU.
Williams was 10 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 3 from distance, to reach 20-plus points for the 31st time in her career. Williams was one of six Sooners with at least two made 3-pointers.
Aubrey Joens scored 13 points, Skylar Vann had 12 points and seven rebounds, and Nevaeh Tot had 12 points and seven assists for Oklahoma (2-0), which shot 52.3% overall.
Chantae Embry scored 20 points and Jasmine Smith added 19 points for SMU (1-1).
No. 16 LSU 111, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 41
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Alexis Morris scored 18 points, Angel Reese added a double-double and LSU coasted to a win over Mississippi Valley State.
The Tigers opened the season with a school-record 125 points in a 75-point win, the second-largest margin of victory in school history. They followed that up with a 70-point win, shooting 53% with a 59-30 rebounding advantage.
LaDazhia Williams scored 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting for the Tigers. Reese had 16 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks.
Kyriana Jones led the Delta Devils (0-2) with 11 points.
No. 22 NEBRASKA 79, HOUSTON CHRISTIAN 48
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Allison Weidner scored 20 points and Nebraska cruised to a win over Houston Christian..
The Cornhuskers (2-0) steadily pulled away, leading 35-18 at the half as three players had six points and two more had five.
Weidner had 14 points in the second half when Nebraska shot 52%. The Cornhuskers also turned 22 turnovers into 32 points, thanks to 14 steals. Jaz Shelley added 11 points with eight assists and five steals.
D’Denasija Collins had 14 points for Houston Christian (1-1). Marilyn Nzoiwu had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
No. 23 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 91, LEHIGH 73
BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) — Myah Selland scored nine of 18 points in the pivotal second quarter and South Dakota State rebounded from a season-opening loss to defeat Lehigh.
he game was even, except for the second quarter when the Jackrabbits (1-1) outscored the Mountain Hawks 29-14 by making 10 of 15 shots with three 3-pointers. Lehigh was 3 of 12 with a trey and trailed 49-32 at halftime.
Frannie Hottinger scored 25 points and Mackenzie Kramer had 21 for Lehigh (0-2),
VILLANOVA 69, No. 24 PRINCETON 59
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — Maddy Siegrist scored five of her 32 points after reentering the game with four fouls and Villanova closed on a 12-0 run to upend Princeton.
Siegrist was 12-of-17 shooting with three 3-pointers to pick up her 18th 30-point game and had 13 rebounds for her 39th double-double.
The Wildcats (2-0) were down 56-55 when Siegrist returned with 4:45 to go. Julia Cunningham’s 3-pointer with four minutes to play had Princeton on top 59-57 but that was it.
Villanova made 3 of 4 shots in the run plus 6 of 7 free throws while Princeton missed its last seven shots.
Cunningham had four 3-pointers and 18 points for Princeton (1-1).
No. 25 MICHIGAN 91, St. FRANCIS (Pa.) 36
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Emily Kiser scored 25 points, Laila Phelia added 21 points and Michigan beat St. Francis (Pa.).
Michigan scored the opening 12 points of the game and led 49-12 at halftime after forcing 20 turnovers and holding St. Francis to 5-of-21 shooting. The Wolverines finished the game with 19 steals, helping to score 46 points off turnovers.
Cameron Williams had 12 points and eight rebounds for Michigan (2-0), which hosts Western Michigan on Wednesday.
Kiser was 11 of 14 from the field and she had a team-high four steals. Phelia only missed one of her 10 shots as Michigan shot 50.7%.
St. Francis (0-2) was held to 32.4% shooting. Adison Novosel had a team-high nine points.
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