CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Te-Hina Paopao scored 23 points, MiLaysia Fulwiley chipped in with 18 points off the bench and No. 1 South Carolina passed its first big test of the season with a 71-57 victory over ninth-ranked North Carolina State on Sunday in the Ally Tipoff at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.
Together Paopao and Fulwiley were 18 of 30 from the field as the Gamecocks (2-0) shot 50%.
Zamareya Jones had 16 points and Aziaha James added 13 points to lead NC State (1-1).
The Gamecocks used a 14-5 spurt at the end of the second quarter led by Fulwiley to build a 39-30 lead at halftime.
Paopao’s 3-pointer and baseline floater to open the third quarter pushed the Gamecocks lead to 12 and they never never seriously threatened again. Bree Hall’s driving layup put South Carolina up by 20 with 2:42 left in the third quarter.
The Wolfpack would cut the lead to seven with 4:32 left in the game, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
No. 2 UCONN 86, SOUTH FLORIDA 49
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 19 of her 22 points in the first half as No. 2 UConn rolled to a win over former conference rival South Florida.
The win was No. 1215 for UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma. That leaves him one shy of tying former Stanford women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer’s college basketball record.
Bueckers big opening 20 minutes helped the Huskies to a 43-25 lead at halftime. Ice Brady had the first four points for the Huskies as UConn opened the game on a 9-0 run.
Ashlynn Shade had 10 of UConn’s 30 points in the third quarter as the Huskies (2-0) never trailed in the game. Shade finished with 15 points and Sarah Strong added 13 points for the Huskies.
NO. 4 TEXAS 119, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 47
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Newcomer Kyla Oldacre had career-bests of 21 points and 14 rebounds in just 17 minutes, point guard Rori Harmon made a successful return from a knee injury, and No. 4 Texas opened its season with a victory over Southeast Missouri.
Oldacre, a 6-foot-6 junior who transferred this season from Miami and is the backup center, used her height advantage to dominate inside, converting 8 of 12 field goal attempts.
Harmon suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament that caused her to miss the final 26 games last season after appearing in the first 12. She had 10 points and seven assists in 20 minutes.
Madison Booker and starting center Taylor Jones scored 18 points apiece for Texas. Booker, a sophomore AP preseason All-American, had 11 rebounds and six assists. The 6-4 Jones converted all eight of her field-goal attempts inside while playing 19 minutes. Jones, a senior, made a career-best five steals.
Skylar Barnes led Southeast Missouri (0-2) with 11 points. The Redhawks shot just 29.5% from the field and committed 33 turnovers.
No. 5 UCLA 81, COLGATE 63
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lauren Betts had a career-high 31 points and nine rebounds and No. 5 UCLA defeated in the Bruins’ home opener.
The Bruins (2-0) were back in action for the first time since beating No. 17 Louisville 66-59 in Paris on Monday to open the women’s college basketball season.
Playing down low, Betts shot 15 of 18 from the floor and scored the Bruins’ first 12 points of the fourth before sitting down for good with 3:25 remaining. Her only blemish in the period were two missed free throws. She was 1 of 5 from the free-throw line.
The Raiders (2-1) were led by Anne Bair with 13 points and five assists. Taylor Golembiewski added 12 points and five rebounds and Sophia Diehl had 10 points and five rebounds.
No. 6 NOTRE DAME 102, PURDUE 58
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo scored 11 of her 28 points in the first 7-plus minutes and No. 6 Notre Dame led by double figures for more than 35 minutes as the Fighting Irish beat Purdue for their 10th consecutive win over the Boilermakers.
Notre Dame (2-0) has a 15-14 lead in its all-time series with Purdue.
Liatu King finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds for Notre Dame. The graduate transfer from Pittsburgh, where the 6-foot forward had 18 double-doubles and was an All-ACC first-team selection last season, made 9 of 12 from the field with four steals and two blocks. Olivia Miles added 17 points and Sonia Citron scored 14.
Purdue (1-1) made just two of its first 20 field-goal attempts and the Fighting Irish, who led 28-7 at the end of the first quarter, jumped to a 23-point lead early in the second. Ella Collier and Destini Lombard each scored five points in a 12-4 spurt that trimmed the Boilermakers’ deficit to 36-21 with 2:58 to go until halftime but Notre Dame closed on a 9-0 run to take a 24-point lead into intermission.
Lombard led Purdue with 13 points, Collier scored 11 and Reagan Bass added 10.
NO. 8 IOWA ST. 84, SOUTHERN 56
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Addy Brown had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Audi Crooks had 17 points and 11 boards to lead No. 8 Iowa State to a win over Southern.
Brown has had a double-double in two of the first three games and 12 times in her career. It was Crooks’ first double-double of the season and ninth of her career for the Cyclones (3-0).
Emily Ryan had 10 assists and surpassed 800 for her career, and she added eight points and five rebounds.
Sydney Harris added 11 points off the bench for the second straight game.
Aleighyah Fontenot led the Jaguars (0-3) with 16 points and Aniya Gourdine added 10.
NO. 18 MARYLAND 85, NO. 11 DUKE 80
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Kaylene Smikle scored 23 points, Shyanne Sellers added 17 as No. 18 Maryland defeats No. 11 Duke.
Christina Dalce had 12 and 14 rebounds before fouling out, and Bri McDaniel scored 15 points off the bench for Maryland. Sellers had seven rebounds and five assists.
Maryland (3-0) scored the first nine points and led throughout. Each time Duke (2-1) got within three or four points the Terrapins responded with a small run of their own. Duke got withing three points once in the first quarter and once in the second, but Maryland led 40-33 at halftime.
Duke got within four points when Reigan Richardson opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but again the Terrapins responded and their lead was back to 10 after Smikle hit a 3-pointer with a little under seven minutes left in the quarter.
OREGON 76, No. 12 BAYLOR 74
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Deja Kelly scored 13 of her 20 points in the second half, Elisa Mevius made a layup with 22 seconds left and Oregon blew a 16-point fourth-quarter lead before the Ducks beat No. 12 Baylor to snap a 14-game losing streak against ranked opponents.
Oregon (3-0), which is 1-5 all-time against the Bears, went 0-13 last season against Top-25 opponents and beat a Top-25 team for the first time since a 73-59 win over then-No. 14 Arizona on Feb. 23, 2023.
Sarah Andrews and Yaya Felder converted back-to-back three-point plays to spark a 17-2 run that cut Baylor’s deficit to 68-67 with 5:39 to play. Phillipina Kyei made a jumper and Kelly hit two free throws to make it a five-point game about 2 minutes later but Andrews answered with a 3 and Jada Walker made two foul shots before Aaronette Vonleh’s tip-in putback made it 74-72 with 1:28 remaining and gave the Baylor (1-1) its first lead of the second half.
Kelly’s layup made it 74-all with a minute to go and, after Andrews missed a layup, Elisa Mevius drove from the left corner, got a seal on the block from the 6-foot-8 Kyei and her wide-open basket gave Oregon the lead for good.
NO. 20 MISSISSIPPI 85, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 24
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Kirsten Deans scored 16 points and No. 20 Mississippi rolled to a victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Deans came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers and grab seven rebounds for the Lady Rebels (1-1).
Fellow reserve Christeen Iwuala added 12 points and six boards for Ole Miss. Ayanna Thompson hit three 3-pointers and scored 11. Reserve Kharyssa Richardson had a game-high 11 rebounds. Kennedy Todd-Williams made just 1 of 9 shots but grabbed 10 rebounds.
D’Arrah Allen had nine points to lead the Golden Lions (0-3) and Janiyah Tucker added eight points off the bench.
Thompson hit a 3-pointer for Mississippi to ignite an 11-0 run to begin the game and the Rebels were never threatened. Starr Jacobs and Thompson scored six points apiece to lead Mississippi to a 20-6 lead after one quarter.
NO. 24 ALABAMA 94, TROY 71
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Zaay Green scored 24 points to lead five in double figures and No. 24 Alabama rolled past Troy.
The Crimson Tide (3-0) scored 25 points in each of the first two quarters and led 50-33 at halftime. They made eight 3-pointers in the first half and 10 for the game.
Aaliyah Nye (14 points), Sarah Ashlee Barker (12) and Green (10) all reached double digits in the first half.
For the game, Nye finished with 18 points, Karly Weathers 14, Barker 12 and Essence Cody 10 for the Crimson Tide. It was two free throws by Cody that gave Alabama its biggest lead at 25 points in the final minute.
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