COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Kaylene Smikle scored 19 points to help No. 8 Maryland remain undefeated with a 72-66 victory over No. 19 Michigan State on Sunday.
The Terrapins (12-0, 2-0 Big Ten) have their best start since 2018-19, when they also went 12-0. The Terps withstood a scrappy Michigan State team, holding the Spartans (11-2, 1-1) to 32% shooting from the field.
Michigan State trailed by 17 in the second quarter but fought back to a 57-all tie in the fourth. Maryland, which had gone over six minutes without scoring, broke that deadlock with a 3-pointer by Saylor Poffenbarger.
Maryland led 65-63 when Michigan State’s Jocelyn Tate was whistled for traveling on a fast break. Smikle pushed the lead to five with a three-point play, but Jaddan Simmons answered with a 3-pointer to make it 68-66.
Christina Dalce finally gave the Terps some breathing room, making a layup with 36.3 seconds left and then adding a steal at the other end.
NO. 1 UCLA 91, NEBRASKA 54
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lauren Betts scored 21 points in her return, Kiki Rice added 18 and top-ranked UCLA routed Nebraska in its Big Ten home opener.
Betts, the Bruins’ leading scorer, was back after missing two games with a leg injury she sustained at Long Beach State on Dec. 14. She had eight rebounds in helping the Bruins (13-0, 2-0 Big Ten) dominate the boards, 48-18.
Rice was perfect, making all eight of her field goal attempts and both of her free throws. She had six rebounds and four steals before sitting down with 4:14 remaining.
The victory was coach Cori Close’s 300th at UCLA. She’s 300-140 in her 14 seasons at the school.
Amiah Hargrove led the Cornhuskers (10-3, 1-1) with 12 points. Callin Hake added nine points.
NO. 2 SOUTH CAROLINA 93, WOFFORD 47
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Freshman Joyce Edwards scored 16 points as No. 2 South Carolina won its 65th straight home game when it defeated Wofford.
The Gamecocks (12-1) overcame the absence of injured reserves Maddy McDaniel and Sakima Walker to take control of the Terriers of the Southern Conference with a 17-0 run in the second quarter.
Edwards, a 6-foot-3 forward, has led the team in scoring the past three games.
Tessa Johnson added 14 points and Raven Johnson 13 for South Carolina, which has not lost at home since December 2020.
The defending national champs have been idle since Dec. 19, much of it a six-day break for players to head home for Christmas. McDaniel, a freshman, was out with a concussion while senior forward Walker came out for pregame warmups on crutches.
Down to a roster of 11, South Carolina still had no problem with the Terriers (6-5).
NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 95, VIRGINIA 54
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo scored 28 points and Sonia Citron added 25 to help No. 3 Notre Dame rout Virginia.
Olivia Miles earned her third triple-double of the season and sixth of her career with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists. Miles entered the game as the NCAA’s active career assist leader (6.8 assists a game).
It was the 100th career victory for Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey, who is 100-34 in five seasons.
Notre Dame (11-2, 2-0 ACC) hit 51% of its field-goal attempts and owned a whopping 54-31 rebounding edge. Virginia (8-6, 0-2) only hit 30% of its shots and remained winless in South Bend.
NO. 4 SOUTHERN CAL 78, NO. 23 MICHIGAN 58
LOS ANGELES (AP) — JuJu Watkins scored 31 points, making 13 of 14 free throws, and No. 4 Southern California beat No. 23 Michigan in the Trojans’ Big Ten home opener.
Watkins had five rebounds, seven assists, three steals and three blocks. Kiki Iriafen added 18 points for the Trojans (12-1, 2-0). The duo combined to score USC’s first 16 points in the fourth when the Trojans outscored Michigan 21-9.
Jordan Hobbs scored 19 points for Michigan (10-3, 1-1). Greta Kampschroeder added 14 and Olivia Olson had 11.
NO. 5 TEXAS 94, TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY 35
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Junior Kyla Oldacre matched her career best with 21 points on near perfect shooting, and No. 5 Texas routed Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Oldacre, a 6-foot-6 backup center, converted all six of her field goal attempts and 9 of 10 free throws. She also had seven rebounds and three of the Longhorns’ 21 steals.
Madison Booker had 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals for Texas (13-1).
Starting center Taylor Jones had 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
Kade Hackerott led Texas Rio Grande Valley (6-7) with seven points. The Vaqueros shot 27% from the field and committed 37 turnovers. Texas converted the turnovers into 47 points.
NO. 6 LSU 83, ALBANY 61
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Aneesah Morrow had 20 points and 18 rebounds as No. 6 LSU rallied to a victory over Albany.
Mikaylah Williams added 18 points, Flau’Jae Johnson had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Tigers (15-0), who tied their second-best start in school history.
Morrow had a double-double – 10 points and 10 rebounds – in LSU’s 25-2 game-closing run. Albany missed its last 11 shots, failing to hit a field goal in the game’s final 8:42.
Kaci Donovan scored 15 of her team-high 17 points for UAlbany (10-3). Lilly Phillips and Kayla Cooper had 14 each.
NO. 7 UCONN 67, PROVIDENCE 41
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 19 of her 23 points in the first half as the seventh-ranked UConn Huskies bounced back from their first home loss of the season to roll to a win over Providence.
Sarah Strong added 14 points for UConn (11-2, 2-0 Big East) as the Huskies forced 31 turnovers and had 15 steals in the win.
Grace Efosa had 11 points for Providence (7-8, 0-2 Big East).
Azzi Fudd, who played eight minutes in a loss to Southern California after missing the previous three games due to a knee injury, made her third start of the season. Fudd had eight points in 24 minutes. Redshirt freshman Jana El Alfy made her first start of the season.
NO. 9 OKLAHOMA 82, NEW MEXICO STATE 64
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks to help No. 9 Oklahoma beat New Mexico State.
Sahara Williams added 18 points and Payton Verhulst scored 15 as the Sooners won their 16th straight home game to close out their non-conference slate.
It was Beers’ sixth double-double this season.
Oklahoma (12-1) trailed by one at the end of the first quarter, but despite cold shooting, managed to go on a 6-1 run at the end of the first half to lead 31-26 at intermission.
The Aggies (7-6) quickly wiped out that lead by starting the third quarter on a 7-0 run. The game went back and forth until the Sooners closed out the third with 10 straight points to go into the final quarter up 57-46.
NO. 10 OHIO STATE 77, RUTGERS 63
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Cotie McMahon and Ajae Petty each scored 16 points to help No. 10 Ohio State top Rutgers.
The Buckeyes used their full-court pressure defense to force 22 turnovers that led to 29 points. Ohio State (13-0, 2-0 Big Ten) built a double-digit lead early in the second quarter and never let Rutgers get within 10 until just over two minutes remained in the game.
Destiny Adams’ layup got the Scarlet Knights within 71-62, but they could get no closer. Adams led Rutgers (8-5, 0-2) with 31 points and 17 rebounds.
NO. 11 TCU 79, BROWN 47
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Hailey Van Lith scored 17 points and Madison Connor made four 3-pointers and added 14 points to help No. 11 TCU beat Brown.
Van Lith added five assists, five rebounds and three steals and Taylor Bigby scored 11 points for the Horned Frogs.
TCU (13-1) has won four games in a row since an 82-54 loss to No. 3 South Carolina on Dec. 8 at the Coast to Coast Challenge.
Grace Arnolie hit three 3-pointers in the first five minutes and Olivia Young added another with 4:34 left in the first quarter to give Brown a 12-8 lead. The Horned Frogs responded with a 9-2 run to close the period, scored 12 of the first 14 second-quarter points to extend their lead to 13 points and took a 34-25 lead into the intermission.
Bigby hit a 3 to open the scoring in the third quarter and TCU led by double figures the rest of the way.
The Horned Frogs outrebounded Brown 54-28, including 20-6 on the offensive glass which led to TCU outscoring the Bears 27-5 in second-chance points.
Isabell Mauricio led Brown with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting Brown (6-7). The rest of the Bears players combined to made 10 of 41 (24.4%) from the field. Arnolie added 13 points.
NO. 13 GEORGIA TECH 100, PITTSBURGH 61
ATLANTA (AP) — Kara Dunn scored a season-high 28 points, Dani Carnegie had her career high with 24 points, and No. 13 Georgia Tech rolled past Pittsburgh.
Dunn made 10 of 14 shots and 7 of 8 free throws to go with seven rebounds and three assists.
Carnegie, a freshman who averages 14.5 points per game off the bench, made 9 of 16 shots, including 4 of 11 3-pointers.
Georgia Tech (14-0, 2-0 ACC) made 11 of 19 shots (58%) in the first quarter and broke out to a 31-18 lead. The Yellow Jackets led 53-28 at halftime after Dunn scored 20 points, 13 in the first quarter. For the half, she made 7 of 10 shots and went 5 for 5 from the free-throw line.
A 10-0 run in the third quarter pushed Georgia Tech’s lead to 77-43 and the Yellow Jackets held the Panthers to four free throws over the final 3 1/2 minutes of the period. Tech’s largest lead was 42 points after a 3-pointer by Chazadi Wright with 4 1/2 minutes left in the game.
Wright finished with 16 points and Tonie Morgan had 15 points and eight assists.
Pitt (8-7, 0-2 ACC) was led by Khadija Faye with 22 points. Brooklynn Miles scored 11 and Aislin Malcolm had 10.
NO. 15 TENNESSEE 112, WINTHROP 50
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sara Puckett had 17 points and Ruby Whitehorn scored 16 as No. 15 Tennessee walloped Winthrop, earning the Lady Volunteers the seventh 12-0 start to a season in program history.
Puckett made 6 of 10 shots with a 3-pointer and all four of her free throws, adding eight rebounds for Tennessee, which is unbeaten through 12 games in its first season under head coach Kim Caldwell — and for just the second time in the past 19 seasons. Whitehorn made 7 of 13 from the floor and both of her foul shots.
Jewel Spear hit three 3-pointers and scored 15 for the Lady Vols. Kaniya Boyd scored 15 off the bench on 5-for-5 shooting with a 3-pointer. Zee Spearman added 14 points and reserve Tess Darby scored 10.
Amourie Porter made all eight of her free throws and scored 14 to lead the Eagles (6-7), who fell to 1-5 on the road.
NO. 17 NORTH CAROLINA 69, MIAMI 60
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Maria Gakdeng tied her season high with 21 points and grabbed a season-best 12 rebounds, Alyssa Ustby added 19 points and 13 boards and the No. 17 North Carolina women beat Miami for their third consecutive win.
North Carolina (13-2, 1-1 ACC) lost its conference opener to No. 13 Georgia Tech on Dec. 15 before nonconference wins against Florida and Norfolk State.
Gakdeng made 7 of 11 from the field and 7 of 10 from the free-throw line. Indya Nivar finished with 11 points, five assists and three steals for the Tar Heels.
Miami (11-2, 1-1) had its four-game win streak snapped.
Gakdeng made a layup with 6:14 left in the first quarter that gave North Carolina the lead for good and Ustby followed with a 3-pointer to spark a 9-0 spurt that made it 16-7 about 2 minutes later. The Tar Heels scored eight of the first 10 second-quarter points to push their lead to 13 with 7:25 left in the second quarter before Miami scored the final seven points to trim its deficit to 39-29 at halftime.
NO. 20 ALABAMA 93, JACKSONVILLE 46
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Aaliyah Nye scored a career-high 30 points and matched her career-high with eight 3-pointers as No. 20 Alabama routed Jacksonville.
Eris Lester added 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks off the bench for Alabama (13-1). Zaay Green scored 13 points and Sarah Ashlee Barker 12. Karly Weathers added four rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Barker scored 10 points in the third quarter and a 12-0 run helped the Crimson Tide extend their 23-point halftime lead to 69-29 with 3 1/2 minutes remaining. Alabama led 76-40 at the end of the third then held the Dolphins to six points in the fourth quarter.
The Crimson Tide shot 57% and made 7 of 9 3-pointers in the first half, rolling to a 47-24 lead. They scored 32 points in the second quarter, making 11 of 14 shots overall and going 5 for 5 from 3-point range. To boot, they made 7 of 8 free throws.
Nye hit four 3-pointers in four attempts and scored 16 points in the first half.
Alabama shot 56% for the game overall, hitting 14 of 26 3-pointers and 15 of 20 free throws.
Saniyah Craig scored 11 and Bailey Burns added 10 points for Jacksonville (6-6). The Dolphins shot 30% and had 24 turnovers.
NO. 22 NC STATE 83, CLEMSON 79
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Madison Hayes scored 19 points, Zoe Brooks added 18 and No. 22 North Carolina State beat Clemson.
Aziaha James scored 15 points and Saniya Rivers scored 12 of her 14 in the second half for N.C. State (10-3, 2-0 ACC).
Hannah Kohn’s 3-pointer gave the Tigers a one-point lead with 9:28 to play, but Hayes hit from beyond the arc 27 seconds later to make it 64-62 and N.C. State led the rest of the way. The Wolfpack used an 8-0 spurt to take their biggest lead of the game at 77-67 with 4:03 remaining.
Mia Moore, a junior transfer from UAB, scored a season-high 23 points in just 20 minutes for Clemson (8-5, 1-1). Kohn made a career-best six of the Tigers’ program-record 15 3-pointers to finish with a career-high 18 points. Loyal McQueen had 10 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
The first half featured nine ties and 10 lead changes, the last of which came when Kohn hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer that gave Clemson a 37-36 lead at halftime.
NO. 24 IOWA 84, PURDUE 63
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Addison O’Grady scored 12 points and No. 24 Iowa defeated Purdue in a game in which only two players reached double figures in scoring.
O’Grady made 4 of 7 shots and 4 of 6 free throws for the Hawkeyes (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten). Iowa’s balanced scoring was so thorough that five players scored nine points and one had eight.
Among that group, Sydney Affolter had nine points, seven rebounds and six assists. Ava Heiden had nine points and eight rebounds.
Destini Lombard had 12 points for Purdue (7-6, 0-2).
Iowa shot 67% in the first quarter, seven players scored, and the Hawkeyes led 27-13. Iowa outscored the Boilermakers 15-3 over the final 4 1/2 minutes of the second quarter to take a 50-32 lead at the half. Five players scored in that run.
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