BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Tessa Johnson scored 21 points as No. 3 South Carolina beat No. 6 LSU 79-72 on Saturday night and extended its winning streak over the Tigers to 18 games.
Trailing 73-72, LSU had a chance to take a one-point lead with 45.5 seconds left, but Flau’jae Johnson missed two free throws.
South Carolina (25-2, 11-1 SEC) closed out the Tigers (22-4, 8-4) by scoring six straight points, including Madina Okot’s layup with 25.5 seconds left and her two free throws with 16.1 seconds remaining.
Raven Johnson added 19 for the Gamecocks, Okot had a double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds, and Joyce Edwards scored 10 points.
Johnson led LSU with 21 points, and Mikaylah Williams added 11.
The Tigers had their chances, but wasted too many opportunities. They missed 10 layups and nine free throws.
Despite leading for only 4:09 in the first half, South Carolina flipped LSU’s 21-16 first-quarter lead into a 41-40 halftime advantage.
The Tigers led by as many as five points several times in the second quarter, but never could pull away. Despite Johnson scoring eight points, the Gamecocks countered with 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range in the period.
Tessa Johnson and Raven Johnson combined for 19 of South Carolina’s 25 points in the second period. Tessa Johnson, the SEC’s leading 3-point shooter, scored 11 points and was 3 for 4 from long distance.
NO. 1 UCONN 71, MARQUETTE 56
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Azzi Fudd scored 25 points, Sarah Strong had 19 of her 22 in the second half and UConn remained unbeaten with a victory over Marquette.
UConn (27-0, 16-0 Big East) has won 43 straight games and hasn’t lost since an 80-76 decision at Tennessee over a year ago. The Huskies also have won 63 straight Big East games, counting regular-season and tournament matchups.
Marquette (16-10, 10-7) did manage to end one UConn streak.
UConn had won 21 straight games by at least 25 points before Saturday, which represented the longest such streak for any Division I program over at least the last 25 seasons. The last team to lose to UConn by fewer than 25 points was No. 7 Michigan, which fell 72-69 to the Huskies on Nov. 21 at Uncasville, Connecticut.
The Huskies built a 36-24 halftime lead thanks to Fudd, who scored 17 points and shot 5 of 8 on 3-point attempts in the first two periods.
Strong, who entered Saturday shooting 60% from the floor, went 1 of 9 and scored just three points in the first half. But she shot 6 of 7 during a 15-point third quarter.
UConn guard KK Arnold had 10 points and a career-high nine assists in her return home. Arnold was a three-time Associated Press Wisconsin state player of the year while starring at nearby Germantown High School.
Lee Volker scored 15 points, Skylar Forbes 14 and Jaidynn Mason 11 for Marquette, which has lost three straight games for the first time since December 2022.
OKLAHOMA STATE 75, NO. 16 TEXAS TECH 65
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Jadyn Wooten scored 16 points, Amari Whiting added 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Oklahoma State outscored the Lady Raiders in the second quarter to beat Texas Tech.
Oklahoma State (20–7, 9–5 Big 12) took a 36–24 halftime lead, holding Tech scoreless for the final 3:18 of the half. The win marked the Cowgirls’ second victory over a ranked opponent this season and secured their first 20‑win campaign since 2022–23.
Wooten shot 7 of 10 from the field and added seven assists, while Whiting posted her second double‑double of the year. Achol Akot scored 13 points and Stailee Heard added 12 for the Cowgirls, who shot 54% overall and made eight 3‑pointers.
Texas Tech (23–4, 10–4) opened the second half with five straight points to cut the deficit to seven, but OSU answered with an 8–0 run to push the margin back to 44–29. The Lady Raiders trailed by double digits for most of the second half before a late push trimmed it to 66–60 with under three minutes left.
Bailey Maupin led the Lady Raiders with 19 points, and Snudda Collins added 18 off the bench. The Lady Raiders shot 4 of 21 from deep and were outrebounded 36–26. Texas Tech entered a half‑game out of first place in the Big 12 and is on the road for three of its next four games.
NO. 24 PRINCETON 59, CORNELL 38
ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Madison St. Rose led with 15 points and seven rebounds and Princeton rode a big second half to defeat Cornell.
The Tigers (20-3, 8-2 Ivy League) bounced back from a loss against Columbia on Friday to win their third game in their past four contests. It was the second-lowest scoring game of the season for Princeton after a 58-49 win over Brown on Jan. 24.
Skye Belker had 12 points, four rebounds, and two assists for the Tigers. Fadima Tall added 11 points and six rebounds.
Cornell closed the first half on a 7-0 run to lead 23-15 at halftime, but Princeton erupted for 23 points in the third quarter to turn an eight-point deficit into a ten-point lead.
Princeton controlled the game in the second half, surrendering just 15 second-half points on the way to a comfortable victory.
Clarke Jackson and Paige Engels led the Big Red (8-15, 3-7) with eight points each. Cornell was held to 31% shooting and 24% from beyond the arc.
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