JuJu Watkins scored 22 points as No. 4 Southern California held off a late-game surge from host Indiana to win 73-66 on Sunday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind.
Watkins made 8 of 10 free throws and also had six rebounds, two steals and a block in the 13th consecutive win for the Trojans (17-1, 7-0 Big Ten). USC also got 13 points and 10 rebounds from Rayah Marshall, 14 points and seven rebounds apiece from both Kiki Iriafen and Kennedy Smith, and 10 points from Talia von Oelhoffen. USC won despite receiving zero points from its bench.
Sydney Parrish powered Indiana (12-6, 4-3) with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Yarden Garzon added 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
The Hoosiers led by as many as 11 points when they started the second quarter with a 6-0 run, but USC roared back to take a six-point lead at the break. Indiana then pushed back to lead by four points with 8:13 to play, but USC closed the game on a 22-11 run.
Watkins now has 16 consecutive games of scoring at least 20 points.
No. 2 South Carolina 101, No. 13 Oklahoma 60
Joyce Edwards scored 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor to pace the host Gamecocks past the Sooners in Columbia, S.C.
MiLaysia Fulwiley (15), Tessa Johnson (13), Sania Feagin (12) and Te-Hina Paopao (11) joined Edwards in double figures as South Carolina (18-1, 6-0 SEC) outshot Oklahoma 48.1 percent to 35.8 percent from the field. The Gamecocks got out to a 28-9 lead after one quarter and were never seriously threatened.
Raegan Beers carried Oklahoma (15-4, 3-3) with a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds. Skylar Vann added 13 points and Reyna Scott had 10 points and six assists.
No. 3 Notre Dame 88, SMU 64
Hannah Hidalgo tallied 23 points, 10 rebounds and five steals in her return from a minor ankle injury and the Fighting Irish cruised past the visiting Mustangs in South Bend, Ind.
Hidalgo, a national Player of the Year candidate, sat out the past two games for Notre Dame (16-2, 7-0 ACC) as a precaution. Olivia Miles supported Hidalgo in the backcourt Sunday with 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Sonia Citron (11 points) and Liatu King (10) also helped Notre Dame win its 11th in a row.
Zanai Jones scored 20 points, Nya Robertson added 16 and Jessica Peterson added 13 points and 13 rebounds for SMU (10-9, 2-5).
No. 5 LSU 80, Florida 63
Mikaylah Williams scored 22 points to help the Tigers remain undefeated with a road win over the Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
Williams also grabbed eight rebounds, while Aneesah Morrow contributed 20 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in the victory for LSU (20-0, 5-0 SEC). Flau’Jae Johnson added 19 points. Florida (11-9, 2-4) was led by Liv McGill’s 21 points, while Laila Reynolds had 16.
The Gators led by six points after the first quarter, and then LSU never trailed again after starting the second frame with a 13-1 run, kickstarted by back-to-back mid-range jumpers from Johnson. LSU went on to lead by as many as 28 points as it shot 43.1 percent from the floor and forced the Gators into 24 turnovers.
No. 6 UConn 96, Seton Hall 36
Sarah Strong collected 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Huskies rolled past the visiting Pirates in Storrs, Conn.
Paige Bueckers added 18 points and seven assists for UConn (17-2, 8-0 Big East) while Azzi Fudd also scored 18 points in just 19 minutes of action. Bueckers joined the 2,000-point club at UConn, becoming the fastest player to do so, pulling the feat off in six fewer games than Maya Moore did.
Jada Eads scored 14 points for Seton Hall (13-5, 5-2) while veteran Faith Masonius had eight points, six rebounds and three assists.
Penn State 62, No. 9 Ohio State 59
Gracie Merkle had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Nittany Lions handed the visiting Buckeyes their first loss of the season in University Park, Pa.
Gabby Elliott scored 14 points for Penn State (10-9, 1-7 Big Ten) as it snapped a seven-game losing streak. Jayla Oden added 13 points and Moriah Murray scored 12. The game was tied with 2:32 to play, but the Nittany Lions closed it on a 6-3 run, with Elliott providing five of those points. Penn State outscored the Buckeyes 34-22 in the paint.
Cotie McMahon paced Ohio State (17-1, 6-1) with 19 points and six assists, while Chance Gray scored 18 points. The Buckeyes played without star freshman forward Jaloni Cambridge, who was sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
No. 11 Kansas State 81, Arizona State 69
Temira Poindexter made 5 of 7 3-point attempts on her way to 19 points and the host Wildcats had little trouble against the Sun Devils in Manhattan, Kan.
The win came at a cost for Kansas State (19-1, 7-0 Big 12), as top scorer and rebounder Ayoka Lee suffered an undisclosed injury and is expected to miss time. Serena Sundell tallied 15 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Wildcats.
Jalyn Brown poured in a season-high 32 points on 11-of-14 shooting to power Arizona State (8-11, 2-5).
No. 12 Kentucky 78, Georgia 64
Clara Strack paired 25 points with 12 rebounds as the visiting Wildcats held off the Lady Bulldogs in Athens, Ga.
Georgia Amoore put up 24 points and eight assists and Amelia Hassett joined Strack with a double-double (14 points, 10 boards). Kentucky (16-1, 5-0 SEC) raced out to a 23-4 lead after one period and a 44-21 edge at halftime.
The Lady Bulldogs (9-11, 1-5) received 19 points apiece from Trinity Turner and De’Mauri Flournoy.
No. 14 North Carolina 75, Pitt 58
Lexi Donarski scored a team-high 15 points while Indya Nivar stuffed the stat sheet in the Tar Heels’ road victory over the Panthers.
Nivar racked up 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a career-high seven steals for North Carolina (17-3, 5-2 ACC). Lanie Grant added 13 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Mikayla Johnson scored 18 points for Pitt (9-11, 1-6). Khadija Faye supplied 17 points, 10 rebounds and a career-best eight blocks and MaKayla Elmore added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Vanderbilt 71, No. 15 Tennessee 70
Freshman Mikayla Blakes made the game-winning jumper at the final buzzer to deliver the Commodores to an upset of the visiting Lady Volunteers in Nashville, Tenn.
In a fourth quarter that saw Tennessee rally from a 10-point deficit only to surrender a five-point lead, Ruby Whitehorn converted a layup with four seconds left to put the Vols ahead 70-69 before Blakes’ heroics. It marked the second time in two days that Vanderbilt upset a nationally ranked Tennessee team by one point, following Saturday’s result in men’s basketball.
Blakes scored 23 points and Khamil Pierre added 21 points and eight rebounds for the Commodores (15-4, 2-3 SEC). Talaysia Cooper had 22 points and Zee Spearman put up 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Volunteers (15-3, 3-3).
No. 16 Duke 74, Stanford 49
Ashlon Jackson scored 16 points to help the Blue Devils notch their third straight win and beat the visiting Cardinal in Durham, N.C.
Delaney Thomas added a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds for Duke (15-4, 6-1 ACC), while Taina Mair contributed 13 points and six assists. Nunu Agara paced Stanford (10-8, 2-5) with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Duke trailed briefly by a single point early in the first frame but led by a comfortable margin of 22 points at halftime. The Blue Devils forced the Cardinal into 20 turnovers and scored 25 points off those miscues. Duke also outscored Stanford 20-3 on fast breaks.
No. 17 Georgia Tech 89, Clemson 65
Tonie Morgan notched her first career triple-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists in the Yellow Jackets’ easy win over the visiting Tigers in Atlanta.
Kara Dunn led six Georgia Tech players in double-digit scoring with 20 points and Kayla Blackshear had 19. The yellow Jackets (16-3, 4-3 ACC) made 59.3 percent of their field-goal attempts and had a 34-24 rebounding advantage.
Loyal McQueen led Clemson (10-9, 3-5) with 18 points and six assists.
No. 18 Cal 67, Wake Forest 55
Marta Suarez tallied 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Ugonne Onyiah bundled 10 points and 10 rebounds and the visiting Golden Bears pulled away from the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Lulu Twidale and Ioanna Krimili added 14 points apiece for Cal (17-3, 5-2 ACC), which outrebounded Wake Forest 45-26.
Elise Williams paced the Demon Deacons (7-11, 0-7) with 15 points. Demeara Hinds and Rylie Theuerkauf each scored 10.
No. 19 Alabama 94, Arkansas 62
Zaay Green racked up 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and the visiting Crimson Tide blew out the Razorbacks in Fayetteville, Ark.
Karly Weathers (19 points, six assists) and Essence Cody (13 points, six rebounds) also contributed to the win while JeAnna Cunningham added 10 points and six rebounds off the bench. Alabama (17-3, 4-2 SEC) turned a 12-point halftime lead into a 77-48 margin after a dominant third quarter.
Kiki Smith poured in 23 points to lead Arkansas (8-12, 1-4). Vera Ojenuwa added 12 points and Phoenix Stotijn added 11.
No. 20 West Virginia 82, Iowa State 68
Jordan Harrison and JJ Quinerly scored 20 points apiece to help the Mountaineers beat the visiting Cyclones in Morgantown, W. Va.
Harrison also had seven steals and six assists, while Quinerly added four rebounds. Kyah Watson chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds in the victory for West Virginia (15-3, 5-2 Big 12). West Virginia never trailed after closing the first quarter on a dominant 20-3 run. Iowa State turned the ball over 25 times, which the Mountaineers flipped into 26 points.
Addy Brown put up a stat line of 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Iowa State (13-7, 4-3) while Audi Crooks added 13 points.
No. 21 North Carolina State 73, Virginia 68
Madison Hayes made the go-ahead layup on her way to a 19-point, 11-rebound afternoon as the host Wolfpack held off the Cavaliers in Raleigh, N.C.
After the score was tied six times in the fourth quarter, Hayes’ layup with 1:06 left made it 69-68 NC State. Aziaha James (20 points) and Hayes each added a pair of free throws for the final margin. Zoie Brooks had 14 points and Tilda Trygger had nine points and 13 rebounds for the Wolfpack (14-4, 6-1 ACC).
Latasha Lattimore posted 21 points and nine rebounds while Kymora Johnson scored 19 points for Virginia (11-8, 3-4). Paris Clark chipped in 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.
No. 22 Michigan State 86, Illinois 68
Theryn Hallock rang up 26 points and Grace VanSlooten came off the bench to add 24 in the Spartans’ win over the host Fighting Illini in Champaign, Ill.
Julia Ayrault added 12 points for Michigan State (15-3, 5-2 Big Ten), which had 15 steals and turned 22 Illini turnovers into 26 points.
Kendall Bostic put up 20 points and 14 rebounds, Adalia McKenzie scored 15 points and Jasmine Brown-Hagger had 12 for Illinois (13-5, 3-4).
No. 24 Minnesota 87, Northwestern 82
Grace Grocholski had 27 points and 10 rebounds as the visiting Golden Gophers stormed back to beat the Wildcats in Evanston, Ill.
Minnesota (17-2, 5-2 Big Ten) trailed 72-58 early in the fourth quarter before storming back to post a 29-13 fourth-quarter margin. Tori McKinney (13 points) tied the game 80-80 with a 3-pointer at the 2:15 mark and Niamya Holloway scored back-to-back buckets to put the Gophers in control for good. Amaya Battle added 18 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Grace Sullivan scored 18 points, Caileigh Walsh and Kyla Jones each poured in 17 and Taylor Williams added 11 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Northwestern (7-10, 0-6).
–Field Level Media
