Associated Press
Associated Press
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Elizabeth Williams scored 16 points and No. 5 Duke beat No. 8 Maryland 75-59 on Sunday to clinch the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title.
Alexis Jones, Haley Peters and Tricia Liston each added 15 points for the Blue Devils (26-1, 16-0), who won their 10th straight game, improved to 6-1 this season against ranked opponents and completed a season sweep of the Terrapins (22-5, 13-3).
Tianna Hawkins had 16 points and nine rebounds for Maryland, which had won three consecutive games since a 71-56 loss at Duke on Feb. 11. Alyssa Thomas added 14 points.
The Terrapins, who shot 34.8 percent from 3-point range coming in, were just 3 for 18.
Duke won its second straight game without point guard Chelsea Gray, who sustained a season-ending dislocated right kneecap Feb. 17 against Wake Forest. The win gave the Blue devils a 40-39 advantage in the all-time series.
NO. 2 NOTRE DAME 84
DEPAUL 56
CHICAGO — Skylar Diggins finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and Notre Dame won its 20th straight with a victory over DePaul.
Jewell Loyd added 19 points and Kayla McBride scored 16 for the Fighting Irish (25-1, 13-0 Big East), whose only loss came against Baylor in early December.
The Irish forced 21 turnovers and held DePaul (18-9, 7-6) to 33.3-percent shooting.
Notre Dame took control right from the start and never looked back, winning by 20 or more for the fourth straight game while sending the Blue Demons to their second straight blowout loss.
Brittany Hrynko scored 15 points on 4-of-19 shooting for DePaul.
NO. 6 CALIFORNIA 58
OREGON ST. 56
BERKELEY, Calif. — Layshia Clarendon scored 26 points and California rallied from 17 points down in the first half to beat Oregon State and extend the longest winning streak in school history.
Clarendon did most of her work in the second half, including an off-balance 14-foot leaner that gave Cal a 57-51 lead with just under 4 minutes remaining. The Bears (25-2, 15-1 Pac-12) didn’t make another basket after that but held on for the win after being dominated for much of the game.
Jamie Weisner had 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Mollee Schwegler added 15 points for Oregon State (9-19, 3-13). The Beavers have lost seven conference games by five points or fewer.
Cal’s 13th straight win assured it of finishing no worse than second in the Pac-12.
NO. 7 PENN ST. 68
MICHIGAN 57
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Maggie Lucas scored 21 points and Penn State held off a late Michigan charge to clinch at least a share of its second straight Big Ten regular-season title.
Alex Bentley had 11 points and four steals, and set the emotional tone in the final appearance at the Jordan Center for the vocal guard and the other four seniors who helped bring the Lady Lions (23-3, 13-1) back to Big Ten prominence.
Kate Thompson scored 25 points for Michigan (19-8, 8-6), which trailed by 19 early but went on a 12-4 run to claw back to within four with 8 minutes left.
Penn State turned up the defense to hold on and finish unbeaten at home.
LSU 77
NO. 8 KENTUCKY 72
BATON ROUGE, La. — Jeanne Kenney hit all five 3-pointers she attempted and finished with a career-high 22 points to lead LSU past Kentucky.
Kenney was unsure if she would play against the Wildcats because of a sore left foot. She did not start, but saved the Lady Tigers (17-10, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) in a reserve role, finishing 7 of 8 from the field and 3 of 4 from the foul line.
A’dia Mathies scored 20 points and Jennifer O’Neill 15 for Kentucky (23-4, 11-3), which saw its four-game winning streak snapped.
Theresa Plaisance had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Bianca Lutley added 15 points for LSU.
VANDERBILT 61
NO. 10 TEXAS A&M 51
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tiffany Clarke scored 22 of her career-high 30 points in the second half to help Vanderbilt beat Texas A&M.
Clarke made 12 of 25 shots and scored on back-to-back possessions late to help the Commodores pick up their first win against a top 10 team since knocking off No. 6 Georgia on Jan. 14, 2010.
Vanderbilt (18-9, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) led by 12 three times but the Aggies (21-7, 11-3) pulled within 47-44 with 6:23 remaining. Jasmine Lister responded with a 3-pointer and then found Clarke for an open layup. Clarke followed with a jumper to push it to 55-47 with 1:58 left.
Kelsey Bone, the SEC’s third-leading scorer, had 17 points for A&M but shot just 6 of 18.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 60
ARKANSAS 54
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Meighan Simmons scored 18 points and Tennessee rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to beat Arkansas.
The Lady Vols (22-5, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) extended their winning streak to five games and remained atop the conference standings. The victory follows a shocking overtime win last season by the Lady Razorbacks, their first ever in Knoxville.
Simmons, the SEC’s leading scorer, had 11 points in the second half to lead Tennessee back from a 28-19 halftime deficit. Taber Spani added 14 points for the Lady Vols, while Bashaara Graves had 11.
Quistelle Williams led Arkansas (17-10, 5-9) with 15 points.
NO. 12 LOUISVILLE 55
VILLANOVA 49
VILLANOVA, Pa. — Bria Smith scored 16 points and Sara Hammond finished a rebound shy of a third straight double-double as Louisville held off Villanova.
Hammond had 10 points and nine rebounds, as did teammate Antonita Slaughter. Smith added seven boards, six steals and four assists for the Cardinals (22-6, 10-4 Big East), who bounced back from a 73-62 loss against South Florida.
Laura Sweeney paced the Wildcats (18-8, 7-6) with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Villanova shot 37.3 percent (19 of 51) from the floor and hit 5 of 15 from 3-point range.
Villanova led 42-40 when Slaughter hit a go-ahead 3 with 6:15 left to spark a 7-1 clinching run.
NO. 19 GEORGIA 73
MISSISSIPPI 54
OXFORD, Miss. — Jasmine Hassell had 23 points and 10 rebounds to help coach Andy Landers earn his 900th coaching victory with a win over Mississippi.
Landers has 818 wins with Georgia (23-4, 11-3) and had 82 at Roane State prior to taking over at Georgia. The NCAA does not recognize his 82 wins at Roane State, a junior college in Tennessee.
Hassell hit 10 of 15 from the field as the Lady Bulldogs shot 50 percent (31 of 62), outscoring Ole Miss 48-20 in the paint. Shacobla Barbee added 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Tiaria Griffin scored 12, hitting 2 of 3 from 3-point range.
Gracie Frizzell, Valencia McFarland and Diara Moore scored nine apiece for Ole Miss (9-18, 2-12).
NO. 14 DAYTON 67
TEMPLE 47
DAYTON, Ohio — Andrea Hoover led five players in double-figure scoring with 14 points and Dayton won its 12th straight game with a rout of Temple.
Ally Malott and Olivia Applewhite scored 12 apiece, Amber Dean added 11 and Samantha Mackay chipped in 10 points and seven assists for Dayton (24-1, 12-0 Atlantic 10).
In the first half, Dayton shot 38.7 percent (12 of 31), but held Temple to just 33.3 percent (8 of 24) to take a 34-22 lead at the break.
Dayton led by as many as 22 in the second half.
Tyonna Williams led Temple (12-15, 5-7) with 13 points — the only Owl in double figures.
NO. 15 SO. CAROLINA 58
MISSISSIPPI ST. 43
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Aleighsa Welch had a career-high 20 points with 11 rebounds to power South Carolina past Mississippi State.
Khadijah Sessions and Elem Ibiam added 11 points apiece for South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 Southeastern Conference), which tied a program record with its 10th conference victory.
The Gamecocks, who scored the first 12 points of the game and led 36-20 at halftime, got 17 points off 24 turnovers.
Martha Alwal had 13 points for the Bulldogs (12-15, 4-10), who opened with second half with a 9-2 run before the Gamecocks regained control with an 18-10 burst that pushed the lead to 56-39.
NO. 16 N.CAROLINA 68
N.C. STATE 58
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Tierra Ruffin-Pratt matched her career high with 24 points to help North Carolina beat North Carolina State.
Fellow senior Waltiea Rolle added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Tar Heels (25-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who beat their nearby rival for the 23rd time in 27 meetings.
Ruffin-Pratt and Rolle both came up big during a 7-0 spurt that finally helped North Carolina build a cushion against the Wolfpack (13-15, 5-11), though the Tar Heels had to fight to the final minute to secure the win.
Marissa Kastanek scored 17 to lead the Wolfpack.
NO. 17 UCLA 63
SOUTHERN CAL 58
LOS ANGELES — Nirra Fields and Thea Lemberger each scored 12 points and UCLA held off a second half rally to beat Southern California.
Fields and Lemberger also combined for 11 rebounds, nine assists and five steals to lead the Bruins (21-6, 12-4 Pac-12) to their eighth win in the last 10 games.
The Trojans cut the lead to 51-50 on a basket by Cassie Harberts with 3:05 remaining, but Kari Korver followed with a 3-pointer and Markel Walker added a basket to give the Bruins a 56-52 cushion with 1:09 left. Lemberger and Mariah Williams made 7 of 8 free throws in the final 30 seconds.
Harberts had 22 points and 11 rebounds for USC (8-19, 5-11), which has lost eight in a row.
NO. 18 DELAWARE 61, JAMES MADISON 60
NEWARK, Del. (AP) — Elena Delle Donne scored 28 points, including a key free throw in the waning seconds, and Delaware held off James Madison to win its 19th straight and clinch a share of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association.
The Blue Hens (24-3, 15-0) trailed 29-25 at halftime, but Delle Donne’s three-point play put them ahead 44-41 with 12:30 left. Delaware led the rest of the way, though the Dukes threatened late.
Delle Donne’s free throw with 15 seconds remaining made it 61-58.
Tarik Hislop led James Madison (18-9, 12-3) with 17 points on 7-of-27 shooting, and Kirby Burkholder added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
VIRGINIA TECH 71, NO. 19 FLORIDA ST. 52
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Monet Tellier matched her season high with 24 points and Virginia Tech snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Florida State.
The Hokies (9-18, 3-13) held the Atlantic Coast Conference’s best offensive team to 32.8-percent shooting (21 of 64). The Seminoles came in leading the ACC with 78.5 points per game, but fell short of that for the second game in a row after scoring a season low in a 61-50 loss to Duke on Friday.
Florida State (20-7, 10-6) is the only Division I team with five players averaging double figures, but Morgan Toles was the only scorer in double digits with 13 points.
Reserve Uju Ugoka added 21 points and 12 rebounds for Virginia Tech.
NO. 20 COLORADO 68, WASHINGTON 61
BOULDER, Colo. — Arielle Roberson scored 16 points and senior Chucky Jeffery grabbed 13 rebounds in her final regular-season home game, helping Colorado hold off Washington.
The Buffaloes (22-5, 11-5 Pac-12) won their seventh straight game, moving a step closer to securing one of the first-round byes for the conference tournament.
Kristi Kingma scored 19 points for the Huskies (19-8, 11-5). Jazmine Davis was held in check most of the afternoon, scoring just nine points. She entered the game averaging 19.6.
In addition to her big day on the boards, Jeffery finished with 11 points and four assists. But she also had seven turnovers, which she attributed to nerves on senior night.
NO. 22 PURDUE 75, MINNESOTA 63
MINNEAPOLIS — Courtney Moses scored 23 points, and KK Houser and Drey Mingo added 14 apiece to lead Purdue past Minnesota.
Sam Ostarello chipped in with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Boilermakers (20-7, 9-5 Big Ten), who had lost two in a row. Purdue is tied for third place in the Big Ten.
Rachel Banham led Minnesota (16-12, 5-9) with 21 points. Micaella Riche had 13 points and nine rebounds, Sari Noga added 12 points and Kionna Kellogg scored 10 for the Gophers.
Minnesota trailed 65-63 with 3½ minutes left, but the Gophers didn’t score again. Purdue scored the final 10 points, the last eight from the free throw line.
NO. 24 NEBRASKA 66, IOWA 46
LINCOLN, Neb. — Rachel Theriot scored 19 points and Nebraska won its ninth game in a row with a victory over Iowa.
Jordan Hooper and Lindsey Moore scored 10 points apiece, and Moore added eight assists for the Cornhuskers (21-6, 11-3 Big Ten), who kept their hopes alive of sharing the conference championship.
Nebraska’s last two conference games are at Wisconsin on Thursday and at home next Sunday against No. 7 Penn State, which owns at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.
Samantha Logic led the Hawkeyes (17-11, 6-8) with 12 points. She scored the game’s first basket, but that was Iowa’s only lead.