Women's Top 25 roundup: No. 1 South Carolina survives Alissa Pili, No. 11 Utah

 

[December 11, 2023]  Alissa Pili pushed South Carolina for 40 minutes, but the No. 1 Gamecocks survived her career-high 37-point performance to outlast No. 11 Utah in the Hall of Fame Women's Showcase in Uncasville, Conn.

Pili scored 15 points in the second quarter, keeping Utah in the game after falling behind 27-16 in the first 10 minutes.

The Gamecocks posted a win over a ranked team for the fourth time this season -- more than any other team -- and slowed Utah's high-volume 3-point attack but allowed 46 points in the paint. Kamilla Cardoso scored a team-high 17 points with six rebounds and Te-Hina Paopao added 15 for the Gamecocks (9-0), who had 23 turnovers.

One of the nation's leaders with a 43.6 3-point field goal percentage entering the game, Utah (8-2) made only 5 of 20 3-point tries. Pili was 3 of 6 from long range and made 15 of 23 field-goal attempts.

No. 2 UCLA 95, No. 20 Florida State 78

Lauren Betts recorded a 22-point, 18-rebound double-double as the Bruins cruised to a victory over the Seminoles in the Hall of Fame Women's Showcase in Uncasville, Conn.

Betts went 10-for-16 from the field and also had four blocks for UCLA (9-0), which also got 16 points from both Charisma Osborne and Angela Dugalic. The Bruins opened the game on an 18-3 run and never looked back.

Ta'Niya Latson posted a game-high 26 points for Florida State (7-3). The Seminoles fell despite canning 47.1 percent of their shots from beyond the arc (8 of 17).

No. 3 North Carolina State 80, Liberty 67

Zoe Brooks notched a triple-double, helping the Wolfpack beat the Flames in Raleigh, N.C.

Brooks finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Aziaha James poured in a game-high 18 points, while Mimi Collins and Madison Hayes scored 15 apiece as North Carolina State improved to 10-0.

Asia Boone led Liberty (3-7) with 17 points. The Flames were run off the floor, as NC State had a 26-4 advantage in fastbreak points.

No. 4 Iowa 87, Wisconsin 65

Caitlin Clark scored 28 points with nine rebounds and five assists and Hannah Stuelke came off the bench to put up 21 for the Hawkeyes in an easy win over the Badgers in the Big Ten opener for both teams in Madison, Wis.

It was the 28th consecutive win for the Hawkeyes over the Badgers. Clark moved to No. 10 on the all-time women's Division I scoring list and passed an impressive list of legends on Sunday: Elena Delle Donne, Maya Moore, Chamique Holdsclaw and Cheryl Miller. The first home sellout for Wisconsin's women's hoops at Kohl Center in 21 years made for a high-energy atmosphere, but Clark made a series of deflating plays to keep the Hawkeyes (10-1) in their comfort zone.

Clark hit an NBA range 3 in front of the Badgers' bench in the final seconds of the second quarter, shrugged toward the crowd in Jordan-esque fashion and Iowa carried a 43-33 lead into the break. Wisconsin (5-4) was led by Ronnie Porter with 17 points and seven rebounds.

No. 6 USC 85, UC Riverside 53

JuJu Watkins scored 27 points as the Trojans raced away from the Highlanders in Los Angeles.

Watkins shot 10 of 16 from the floor and also had five assists and five steals for USC (8-0). The Trojans also got a double-double of 11 points and 12 boards from Rayah Marshall, while McKenzie Forbes added 11 points. Jordan Webster scored 20 points for UC Riverside (4-4).

USC jumped out to a 24-7 lead and was up by 32 points at halftime. The Trojans won the rebounding battle 37-24 and shot 55.9 percent from the floor as they went on to lead by as many as 39 points.

No. 7 LSU 83, Louisiana 53

Aneesah Morrow scored 27 points and Angel Reese added 20 as the Tigers routed the Ragin' Cajuns in Baton Rouge, La.

Morrow and Reese also combined for 19 rebounds as LSU (9-1) won handily without starting guard Hailey Van Lith, who missed the game due to a lingering foot injury. Louisiana (3-3) was led by Brandi Williams' 14 points.

After the game, Tigers coach Kim Mulkey confirmed that guard Kateri Poole is no longer with the team. She averaged 22.4 minutes per game last season on LSU's national championship squad. Poole had appeared in just four games this season, and none since Nov. 17.

No. 12 Ohio State 94, Penn State 84 (OT)

Jacy Sheldon scored nine of her 31 points in overtime and the Buckeyes beat the Nittany Lions to push their winning streak to eight with a victory in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

Trailing 80-76 following Celeste Taylor's 3 with 43 seconds left in regulation, Penn State (7-3) tied the game with 10.8 seconds to go on back-to-back buckets from Makenna Marisa and Tay Valladay on either side of an Ohio State turnover. Marisa had 28 points in 40 points before she was carried to the locker room with a leg injury late in overtime.

Ohio State (8-1) was down by nine to start the fourth quarter, which Sheldon trimmed to six with an immediate 3. The Buckeyes took the lead 69-68 on Rebeka Mikulasikova's 3. Ohio State owned overtime, including five points from Sheldon during a 7-0 run that also included Cotie McMahon knocking down an open shot with 2:24 to go. McMahon had 27 points for the Buckeyes.

No. 15 Virginia Tech 85, Radford 40

Center Elizabeth Kitley had 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks for the Hokies, who hammered the Highlanders to improve to 5-0 at home this season in Blacksburg, Va.

Virginia Tech (7-2) burst out of the gate, led 22-4 before the end of the first quarter and never let off the gas. Radford had 11 field goals and shot 19.3 percent from the field. Georgia Amoore chipped in 15 points with three assists and three blocks for the Hokies.

Ashlyn Traylor-Walker missed 14 of her 16 field-goal attempts but led the Highlanders (2-8) with 16 points with an 11-of-12 day at the free throw line.

No. 17 UConn 76, No. 24 North Carolina 64

Paige Bueckers scored 26 points as the Huskies pulled away from the Tar Heels in the final game of the Hall of Fame Women's Showcase in Uncasville, Conn.

Bueckers knocked down 11 of 14 field-goal attempts for UConn (6-3). Aaliyah Edwards added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies, while Nika Muhl chipped in 12 points and six assists. With a layup to kickstart an 11-0 third-quarter run, Bueckers reached the 1,000-point mark for her career.

North Carolina (6-4) had all five starters score in double figures, with Maria Gakdeng leading the way with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Lexi Donarski added 12 points, while Indya Nivar tallied 10 points and eight rebounds.

No. 18 Louisville 73, Kentucky 61

Eylia Love led five players scoring in double figures and the host Cardinals eased past the Wildcats in their annual rivalry duel Sunday afternoon.

Love had 14 points, and Nyla Harris and Syndey Taylor had 13 points apiece for Louisville (9-1). Maddie Scherr paced Kentucky with 22 points; she made four 3-pointers and had five rebounds and three steals.

Kentucky (4-7) trailed 50-44 entering the fourth quarter when Louisville surged behind Love's 3-pointer and a jumper by Jayda Curry, which pushed the Cardinals ahead 55-46 with 8:16 remaining. The Wildcats closed to 62-56 with 1:55 to go with Cassidy Rowe nailing a 3-pointer, but Louisville sealed the win with three Kiki Jefferson free throws in a span of seven seconds.

No. 19 Marquette 64, Illinois State 62

Liza Karlen scored 19 points as the Golden Eagles escaped an upset bid by the Redbirds in Normal, Ill.

Karlen also had six rebounds, four assists and two steals for Marquette (9-0), which also got 14 points from Mackenzie Hare and 13 points from Jordan King. Maya Wong led Illinois State (6-3) with 14 points and eight assists.

Illinois State led by as many as 11 points before Marquette outscored the Redbirds 23-15 in the fourth quarter. The Golden Eagles outscored Illinois State 38-24 in the paint.

Washington 60, No. 21 Washington State 55

Hannah Stines tallied 21 points and nine rebounds to help the Huskies open Pac-12 play with a road victory over their in-state rivals, the Cougars, in Pullman, Wash.

Washington (10-0, 1-0 Pac-12) was also boosted by 20 points from Lauren Schwartz and Dalayah Daniels' 11 points and four steals. Bella Murekatete powered Washington State (10-2, 0-1) with 19 points and six rebounds while Charlisse Leger-Walker put up 11 points, three steals and three boards.

The Huskies imposed their will on the Cougars from the start, ending the first quarter with a 10-2 lead, then outscoring Washington State 27-15 in the second frame. Washington shot 53.8 percent from 3-point land for the game as it went on to lead by as many as 21 points.

No. 22 Creighton 73, Wyoming 61

Despite a double-double of 30 points and 12 rebounds from Allyson Fertig, the Cowgirls couldn't pull off an upset of the Bluejays in Laramie, Wyo.

Creighton (7-1) was led by 22 points from Emma Ronsiek, 18 points from Morgan Maly and 16 points and five assists from Lauren Jensen. Fertig -- who went 13-for-19 from the floor -- was the only player to score in double figures for Wyoming (4-4).

The two sides were tied 34-34 at halftime, and then Creighton outscored Wyoming 19-11 in the third quarter to pull ahead. The Bluejays made 7 of 25 shots from behind the arc for the game while limiting the Cowgirls to just four made 3-pointers.

--Field Level Media

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