Women's Top 25 roundup: North Carolina rolls past No. 25 Syracuse

 

[January 05, 2024]  Alyssa Ustby finished with 16 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists as North Carolina pulled off an upset win at home over No. 25 Syracuse, 75-51, in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Thursday night.

Ustby's assist total was a career-best, and her triple-double marked the first by any Tar Heel in the history of women's basketball at North Carolina. The Tar Heels (10-4, 2-0 ACC) also got a career-high-tying 22 points from Maria Gakdeng and 14 points from Lexi Donarski.

Dyaisha Fair paced Syracuse (11-2, 1-1 ACC) with 17 points, while Alyssa Latham added 11 points and 11 boards.

UNC never trailed, but had an advantage of just two points at halftime. Then, in the third quarter, the Heels outscored the Orange 25-6 to comfortably pull away. Donarski had eight points in that frame, knocking down two 3-pointers and two free throws, while Ustby grabbed seven rebounds.

The Tar Heels shot 50 percent from the floor while limiting Syracuse to 29.6 percent.

North Carolina plays a ranked opponent for the second straight game on Sunday, traveling to No. 16 Notre Dame.

No. 1 South Carolina 89, Florida 66

Kamilla Cardoso had 10 points and 15 rebounds to help the Gamecocks open SEC play with a win over the Gators in Gainesville, Fla.

South Carolina (13-0, 1-0 SEC) also got 17 points from Te-Hina Paopao, 16 points from Raven Johnson, 15 points from Bree Hall and 10 points from Milaysia Fulwiley. Leilani Correa powered Florida (9-4, 0-1 SEC) with 28 points.

The Gamecocks never trailed and led by as much as 32 points. South Carolina outscored Florida in the paint 56-26.

No. 3 NC State 88, No. 22 Florida State 80 (OT)

Before she left the game with an apparent injury in the fourth quarter, River Baldwin tallied 21 points and eight rebounds to help the Wolfpack remain unbeaten with a tough victory over the visiting Seminoles in Raleigh, N.C.

Aziaha James added 18 points and Zoe Brooks chipped in 15 for NC State (14-0, 2-0 ACC). The Wolfpack also got nine points and 11 rebounds from Mimi Collins, and 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals from Saniya Rivers.

Ta'Niya Latson dropped 30 points for Florida State (11-4, 2-1 ACC) while shooting 9-of-9 from the free-throw line.

No. 7 LSU 92, Missouri 72

Angel Reese and Aneesah Morrow each secured double-doubles as LSU beat visiting Missouri in Baton Rouge, La.

Morrow had 25 points and 10 rebounds while Reese notched 21 points and 13 rebounds. LSU (14-1, 1-0 SEC) also got 24 points from Flau'jae Johnson.

Hayley Frank led Missouri (9-5, 0-1 SEC) with 22 points.

LSU outscored Missouri 32-17 in the third quarter to pull away. LSU won the rebounding battle 44-31 and outscored Missouri 52-32 in the paint.

No. 13 Virginia Tech 82, Wake Forest 73

Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore each notched double-doubles as the Hokies captured a road victory over the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Kitley -- playing in the same gym that her father Ralph did -- had 27 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, while Amoore had 20 points and 10 assists for Virginia Tech (11-2, 2-0 ACC). The Hokies also got 11 points from Matilda Ekh and 13 from Rose Micheaux.

Wake Forest (4-10, 0-2 ACC) was led by 29 points from Elise Williams.

Virginia Tech led by 17 points at halftime and later by as much as 21. The Hokies won the rebounding battle 35-17 and outscored Wake 11-4 on fast breaks.

No. 14 Indiana 80, Michigan 59

Mackenzie Holmes had 20 points and seven rebounds as the Hoosiers topped the visiting Wolverines in Bloomington, Ind.

Sara Scalia added 16 points and Sydney Parrish had 14 to help Indiana (12-1, 3-0 Big Ten). Laila Phelia had 23 points for Michigan (11-4, 2-1 Big Ten).

Indiana got off to a hot start, outscoring Michigan 36-17 in the first quarter. The Hoosiers led by as much as 26 points in the game as they shot 57.8 percent from the floor and 47.4 percent from 3-point range. Michigan, meanwhile, made just 1-of-9 shots from behind the arc.

No. 16 Notre Dame 71, Pittsburgh 66

Despite Liatu King's career-high 34 points, the Panthers fell just short of upsetting the visiting Irish in Pittsburgh.

King shot 13-of-18 and added 13 rebounds for Pitt (6-9, 0-2 ACC). In the win, Notre Dame (10-2, 1-1 ACC) was fueled by freshman Hannah Hidalgo's 24 points, six rebounds and five assists. Maddy Westbeld added 17 points for the Irish.

Notre Dame jumped out to a 20-point lead early on, but Pitt clawed its way back, outscoring the Irish 36-19 over the second and third quarters. Pitt led by three points in the fourth quarter, but Notre Dame responded with a 14-4 run, with nine of those points coming from Hidalgo.

No. 17 Louisville 61, Duke 44

Kiki Jefferson scored 15 points to lead the Cardinals to a victory over the visiting Blue Devils in Louisville, Ken.

Olivia Cochran also provided a boost for Louisville (13-2, 2-0 ACC), tallying 13 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Merissah Russell added 10 points. Oluchi Okananwa paced Duke (9-5, 1-2) with 14 points and five boards.

Louisville built its comfortable lead in the second quarter, outscoring Duke 14-4.

No. 18 Gonzaga 74, Portland 53

Brynna Maxwell scored 21 points as the Bulldogs opened West Coast Conference play with a road win over the Pilots in Portland, Ore.

Gonzaga (14-2, 1-0 WCC) also got 18 points from Yvonne Ejim, and nine points and 11 rebounds from Eliza Hollingsworth. Maisie Burnham led Portland (8-7, 0-1 WCC) with 13 points and three steals, while Natalie Fraley added 10 points.

The Bulldogs started hot and jumped out to a 20-6 lead after the first quarter. The key for Gonzaga was its sharp shooting at the free-throw line where it went 20-of-25. The Bulldogs also had a 48-32 margin in rebounding.

--Field Level Media

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