Maryland rallies from 19 down to beat James Madison
HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — Shakira Austin scored 21 points and Ashley Owusu made a layup with four seconds left to help No. 8 Maryland rally from a 19-point fourth quarter deficit and beat James Madison 70-68 on Wednesday night.
Trailing by 19 points early in the final period, Austin’s jumper capped a 28-6 run for the Terrapins, who used full court pressure to get back in the game. Austin’s shot gave Maryland a 68-66 lead with 1:20 left. After both teams couldn’t score over the next minute, Lexie Barrier hit two free throws with 14 seconds left to tie the game.
Maryland called timeout and Owusu scored with a few seconds left. The Dukes had one last chance, but Kamiah Smalls halfcourt shot rimmed out at the buzzer. Owusu finished with 14 points for Maryland (2-1).
Freshman Kiki Jefferson had 16 to lead James Madison (2-1) while Preseason Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year Smalls finished with 14 in a balanced effort the Dukes.
No. 1 OREGON 109, UTAH STATE 52
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu surpassed 2,000 career points and fell just short of a 19th triple-double as Oregon routed Utah State.
Ioenscu became the fourth Oregon player to reach the 2,000-point plateau. She had a scary moment in the third quarter when she was fouled driving to the basket and fell to the court, putting a hand on the back of her right leg.
She was helped to her feet and appeared to be reluctant to go to the bench. She sat out the final few minutes of the period before returning to start the fourth quarter.
The preseason All-American finished with 16 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
No. 4 UCONN 64, VANDERBILT 51
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Megan Walker scored 25 points, and the fourth-ranked UConn Huskies beat Vanderbilt in the program’s first game at Memorial Gym since 1992.
The Huskies (2-0) now have won six straight against Vanderbilt (2-1) after dropping the first two between these programs. This was much closer than last year when UConn beat Vanderbilt 80-42 at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Coach Geno Auriemma hadn’t brought his Huskies to Memorial Gym since March 1992 when Vandy ended UConn’s run in the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year after the first of its now 20 record Final Four berths. Even with former Vanderbilt guard Jasmine Lister now an Auriemma assistant, the reason for this visit was senior guard Crystal Dangerfield.
This was Dangerfield’s chance to play close to her home in Murfreesboro, 35 miles southeast of Music City. She finished with eight points and four assists.
Koi Love led Vanderbilt with 14 points.
No. 6 SOUTH CAROLINA 75, DAYTON 49
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Freshman Zia Cooke scored 27 points as South Carolina’s young, quick guards controlled the pace, and the Gamecocks followed their big win at Maryland by dominating Dayton.
South Carolina (3-0) was coming off a 64-54 victory at then-No. 4 Maryland that represented an impressive early step for a young roster led by shot-blocking freshman Aliyah Boston. The Gamecocks’ backcourt and suffocating front line were too much for Dayton (2-1), which fell behind by 26 in the second quarter and never recovered.
Boston has quickly become a focal point of the Gamecocks’ retooled roster — only two seniors from their team that reached the Sweet 16 last season. Boston had a triple-double in her first collegiate game and led the nation in blocked shots with 15 in her first two games.
While Boston and the rest of South Carolina’s front line dug in defensively, the Gamecocks’ guards led the way to another one-sided win. Cooke, who was one of the nation’s top prep point guards at nearby Toledo, Ohio, went 5 of 6 from beyond the arc and had seven rebounds. Boston had 11 points, two rebounds and one of South Carolina’s 10 blocks.
Jenna Giacone scored 18 for Dayton, which shot only 22% from the field.
No. 12 FLORIDA STATE 75, JACKSONVILLE 41
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Nausia Woolfolk scored 22 points and Kiah Gillespie posted her 15th career double-double to lead Florida State to a victory over Jacksonville.
Woolfolk shot 9 of 14 while Gillespie had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Seminoles (3-0). Nicki Ekhomu, who led Florida State in scoring in its first two games this season with 18 and 21 points, finished with 14, making all six of her free throws.
Baskets by Gillespie and Woolfolk in the final 1½ minutes of the first half put the Seminoles up by double figures for good. Florida State outscored the Dolphins by eight in the third quarter to lead by 21 and led by as many as 37 in the final minute of the fourth period when the Seminoles outscored Jacksonville 25-12.
Destiny Marshall scored 20 points with eight rebounds for Jacksonville (1-2).
No. 13 KENTUCKY 67, STETSON 48
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Rhyne Howard scored 24 points and Keke McKinney posted a career-first double-double to lead Kentucky over Stetson.
Howard shot 11 of 21 from the floor while McKinney had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Tatyana Wyatt grabbed 10 rebounds to go with her nine points.
While the Wildcats (3-0) and Hatters (1-1) both had shooting percentages in the mid-30s and 41 rebounds apiece, Kentucky took 22 more shots with the help of 24 Stetson turnovers.
Kennedi Colclough and Kimia Carter scored 10 points each for the Hatters.
No. 17 MIAMI 78, NORTH FLORIDA 55
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Beatrice Mompremier and Kelsey Marshall each scored 16 points and Miami beat North Florida.
Marshall scored 10 of Miami’s 25 first-quarter points for an 11-point lead. The Hurricanes led 34-26 at halftime and outscored North Florida 22-11 in the third quarter before adding another 22 points in the fourth to seal it.
Miami (2-0), which was coming off an 83-68 season-opening win against Jackson State, got 32 points off its bench. The Hurricanes will play IUPUI and North Carolina A&T before their first test of the season against No. 7 Oregon State on November 29.
Alexis Gordon led North Florida (1-2) with 13 points and Janesha Green added 10.
It was a coaching reunion as Miami coach Katie Meier faced her former assistant coach and current North Florida coach Darrick Gibbs.