No. 7 Maryland women top Nebraska 89-63 for 8th straight win
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Sophie Cunningham scored 24 points, Amber Smith added 16 and Missouri upset No. 5 Mississippi State 75-67 on Thursday night.
The game remained tight until the final minute when Cierra Porter made a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left — her first points of the game — to give Missouri a six-point advantage.
Missouri (19-7, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) trailed for much of the night, but pulled ahead 55-54 on Akira Levy's layup at the third-quarter buzzer. The Tigers pushed their advantage 60-56 early in the fourth quarter and never trailed again, fending off multiple Mississippi State rallies. Missouri shot 55 percent from the field and made 11 3-pointers.
Mississippi State (22-2, 10-1) had its 12-game winning streak snapped. The Bulldogs also had won 26 straight regular-season SEC games dating to last season. Anriel Howard led the Bulldogs with 21 points.
NO. 7 MARYLAND 89, NEBRASKA 63
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Kaila Charles scored 22 points, Blair Watson added 17 and No. 7 Maryland used a big third quarter to roar past Nebraska for its eighth straight victory.
Standing alone atop the Big Ten, the Terrapins (23-2, 12-2) face No. 14 Iowa on the road Sunday with first place on the line. The Hawkeyes are one game back with four to play. Maryland gained lone possession of the top spot last Sunday, bolting to a fast start in a rout of Rutgers. The Terrapins used a similar approach against Nebraska, hitting their first four shots for a 9-0 lead.
The Cornhuskers stayed within striking distance until Taylor Mikesell drilled a pair of 3-pointers in a 16-0 run that made it 69-45 entering the fourth quarter. Nicea Eiely scored 18 points for the Cornhuskers (11-14, 6-8).
NO. 11 SOUTH CAROLINA 65, GEORGIA 57
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Destanni Henderson scored 14 points and South Carolina pulled away from Georgia.
Doniyah Cliney scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half for the Gamecocks (18-6, 10-1). They were coming off a 97-79 loss to No. 4 UConn. Taja Cole scored 19 points for Georgia (14-10, 5-6).
NO. 13 GONZAGA 71, SAN DIEGO 44
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Zykera Rice scored 15 points and Jessie Loera added 13, with the duo combining to go 10 of 13 from the field, and Gonzaga rolled to its seventh straight victory.
The Bulldogs (23-2, 12-1 West Coast) improved to 12-0 at home, shooting 55 percent (26 of 37) and dominating the boards 40-29.
Leticia Soares scored 10 points for San Diego. The Toreros (8-17, 1-13) have lost 12 in a row.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Megan Gustafson had 27 points and 17 rebounds to become the Big Ten Conference's career double-double leader with 78, helping Iowa beat Illinois.
Gustafson broke the record set by former Ohio State player Janel Lavender.
Kathleen Doyle added 12 points for the Hawkeyes (20-5, 11-3). Alex Wittinger scored 15 points for Illinois (10-15, 2-12).
CLEMSON 73, NO. 21 FLORIDA STATE 68
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Kobi Thornton was 8 of 11 from the field and scored 19 points for Clemson.
Danielle Edwards had 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range, for Clemson (16-9, 7-5 ACC). Simone Westbrook added 16 points.
Nicki Ekhomu led Florida State (20-5, 8-4) with 27 points
NO. 22 TEXAS A&M 59, LSU 55
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Kayla Wells scored 16 points, N'dea Jones had 15 rebounds and Texas A&M beat LSU for its eighth victory in nine games.
Chennedy Carter added 15 points for Texas A&M (19-5, 8-3 SEC). Khayla Pointer led LSU (14-9, 5-6) with 21 points.
OHIO STATE 59, NO. 23 RUTGERS 39
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Adreana Miller scored 14 points and Carly Santoro added 12 to help Ohio State beat Rutgers.
The Buckeyes (11-12, 7-7 Big Ten) closed the first quarter on a 17-1 run and led 23-6 at the end of the period. Stasha Carey and Arella Guirantes each had nine for Rutgers (17-7, 9-4).
WISCONSON 79, NO. 24 MICHIGAN STATE 62
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Marsha Howard scored 28 points and Wisconsin beat for its first victory over a ranked opponent in six years.
Wisconsin (12-13, 3-10 Big Ten) snapped a 32-game skid against ranked teams dating to a 73-61 win over then-No. 7 Penn State on Jan. 31, 2013. Shay Colley had 24 points and nine rebounds for Michigan State (17-7, 7-6).