Caitlin Clark wasn’t the leading scorer, but No. 2 Iowa still won comfortably by a score of 111-93 over Penn State on Thursday night in Iowa City, thanks to a career-high 47 points from Hannah Stuelke.
Stuelke shot 17-for-20 from the floor and had nine rebounds for the Hawkeyes (22-2, 11-1 Big Ten), while Kate Martin chipped in 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Clark struggled at times against Penn State’s defense with 12 turnovers, but she ended up with 27 points and 15 assists. She is now 39 points away from breaking the NCAA Division I women’s all-time scoring record held by former Washington guard Kelsey Plum. Clark will aim to hit that mark on Sunday when the Hawkeyes visit Nebraska.
Penn State (16-7, 7-5) was led by Leilani Kapinus’ double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Ashley Owusu scored 18 points and Makenna Marisa added 12.
The Nittany Lions led by two after the first quarter, then Iowa outscored them 32-19 in the second frame. The Hawkeyes outscored Penn State 52-30 in the paint in the game.
No. 1 South Carolina 83, Missouri 45
MiLaysia Fulwiley had 19 points, six steals and four assists as the Gamecocks remained undefeated and routed the Tigers in Columbia, S.C.
South Carolina (22-0, 10-0 Southeastern Conference) was also boosted by Chloe Kitts’ 12 points, eight rebounds and five blocks, plus 11 points from Sania Feagin and 10 points from Bree Hall. Ashton Judd paced Missouri (11-12, 2-8) with 12 points and 10 boards.
The Gamecocks played without starting center Kamilla Cardoso because she is playing with Brazil in a qualifying tournament for the summer Olympics. Also absent from the Gamecocks was freshman Sahnya Jah, who is suspended indefinitely for “conduct detrimental to the team,” the program announced.
No. 16 Virginia Tech 72, No. 3 NC State 61
Elizabeth Kitley piled up 25 points and 13 rebounds as the Hokies won on the road over the higher-ranked Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C.
Georgia Amoore added a near triple-double of 12 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for Virginia Tech (19-4, 10-2 ACC) in its sixth straight win. Matilda Ekh chipped in 14 points and Cayla King scored 13.
Madison Hayes powered NC State (20-3, 8-3) with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Aziaha James scored 17 points and Saniya Rivers added 12. The Wolfpack’s two frontcourt players — Mimi Collins and River Baldwin — struggled against Kitley, combining for just eight rebounds and six points on 1-of-11 shooting.
No. 5 Ohio State 71, Minnesota 47
Celeste Taylor scored 14 points as the Buckeyes raced away from the Gophers in Minneapolis, Minn.
Cotie McMahon added 13 points and nine rebounds for Ohio State (20-3, 11-1 Big Ten), while Jacy Sheldon added 12 points and six assists. Janay Sanders led Minnesota (14-9, 4-8) with 16 points.
Ohio State led by five points at halftime, then pulled away in the third quarter by outscoring the Gophers 26-7.
No 15 Louisville 73, No. 12 Notre Dame 66
Nyla Harris produced 19 points and 10 rebounds as the No. 15 Cardinals toppled the visiting Fighting Irish.
Harris — who notched her fourth double-double of the season — made 9 of 11 shots from the floor as the Cardinals (20-4, 9-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) improved to 4-3 against ranked teams this season. Louisville also aided by 13 points from Sydney Taylor plus an effort of 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists from Kiki Jefferson.
Hannah Hidalgo powered Notre Dame (17-5, 7-4) with 30 points and seven steals. Maddy Westbeld and Sonia Citron each chipped in nine points and seven boards.
The Cardinals held the Irish to 2-of-18 shooting from 3-point range, Notre Dame’s worst mark in ACC play this season.
Hidalgo raised her season point total to 551, breaking the Irish’s program record for a freshman. Shari Matvey set the old mark of 529 in 1979-80.
No. 13 LSU 85, Vanderbilt 62
Angel Reese stacked up 15 points and 16 rebounds to help the Tigers beat the host Commodores in Nashville, Tenn.
Aneesah Morrow chipped in a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a game-high six steals, while Flau’Jae Johnson scored 17 points for LSU (20-4, 7-3 Southeastern Conference). Hailey Van Lith contributed 13 points while Mikaylah Williams added 10.
Vanderbilt (17-7, 4-6) was led by Iyanna Moore’s 17 points. Khamil Pierre added 13 points and 11 boards.
No. 14 Indiana 94, Michigan State 91
Mackenzie Holmes scored 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting to help the Hoosiers defeat the upset-minded Spartans in Bloomington, Ind.
Indiana (19-3, 10-2 Big Ten) also got 21 points from Sara Scalia, 20 points from Yarden Garzon and a triple-double of 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists from Chloe Moore-McNeil — the fourth in program history. Michigan State (17-6, 7-5) was led by Julia Ayrault’s 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting, while DeeDee Hagemann had 19 points and 10 assists.
The Spartans opened the game by scoring 32 points in the first quarter. Indiana took its first lead of the second half with 6:11 to play after Scalia swished a 3-pointer on an assist from Holmes. Michigan State tied the game with 1:55 to play, but Indiana responded with layups from Holmes and Garzon.
No. 19 Gonzaga 83, Pepperdine 46
Kaylynne Truong scored 19 points to help the Bulldogs rout the Waves in Spokane, Wash.
Kayleigh Truong added 14 points, Eliza Hollingsworth had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Brynna Maxwell scored 11 points for Gonzaga (23-2, 10-0 West Coast Conference) in its 17th straight win. Gonzaga played without starting forward Yvonne Ejim, who is with the Canadian national team at a qualifying tournament for the summer Olympic games.
Jane Nwaba paced Pepperdine (5-18, 1-9) with 11 points and nine rebounds.
No. 23 Syracuse 62, Georgia Tech 59
Dyaisha Fair scored 17 points as the host Orange outlasted the Yellow Jackets.
Fair also had four assists and five rebounds, while Izabel Varejao added 13 points and seven rebounds for Syracuse (19-4, 9-3 ACC). Alyssa Latham chipped in 12 points and eight boards. Kara Dunn paced Georgia Tech (14-10, 5-7) with 17 points, while Kayla Blackshear had 15 and Tonie Morgan added 12.
The Orange took a one-point lead with just less than two minutes to play on a layup by Varejao, and Georgia Tech never scored again. Aixa Wone Aranaz missed a jumper, Dunn missed a layup and Sydney Johnson turned the ball over. Fair flushed two free throws in the final 30 seconds to push Syracuse’s advantage to three points.
–Field Level Media