Chloe Kitts scored 14 points as No. 1 South Carolina remained undefeated and held off an upset bid by No. 9 LSU to win 76-70 in front of an announced crowd of 13,205 fans on Thursday night in Baton Rouge, La.
South Carolina (18-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) extended its road winning streak to 28 games. LSU (18-3, 5-2), which hasn’t beaten the AP No. 1 team since 2008, saw its 29-game home winning streak end.
The Gamecocks also got 13 points and nine rebounds from Raven Johnson, 12 points and six assists from Te-Hina Paopao, 11 points and eight boards from Kamilla Cardoso and 10 points from Bree Hall.
Aneesah Morrow led the Tigers with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Angel Reese had 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists before fouling out. Hailey Van Lith added 13 points, Mikaylah Williams chipped in 12 points and six assists, and Flau’jae Johnson scored 10.
No. 7 North Carolina State 71, Clemson 49
Madison Hayes recorded 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the visiting Wolfpack past the Tigers.
Mimi Collins scored 14 points and Saniya Rivers added 13 points, seven steals and five assists for NC State (17-2, 5-2 ACC). The Wolfpack held a 43-30 rebounding advantage while winning for the third time in four games.
Ruby Whitehorn had 11 points and four steals for Clemson (8-12, 1-7), which has lost seven straight games. Amari Robinson and Mackenzie Kramer added 10 points apiece.
No. 12 Ohio State 67, Illinois 59
Jacy Sheldon scored 25 points and the Buckeyes won their sixth straight game by knocking off the Fighting Illini at Champaign, Ill.
Cotie McMahon had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Ohio State (16-3, 7-1 Big Ten), which followed up its takedown of then-No. 2 Iowa on Sunday. Celeste Taylor added 14 points for the Buckeyes.
Makira Cook had 16 points and Genesis Bryant added 14 for Illinois (8-10, 2-6). Kendall Bostic scored 13 points and collected 18 rebounds for the Illini, who lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
No. 22 Syracuse 79, No. 15 Notre Dame 65
Dyaisha Fair scored 25 points at South Bend, Ind., as the Orange earned a road win over the Fighting Irish for the first time in 20 all-time visits.
Alaina Rice added 19 points and eight rebounds as Syracuse (17-2, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its sixth consecutive game and also recorded a regular-season sweep of Notre Dame for the first time. Syracuse notched an 86-81 home victory on Dec. 31.
Georgia Woolley added 12 points and nine rebounds and Kyra Wood had 13 rebounds and six blocked shots for the Orange. Fair raised her career point total to 3,085 and stands eight points behind ninth-place Rachel Banham of Minnesota on the all-time Division I scoring list.
Hannah Hidalgo scored 23 points for Notre Dame (14-4, 5-3), which had a four-game winning streak snapped. Sonia Citron had 14 points but shot just 4-for-17, while Maddy Westbeld added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Irish.
Notre Dame shot just 33.3 percent from the field. The Irish were 6 of 14 in the first quarter before going 15 of 49 (30.6 percent) the rest of the way.
No. 17 Gonzaga 82, Santa Clara 45
Yvonne Ejim had 19 points, 13 rebounds and five assists as the Bulldogs routed the host Broncos.
Maud Huijbens scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting as the Bulldogs (19-2, 6-0 West Coast Conference) won their 13th straight contest. Kaylynne Truong scored 14 points and Brynna Maxwell and Kayleigh Truong added 12 points apiece for Gonzaga, which held a 43-22 rebounding edge.
Tess Heal scored 22 points for Santa Clara (15-6, 3-3). The Broncos have lost to Gonzaga twice this month by an average of 37.5 points.
No. 18 Louisville 88, Boston College 60
Kiki Jefferson scored a season-high 27 points and added seven rebounds to help the host Cardinals roll past the Eagles.
Freshman Elif Istanbulluoglu had a career-best 11 points off the bench as Louisville (17-3, 6-1 ACC) won for the seventh time in eight games. Olivia Cochran added 10 points for the Cardinals.
Teya Sidberry scored 12 points for Boston College (11-10, 3-5), which lost for the fourth time in the past six games. T’yana Todd and Dontavia Waggoner had 11 points apiece and Nene Ndiaye contributed 10 points for the Eagles.
No. 19 Virginia Tech 87, Georgia Tech 69
Elizabeth Kitley had 29 points and nine rebounds to help the Hokies top the Yellow Jackets in Blacksburg, Va.
In her return from a one-game absence due to a concussion, Georgia Amoore aided Virginia Tech (15-4, 6-2 ACC) in a big way, totaling 24 points and 13 assists. Olivia Summiel added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Hokies. Virginia Tech shot 55.4 percent from the floor, racked up 20 assists and won the rebounding battle 37-25.
Tonie Morgan scored a career-best 26 points to lead Georgia Tech (13-7, 4-4), while Rusne Augustinaite chipped in 17 points.
No. 20 North Carolina 66, Miami 61
Deja Kelly scored 18 points to help the Tar Heels slip past the Hurricanes in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Maria Gakdeng added 13 points, Alyssa Ustby contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds and Lexi Donarski also had 12 points for North Carolina (15-5, 7-1 ACC). Reniya Kelly had 10 points as the Tar Heels won their fourth straight game.
Shayeann Day-Wilson made five treys while scoring 18 points for Miami (12-6, 2-5). Jaida Patrick added 10 for the Hurricanes, who have lost five of their past seven games.
Duke 88, No. 23 Florida State 46
Taina Mair scored 18 points as the Blue Devils upset the Seminoles in Durham, N.C.
Mair also collected seven rebounds and five assists — and didn’t turn the ball over — as Duke (13-6, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) got its second win of the season over a ranked opponent. The Blue Devil also received 13 points and five assists from Ashlon Jackson and 11 points and five blocks from Kennedy Brown.
It was the third consecutive defeat for Florida State (14-7, 5-4), which was powered by Ta’Niya Latson’s 15 points.
After trading buckets to open the game, Duke closed the first quarter on a 12-4 run and ended the second frame on a 15-3 run. The Blue Devils sealed the win by opening the fourth quarter on a 16-0 run.
It’s the third-largest margin of victory for Duke this season and its largest over a power-conference opponent. The Seminoles shot a season-worst 22.4 percent from the floor in their biggest loss of the season. The Blue Devils also grabbed a season-high 58 rebounds, winning the margin on the glass by 23.
–Field Level Media
