Ta’Niya Latson scored 21 points, Tessa Johnson added 20 and No. 2 South Carolina handed No. 5 Vanderbilt an emphatic first loss of the season, 103-74 on Sunday in Columbia, S.C.
South Carolina (20-2, 6-1 Southeastern Conference), coming in off an overtime loss to Oklahoma, wasted little time pouncing on Vanderbilt (20-1, 6-1). The Gamecocks went on an 11-2 barrage just 1:38 into the contest, setting the tone for the lopsided win. They shot a blistering 40-of-65 from the floor (61.5%), including 10-of-17 from 3-point range, en route to their highest-scoring performance in SEC competition this season.
Johnson’s 4-of-7 shooting from deep led the Gamecocks. Madina Okot contributed 17 points (8-of-9 shooting), seven rebounds and five steals off the bench, and Joyce Edwards tallied 16 points, seven boards and six assists.
Vanderbilt, which enjoyed the best start in program history at 20-0, shot 12-of-25 from 3-point distance but only went 16-of-36 from inside the arc. The Commodores also committed 20 turnovers that South Carolina converted into 32 points. Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes scored 23 points to lead all scorers and had seven rebounds and five assists in the loss.
No. 3 UCLA 80, Northwestern 46
Kiki Rice flirted with a triple-double, going for 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and the Bruins rolled to their 13th consecutive victory with the decision against the Wildcats in Evanston, Ill.
UCLA (19-1, 9-0 Big Ten) overwhelmed Northwestern (8-12, 2-7) on defense, holding the Wildcats to just 17-of-48 shooting from the floor. The Bruins leveraged Northwestern’s shooting struggles into a 44-25 rebounding edge and scored 31 points on the Wildcats’ 20 turnovers.
Rice led four Bruins with multiple steals, swiping four. Gabriela Jaquez (19 points) and Lauren Betts (16) each came up with three steals and Angela Dugali added two off the bench. Northwestern’s Grace Sullivan led all scorers with 21 points.
No. 7 Michigan 73, Southern California 67
Olivia Olson (24 points) led all five starters in double figures for the Wolverines, who rallied in the fourth quarter to hold off the upset-minded Trojans in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Michigan (17-3, 8-1 Big Ten) jumped to a double-digit-point lead early and extended it to as many as 16 points in the second and third quarters, but gave up a 31-13 disparity to Southern California (11-9, 3-6) in the third quarter.
The Trojans took a five-point lead into the final period, thanks in part to Kara Dunn’s game highs of 26 points and 10 rebounds. But Michigan’s defense clamped USC down to surrender just nine points over the final 10 minutes. Mila Holloway finished with 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Wolverines, while Brooke Quarles Daniels, Ashley Sofilkanich and Syla Swords each adding 10 points.
No. 10 Iowa 91, No. 12 Ohio State 70
Hannah Stuelke posted 18 points and 15 rebounds, Addie Deal scored a career-high 20 points off the bench and the Hawkeyes cruised to a victory over the Buckeyes in Iowa City.
Iowa (18-2, 9-0 Big Ten) took control early with a 12-0 run late in the first quarter, building a lead it never relinquished. The Buckeyes (18-3, 7-2) pulled to within five points early in the second quarter, but never came any closer despite shooting 14-of-34 (41.2%) from 3-point range compared to Iowa’s 9-of-22.
Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge led all scorers with 26 points, knocking down 6 of 9 3-point attempts, and added 10 rebounds for a double-double, but the Hawkeyes countered with a balanced scoring attack and a 42-14 advantage in points in the paint.
Four Hawkeyes scored in double-figures, including Deal (20 points, five assists) and Ava Heiden (18). Chazadi Wright added 14 points to help Iowa remain perfect in conference play.
No. 16 Oklahoma 72, Auburn 65
Aaliyah Chavez knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 18 points, and the visiting Sooners avoided a letdown with their road win over their Southeastern Conference counterpart Tigers.
Coming off Thursday’s 94-82 upset of No. 2 South Carolina, Oklahoma (16-4, 4-3 SEC) clinched another win with a 13-5 fourth-quarter run after Auburn (13-8, 2-5) tied the game midway through the fourth quarter. Sahara Williams, who scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from inside the 3-point line, grabbed nine boards to lead Oklahoma.
Oklahoma struggled shooting from deep as a team much of the way, making just 6 of 24 (25%), but Chavez knocked down 44.4% of her attempts. Auburn shot 7 of 19 from deep (36.8%), with A’riel Jackson scoring nine of her game-high 19 points on 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. The Tigers could not match Oklahoma on the glass, with the Sooners posting a 39-31 rebounding edge and turning 13 offensive boards into 19 second-chance points.
No. 23 Alabama 85, Mississippi State 78
A late-game 8-0 run helped power the Crimson Tide past the Bulldogs in a stiff SEC test in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Alabama (18-3, 4-3 SEC) broke a 66-66 tie when Karly Weathers’ layup at the 4:17 mark and 3-pointer 25 seconds later ignited the decisive spurt. Jessica Timmons converted an and-one to cap the burst, while another 3-pointer from Weathers with 1:59 remaining effectively put the game away for the Crimson Tide. Weathers produced eight of her 13 total points in the pivotal stretch.
Timmons finished with 28 points for her third game posting at least 22 in Alabama’s last five. Weathers and Timmons combined to shoot 6-of-11 from beyond the arc, pacing the Tide’s 13-of-21 outpouring from outside. Diana Collins went for 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Mississippi State (15-6, 2-5) got 19 points from Favour Nwaedozi, 16 points from Madison Francis and 14 points off the bench from Jaylah Lampley in the loss.
–Field Level Media
