Roundup: No. 5 Maryland outlasts No. 7 Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kaila Charles scored the go-ahead basket with 2:20 remaining, and Destiny Slocum followed with seven points to help No. 5 Maryland beat No. 7 Louisville 78-72 on Thursday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
The Terrapins (7-0) seemed in control with a 62-53 lead entering the fourth quarter before Louisville rallied to lead twice, including 67-65 with 3:15 left. Charles followed Brionna Jones’ layup with another before Slocum’s three-point play provided a 72-67 edge that she added to with four more free throws in finishing with 13 points. Charles scored all eight points after halftime.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (26 points) made two free throws with 4 seconds left to seal Maryland’s victory in the first regular-season meeting between the schools. Jones added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Terps, who made 23 of 28 from the foul line.
Asia Durr scored 20 points and Myisha Hines-Allen 16 for Louisville (6-2), which lost its second consecutive game against a Top 5 team.
No. 2 UConn 91, No. 14 DePaul 46
STORRS, Conn. — Kia Nurse scored a career-high 33 points and No. 2 UConn routed No. 14 DePaul 91-46 on Thursday night for its 81st straight victory.
Napheesa Collier added 18 points, and Katie Lou Samuelson had 16. The Huskies (6-0) played the first of five December games against ranked competition.
Kelly Campbell had 10 points to lead DePaul (5-2).
The Blue Demons missed their first eight shots and were held to a single free throw for nearly 6 minutes to start the game. UConn, which has won 53 straight at home, hit its first nine shots and jumped out to a 22-1 lead.
By the end of the quarter, UConn led 37-6.
Nurse, who hadn’t scored more than 15 points this season, had 19 after 10 minutes. She hit 12 of her 16 shots, including her first nine and was 6 of 9 from three-point range.
She didn’t miss until a corner three-pointer at the halftime buzzer, when she had already eclipsed her previous career high with 24 points.
UConn went into halftime leading 53-19 and pushed that to 80-30 after the third quarter.
No. 3 South Carolina 76, No. 15 Texas 67
AUSTIN, Texas — A’ja Wilson scored a career-best 31 points and had 12 rebounds to help No. 3 South Carolina beat No. 15 Texas 76-67 on Thursday night in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Wilson scored nine points in the fourth quarter. Kaela Davis added 12 points, and Tyasha Harris had 10 for the Gamecocks (6-0).
Kelsey Lang had 15 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks for Texas (2-3), but spent much of the game in foul trouble. Ariel Atkins added 14 points, and Joyner Holmes had 11.
Texas led by two points late in the third quarter. But South Carolina finished the period with a 10-2 run, helped along the way by five straight missed free throws by Texas.
Wilson, a 6-foot-5 all-America forward, scored 18 points in the first half, two fewer than her previous season best for an entire game.
South Carolina shot 17 free throws in the half, 15 more than Texas. Six Longhorns picked up two fouls apiece in the half. Even so, they went to the locker room trailing by only 33-30 after a three-point basket by McCarty late in the half. That basket represented one edge for the Longhorns during the half. They made three treys, while South Carolina missed its only two attempts.
No. 20 Kentucky 82, No. 12 Oklahoma 68
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Makayla Epps scored 30 points and Maci Morris had 11 of her career-high 19 in the second half when No. 20 Kentucky pulled away for an 82-68 win over No. 12 Oklahoma in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Thursday night.
There were six ties and 12 lead changes before a three-pointer by Makenzie Cann at the 6:35 mark of the third quarter put Kentucky (6-1) up for good 45-43. The Wildcats held Oklahoma scoreless the last two minutes of the third quarter to open a 63-55 lead and then pulled away, leading by 18 with 3:43 to play.
The game was a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament with Kentucky winning the second-round game 79-58.
Oklahoma (5-1), which was off to its best start in six seasons, led 39-37 at the half on the strength of a 10-0 run over the last 3:05 and eight three-pointers
Peyton Little had five three-pointers for 19 points and surpassed 1,000 points for her career with the Sooners and Texas A&M. Gioya Carter had four 3s and 18 points and Vionise Pierre-Louis had 15 points and 13 rebounds.
No. 16 Miami 94, No. 10 Ohio State 89 (OT)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Keyona Hayes scored 23 points, Jessica Thomas added 16 and No. 16 Miami outlasted No. 10 Ohio State 94-89 in overtime Thursday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Ohio State’s Sierra Calhoun hit a three-pointer at the regulation buzzer to tie it at 84. Then, Hayes’ three-pointer with 2:30 left in overtime put Miami (6-1) ahead to stay in the game that featured 13 lead changes.
Kelsey Mitchell led Ohio State (5-3) with 29 points on 5-for-11 three-point shooting, and Shayla Cooper added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Mitchell hit a three-pointer to pull Ohio State to within a point with 5 seconds left in overtime, but the Buckeyes were forced to start foul.
Laura Cornelius added 11 points, and Erykah Davenport had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Hurricanes.