No. 4 Texas beats No. 3 UCLA 76-65 to advance to Players Era Championship final

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Rori Harmon scored 26 points and No. 4 Texas held on to beat No. 3 UCLA 76-65 on Wednesday in the Players Era Championship.

After building a 23-point lead late in the third quarter, the Longhorns staved off UCLA’s late surge to advance to Thursday’s championship game.

Texas (6-0) will face South Carolina in Thursday’s title game, while the Bruins (6-1) will play Duke for third place.

Madison Booker finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Longhorns. Jordan Lee had 13 points and Justice Carlton chipped in 10.

The Bruins trailed by just four after a 24-7 run, sparked Kiki Rice’s 12 points. But three failed possessions – a missed 3-pointer and two turnovers – allowed Texas to pull away.

Gianna Kneepkens and Rice led the Bruins, each with 17 points. Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 13 points on 50% shooting.

NO. 2 SOUTH CAROLINA 83, DUKE 66

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Madina Okot had 23 points and South Carolina (6-0) defeated Duke in the semifinals of the Players Era Championship .

South Carolina will face No. 4 Texas in Thursday’s championship, while Duke will play No. 3 UCLA for third place. Texas beat UCLA, 76-65, earlier in the day.

Joyce Edwards scored 22 points for the Gamecocks, while AP preseason All-American Ta’Niya Latson finished with 12. Raven Johnson also contributed with 10 points.

Toby Fournier led Duke (3-4) with 16 points. Riley Nelson finished with 14 points and Ashlon Jackson had 11.

NO. 7 MARYLAND 74, NO. 16 KENTUCKY 66

CAROLINA, Puerto Rico (AP) — Kaylene Smikle scored 22 points, Yarden Garzon added 17 and Maryland held off Kentucky in a matchup of unbeaten teams at the Discover Puerto Rico Classic.

The Terrapins (8-0) build a 20-point lead midway through the third quarter before Kentucky (7-1) rallied. Tonie Morgan scored 12 points in the fourth quarter for the Wildcats and her layup with 48 seconds remaining cut the deficit to six points at 70-64. Maryland’s Saylor Poffenbarger and Addi Mack each made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.

Mack finished with 15 points and Poffenbarger 12 for Maryland (8-0), which was playing its first Power 4 opponent. Smikle was 9 of 11 from the line, where the Terrapins made their first 17 and finished 21 of 23. Garzon shot 5 for 10 from 3-point range.

Morgan had 22 points and eight assists for Kentucky (7-1), which shot 6 for 8 from the line and had 20 turnovers. Asia Boone added 13 points. The Wildcats were playing a ranked opponent for their second straight game.

NO. 6 MICHIGAN 102, DETROIT MERCY 53

DETROIT (AP) — Mila Holloway scored 19 points and Te’Yala Delfosse added 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead five players in double figures and help Michigan to a rout of Detroit Mercy.

Brooke Quarles Daniels also had 11 points and Olivia Olson and McKenzie Mathurin added 10 apiece for the Wolverines (6-1) who have beaten the Titans nine consecutive games. It is the third time this season that Michigan, which came into the game averaging 91.2 points per game, has scored at least 100 points.

Nisea Burrell scored 13 points and Maya Anderson added 10 for the Titans (1-4). The Tians are 3-15 against top 10 opponents and have not beaten a nationally ranked team since upending Green Bay in February 2017.

NO. 11 IOWA 86, WESTERN ILLINOIS 69

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Addison Deal scored 17 points of the bench, Ava Heiden had her fourth double-double of the season, and No. 11 Iowa defeated Western Illinois 86-69 on Wednesday night.

The Hawkeyes made 16 of 20 shots inside the arc in the first, 19 of 31 overall, and led 44-25 at the break. Heiden made 5 of 5 shot attempts and scored 13 points. She grabbed eight rebounds in the half.

Iowa’s lead ranged from 18 to 23 points throughout the second half until Kennedy Herrig made two free throws for Western Illinois in the final minute.

Mia Nicastro scored 20 points, Reagan McCowan 16, and Addie Brownfield and Mallory Shetley 10 each for the Leathernecks (4-1).

NO. 15 BAYLOR 75, LOUISIANA TECH 46

WACO, Texas (AP) — Taliah Scott had 21 points, five rebounds and four steals, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs grabbed 12 rebounds to go with four points, and Baylor eased by Louisiana Tech.

Scott scored seven points during a 14-0 run in the first quarter to take control. Baylor held a double-digit advantage the rest of the way despite scoring just 12 points in the second quarter and 15 in the fourth.

Scott finished the first half with 12 points to help Baylor lead 36-21 as Louisiana Tech shot just 28.1%. She scored nine of Baylor’s opening 13 points of the third quarter to go ahead by 24 points. The Bears led by as many as 31 in the fourth.

Marcayla Johnson and Yuting Deng each scored 11 points for Baylor (6-1), which lost to then-No. 19 Iowa on Nov. 20 and then beat Davidson in overtime two days later.

Paris Bradley was the lone scorer in double figures for Louisiana Tech (3-3) with 10. The Lady Techsters went 18 of 62 from the field (29%), including 3 of 21 from 3-point range.

Louisiana Tech lost by 44 points at Baylor last season, with Littlepage-Buggs, Bella Fontleroy and Jada Walker each securing a double-double.

OHIO STATE 83, NO. 21 WEST VIRGINIA 81

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Jaloni Cambridge scored 22 points and Elsa Lemmilä made a go-ahead jumper with 24.9 seconds left to help Ohio State beat West Virginia and claim the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship title.

Trailing 80-79, Ohio State (5-1) took its final timeout to set up a play. Ava Watson received the inbounds pass and drew two defenders on a drive before finding Lemmilä in the lane for a jumper.

West Virginia had two chances at the other end after an offensive rebound but could not get a shot to drop. Ohio State secured the defensive rebound, and Watson made two free throws for a three-point lead with three seconds left.

Sydney Shaw was fouled in the right corner on a 3-point attempt with 0.6 seconds left. After a lengthy review, Shaw missed the first free throw, made the second and Ohio State secured the rebound on the third to earn the win.

Cambridge was one of three Ohio State starters to foul out. Reserve Bryn Martin also fouled out with 16 points and four 3-pointers. Chance Gray added 15 points.

Gia Cooke led West Virginia (6-1) with 24 points. Kierra Wheeler had 19 points and 14 rebounds. Jordan Harrison and Shaw each finished with 13.