No. 7 LSU routs Niagara in Cayman Islands Classic with Angel Reese still out

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This article was published 24/11/2023 (1029 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP) — Aneesah Morrow had 28 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 7 LSU, which once again was playing without Angel Reese, beat Niagara 99-65 in the Cayman Islands Classic on Friday.

Reese didn’t make the trip to the Cayman Islands and missed her third straight game for the defending national champions.

A smoke alarm emptied the gym before the game and delayed the tip by about 40 minutes and the Purple Eagles kept it close in the opening minutes, stealing an LSU inbounds pass and scoring to cut the Tigers’ lead to 7-6.

The Tigers (6-1) used a 21-0 run midway through the first half to pull away and led by as many as 42 at one point in the third.

No. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 101, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 19

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Kamilla Cardoso had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks as South Carolina won its record-tying 45th straight home game over Mississippi Valley State.

This one was never in doubt as the Gamecocks (5-0) led by double digits just five minutes in, by 40 at the half and held the Devilettes (1-5) to the fewest points allowed in coach Dawn Staley’s 16 seasons.

Te-Hina Paopao, an Oregon transfer, returned from missing a game with an ankle injury and shored up South Carolina’s outside shooting with two early 3-pointers to finish with 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Devilettes (1-5) lone highlight came early when they took a 2-0 lead.

No. 2 UCLA 78, No. 6 UCONN 67

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP) — Kiki Rice scored 24 points and UCLA held off UConn in the Cayman Islands Classic.

Rice also had 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Bruins (5-0), who led by as many as 23 points in the second half. Charisma Osborne added 18 points and Lauren Betts had 13 points.

Paige Bueckers led all scorers with 31 points for UConn (3-2).

UCLA led by as many as 19 points in the first half before the Huskies cut that to five at halftime.

But the Bruins scored the first seven points of the second half and outscored the Huskies 22-8 in the third period. A 3-point play by Lauren Betts gave the Bruins their first 20-point lead at 57-37 and they led by 21 after three.

The Huskies made a run in the fourth quarter, and cut the lead to 74-65 on a 3-pointer by Bueckers with just over 2 minutes left, but could get no closer.

No. 3 COLORADO 96, KENTUCKY 53

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — Aaronette Vonleh scored 19 points and No. 3 Colorado picked up another big win in the Paradise Jam tournament with a rout of Kentucky.

Jaylyn Sherrod added 15 points, Kindyll Wetta had 11 points, and Quay Miller and Tameiya Sadler each had 10 points for the Buffaloes (6-0), who shot a season-high 59.7% (37 of 62) in winning their sixth straight by double digits.

Eniya Russell had 14 points, Maddie Scherr added 13 points and Ajae Petty scored 11 points for the Wildcats (2-4), who committed 27 turnovers.

No. 4 STANFORD 100, No. 13 FLORIDA STATE 88

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Kiki Iriafen had 30 points and 17 rebounds, and Stanford beat Florida State in the championship game of the Ball Dawgs Classic.

Iriafen was named tournament MVP after combining for 44 points and 26 rebounds in two games.

Cameron Brink finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots for the Cardinal (6-0) before fouling out. Hannah Jump added 17 points and Elena Bosgana scored 16.

Ta’Niya Latson led Florida State (5-1) with 23 points. O’Mariah Gordon scored 19 points, Sara Bejedi added 13, Alexis Tucker 12 and Makayla Timpson 10.

No. 5 IOWA 98, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 59

ESTERO, Fla. (AP) — Caitlin Clark scored 29 points and moved into the top 20 of Division I’s all-time scoring list, and Iowa eased past Purdue Fort Wayne in the quarterfinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase.

Clark finished the night with 2,901 career points. She passed Jess Kovatch (2,874) and Maddy Siegrist (2,896) during the game, and has gone from 37th to 19th on the all-time list already this season — now within 626 points of Kelsey Plum’s Division I record of 3,527.

Sharon Goodman scored 16 points and Hannah Stuelke had 13 points before leaving with an injury for Iowa (5-1). Clark finished with eight assists.

Amellia Bromenschenkel led the Mastadons (2-2) with 16 points.

No. 9 VIRGINIA TECH 59, KANSAS 58

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP) — Elizabeth Kitley had 31 points and 18 rebounds to help Virginia Tech edge Kansas in the Cayman Islands Classic.

Georgia Amoore hit a 3-pointer with 2:57 left to give the Hokies (4-1) a 59-58 advantage in a game that featured 17 lead changes and seven ties.

Kansas (2-2) had a few chances to take the lead after that, but Taiyanna Jackson missed two free throws with 1:46 left. The Jayhawks then turned it over on their next possession.

Amoore missed a jumper with under 30 seconds left and then the Hokies had a shot clock violation that gave Kansas one final chance. Ryan Dobbins attempt with a second left fell short.

S’Mya Nichols led the Jayhawks with 13 points.

No. 10 UTAH 98, MERRIMACK 34

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Alissa Pili scored 22 points and collected six rebounds to lead Utah over Merrimack.

Kennady McQueen added a season-high 18 points on six 3-pointers for the Utes. Utah (5-1) finished with a 50-28 advantage in rebounds and outscored Merrimack 30-12 in the paint.

Cadence Johnson led the Warriors with eight points. Thalia Shepard added seven. Merrimack (1-5) made only 14 baskets while totaling the fewest points for a Utah opponent this season. The Utes scored 32 points off 25 turnovers.

No. 10 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 79, CINCINNATI 45

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — Madison Hayes had 16 points and 12 rebounds to help North Carolina State roll to a win over Cincinnati at the Paradise Jam tournament.

Hayes led six players in double figures for the Wolfpack (6-0), who have four wins by at least 30 points this season.

Aziaha James added 13 points, Zoe Brooks had 12 points, Laci Steele 11 points, and Mallory Collier and River Baldwin scored 10 points each for N.C. State, which led by as many as 36 in the second half and was never seriously challenged by the Bearcats (2-3).

No. 12 TEXAS 101, HIGH POINT 39

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — Shaylee Gonzales scored 15 points and reserve Aaliyah Moore scored 13 points and Texas thrashed High Point.

The 62-point win just missed reaching a place in the top 10 for largest margin of victory in program history. In 1995, 2002 and 2003 Texas teams won games by 65 points, the ninth-highest margin of victory all time.

Texas (6-0) scored the game’s first 32 points before High Point’s Anna Hager made a jump shot with 10 seconds left in the first quarter. The Longhorns’ Gisella Maul made 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Longhorns lead 35-2 at the end of one.

Texas outscored the Panthers 22-6 in the second quarter and led 57-8 at halftime.

Nakyah Terrell and reserve Anna Hager each scored 10 points for High Point (3-3).

No. 14 BAYLOR 124, MCNEESE STATE 44

WACO, Texas (AP) — Bella Fontleroy scored 19 points, Dre’una Edwards had a double-double and Baylor hit a school record 17 3-pointers while rolling to a win over McNeese State.

Four different Bears reached double figures in a quarter and they reached 30 points in each of the last three quarters, scoring 71 points in the second half.

Baylor was 17 of 32 from 3-point range, shot 52% overall, had a 68-23 rebounding advantage, 34-8 on the offensive end and turned 30 turnovers into 50 points.

Edwards had 15 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, Aijh Blackwell had 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Yaya Felder added 13 points, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 11 points and Sara Andrews and Kyla Abraham had 10 apiece. All 13 players scored for the Bears (4-0). Jana Van Gytenbeek had a career-high 12 assists to go with eight points.

Boston Berry had 12 points and six rebounds for the Cowgirls (2-5).

No. 16 KANSAS STATE 77, WESTERN KENTUCKY 61

ESTERO, Fla. (AP) — Serena Sundell scored a season-high 21 points, Ayoka Lee added 16 points and Kansas State beat Western Kentucky in the Gulf Coast Showcase.

Kansas State (5-0) will face either No. 18 North Carolina or Vermont on Saturday.

Sundell reached 20-plus points for the 13th time in her career — and first this season. She was 8 of 13 from the field with six rebounds and four assists for Kansas State, which has its highest ranking in the AP poll since the 2008-09 season.

Acacia Hayes scored 14 of her 29 points in the third quarter for Western Kentucky (5-2).

No. 17 NOTRE DAME 90, BALL STATE 59

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo scored 20 of her 25 points in the first half and Notre Dame rolled to a win over Ball State.

Anna DeWolfe added 17 points for the Fighting Irish (5-1), who shot 57% overall (35 of 61), 52% on 3-pointers (11 of 21) and 90% (9 of 10) from the foul line. Natalija Marshall added 12 points and Maddy Westbeld 10.

Hidalgo continued the hot start to her freshman year, adding eight steals, seven assists and five rebounds. Her 38 steals in six games leads the country.

Ally Becki and Madelyn Bischoff both had 11 points for the Cardinals (5-1).

No. 18 NORTH CAROLINA 54, VERMONT 51

ESTERO, Fla. (AP) — Deja Kelly scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter to rally North Carolina to a win over Vermont in the Gulf Coast Showcase on Friday.

The Tar Heels trailed 45-34 with less that six minutes to play but it wasn’t until a 13-1 run that North Carolina took the lead.

Kayla McPherson made a layup to give her six points in the rally and put North Carolina up 50-49 with 1:47 to play. Kelly followed that up with a jumper before Emma Utterback cut it back to 52-51 with 42 seconds left, ending a 4 1/2-minute drought between baskets for the Catamounts.

The Tar Heels (5-0) ran down the clock and missed a jumper but the ball was given to North Carolina after a video review reversed the call. That led to a foul that sent Kelly to the line with six seconds left. She made the first for a 53-51 lead and then grabbed the rebound after she missed the second.

Utterback had 18 points for the Catamounts (3-2).

ALABAMA 78, No. 20 LOUISVILLE 73

KATY, Texas (AP) — Sarah Ashlee Barker led Alabama with 18 points and Aaliyah Nye scored the go-ahead basket in the final minute in leading the Crimson Tide to a win over Louisville.

Barker fouled out with 1:27 to go and Louisville (4-1) tied the game with consecutive baskets. After Alabama (6-0) showed some patient ball movement, Nye hit a 3-pointer to snap the tie with 27 seconds left. Alabama finally sealed the win when Louisville’s Nyla Harris was called for a foul while setting a screen and Nye made two free throws with five seconds left for the final score.

No. 23 WASHINGTON STATE 90, MASSACHUSETTS 48

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) — Eleonora Villa led a balanced attack with 15 points and Washington State rolled to a win over Massachusetts in the Cancun Challenge.

The Cougars (7-0) shot 54% (35 of 65), outrebounded UMass, which shot 33%, 42-28 and had 27 assists on 35 baskets.

Bella Murekatete scored 13 points for WSU. Alex Covill added 12 points and Charlisse Leger-Walker and Beyonce Bea both had 11.

Stefanie Kulesza had 20 points and 11 rebounds for UMass (1-6).

No. 25 MISSISSIPPI STATE 81, CLEMSON 78

KATY, Texas (AP) — Jerkaila Jordan scored 24 points, Darrione Rogers made two key free throws to put the game on ice, and Mississippi State defeated Clemson.

Debreasha Powe made two free throws to give Mississippi State a 79-75 lead with eight seconds remaining, then Nye Valentine hit a clutch 3-pointer to get Clemson within one point. The Tigers then put Rogers on the line with two seconds remaining and her two makes gave the Bulldogs a three-point lead. The Tigers threw the ball away before they could attempt a shot to tie it.

Jessika Carter scored 12 points, Lauren Park-Lane had 11 points and 10 assists, Powe scored 11 and Rogers added 10 for Mississippi State (6-0).

Amari Robinson scored 21 points and Ruby Whitehorn added 20, shooting 7 for 9 from the field with three 3-pointers for Clemson (4-2).

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