No. 19 Iowa upsets No. 7 Baylor 57-52

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Ava Heiden had 18 points and 11 rebounds, with most of those coming in the second half, and No. 19 Iowa overcame Taliah Scott’s huge night to defeat seventh-ranked Baylor 57-52 in a matchup of unbeatens Thursday night.

Scott scored 32 points and was often too much for the Hawkeyes (5-0) to handle, but she missed her final five shots as the Bears (4-1) faded.

Heiden made 7 of 14 shots from the field as the Hawkeyes won the marquee game of the WBCA State Farm Showcase at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. Taylor Stremlow added 12 points for Iowa, and Hannah Stuelke chipped in 10 points and eight boards.

Iowa used a 9-0 run over a five-minute stretch in the fourth to pull away. Baylor missed its final 10 shots.

The Bears trailed to start the fourth, but Scott scored 12 consecutive points to put her team ahead. She made three 3-pointers and hit all three free throws after getting fouled shooting another. But she didn’t make another shot the rest of the way, and none of her teammates reached double figures.

NO. 5 LSU 112, ALCORN STATE 49

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Flau’Jae Johnson and MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 18 points apiece and LSU set an SEC record for most consecutive 100-point games with a victory over Alcorn State.

The Tigers’ sixth straight game with at least 100 points broke the record of five set by LSU’s 2022-23 national championship team.

LSU (6-0) is averaging a nation-leading 115.2 points with an average victory margin of 60.2 points.

Mikaylah Wiliiams and Katie Koval each added 15 points and Grace Knox had 12.

Nakia Cheatham had 16 points for Alcorn (2-3), which had more turnovers (31) than field goals (18). Maya Hunkin-Claytor contributed 11 points.

The Braves, playing the second of five SEC teams on their non-conference schedule, trailed by 10 points with 3:08 left in the first quarter when the Tigers went to work.

An 18-0 LSU run starting in the last three minutes of the first quarter and stretching to the 7:14 mark of the second period sent the Tigers toward their 57-21 halftime lead.

NO. 9 MARYLAND 95, BETHUNE-COOKMAN 49

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Maryland scored the first 20 points, and the ninth-ranked Terrapins remained undefeated and recorded a season high in scoring with a rout of Bethune-Cookman.

Kyndal Walker scored a career-high 13 points, and Oluchi Okananwa and Kaylene Smikle each also had 13 points for Maryland (6-0). The Terps have won every game this season by at least 18 and have scored at least 80 points in each outing.

Jordan Brooks had a team-high 13 points for the Wildcats (1-4), who committed 26 turnovers. Maryland held a 36-7 advantage in points off turnovers.

Maryland played without freshman guard Addi Mack, who is averaging 12.2 points and left Sunday’s victory over Princeton with a left ankle injury. The absence of the their third-leading scorer did little to slow the Terps from quickly opening a large lead.

Bethune-Cookman had four turnovers before it took a shot, and eight giveaways in its first 12 possessions as Maryland built a 20-0 lead. Brooks’ 3-pointer with 3:27 left in the first quarter ended the Wildcats’ opening drought.

NO. 10 TCU 80, TARLETON STATE 32

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Marta Suarez had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Olivia Miles scored 18 points and TCU won its school-record 28th consecutive home game, beating Tarleton State.

The Horned Frogs (5-0) haven’t lost in Schollmaier Arena since falling 77-52 to West Virginia on Feb. 13, 2024. They had matched their previous record of 27 home wins in a row, from January 2008 to December 2010, with a 122-39 win over Tennessee State in their previous home game on Nov. 12 — the most lopsided victory in school history.

TCU was coming off a 69-59 win at then-No. 10 N.C. State on Sunday for its first win on the road against a ranked nonconference opponent since January 2011. That was the only road game so far this season for the Frogs.

Tarleton State’s only lead was 1-0 on Elodie Lutbert’s free throw in the opening minute. A 3-pointer by Miles started a run of 15 consecutive points to put the Frogs firmly in control for the rest of the night.

Taylor Bigby also had 18 points, and Donovyn Hunter scored 10 for TCU. They both made more than 20 starts last season, when the Frogs won a school-record 34 games and the Big 12 title and made it to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

NO. 12 IOWA STATE 87, DRAKE 60

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Audi Crooks scored 22 points, Addy Brown nearly had back-to-back triple-doubles with 12 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, and Iowa State went on the road for the first time this season to beat Drake.

Iowa State improved to 6-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season, when the Cyclones started 7-0. Iowa State’s best start is 14-0 in 2013-14.

Arianna Jackson also scored 12 points for Iowa State. Jada Williams, Sydney Harris and Reagan Wilson each added 11 points.

Anna Becker led Drake (1-3) with 22 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Maggie Taylor had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Abbie Aalsma scored 11.

Crooks has scored in double figures in 73 straight games — the longest streak by a Big 12 women’s basketball player since Brittney Griner’s 116-game run from 2010-13. Last season against the Bulldogs, Crooks made a layup with one second remaining to secure an 80-78 victory over the in-state rival.

NO. 14 NORTH CAROLINA 85, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 50

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Indya Nivar had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Nyla Brooks also had 14 points off the bench and North Carolina coasted to a win over North Carolina A&T.

Elin Aarnisalo added 13 points and Ciera Toomey had 12 for the Tar Heels (4-1), who forced 26 turnovers that were turned into 33 points and held the Aggies to 0 for 6 from 3-point range.

Chaniya Clark scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting for North Carolina A&T (2-4). Anaya Karriem added 11 points. After Clark, the rest of the Aggies were 11 of 39.

A 3-pointer by Brooks gave the Tar Heels an early 14-4 lead before Karriem scored the last two baskets of the first quarter. Brooks had back-to-back 3s to get the lead to 13 and her fourth 3 started a 9-0 run that ballooned the lead to 34-16. Nivar’s 3 made it 43-21 at the half.

Nivar had a three-point play and five points and Harris had five points in a 14-0 run in the third quarter to make it 60-23.

NO. 15 TENNESSEE 85, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 41

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Janiah Barker scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Tennessee dominated the first half to roll to a win over Middle Tennessee.

Barker scored the first five points of the game and the Lady Vols scored the first 15, including back-to-back 3-pointers from Talaysia Cooper. They added a 9-0 run and led 25-9 after one quarter.

Another 16-0 run in the second quarter, after Zee Spearman scored the first five points of the quarter, helped make it 48-16 at the half.

Deniya Prawl had 15 points off the bench for Tennessee (4-1), which had a 47-31 rebounding advantage. Cooper added 13 points and Mya Pauldo had 10.

Savannah Davis had 18 points for the Blue Raiders (2-2), who shot 26.5% and had 27 turnovers that were converted into 36 points for the Lady Vols. Kirston Verhulst added 10 points.

NO. 22 MICHIGAN STATE 101, EASTERN ILLINOIS 53

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Grace VanSlooten and Juliann Woodard each scored 17 points and Michigan State beat Eastern Illinois.

Michigan State has started 5-0 for the fourth straight season. The Spartans also made 15-plus steals for the fifth game this season, with VanSlooten securing four of Michigan State’s 20.

Michigan State pulled away by starting the second quarter on a 9-0 run to go ahead by double figures for good. The Spartans led 45-28 at halftime behind 14 points from VanSlooten.

VanSlooten scored all three of her second-half points during a 10-0 run to begin the third quarter. Woodard took over in the fourth by scoring 14 of her points on 5-of-6 shooting, including four 3-ponters.

Jalyn Brown added 14 points and Kennedy Blair grabbed 15 rebounds to go with eight points for Michigan State.

Nyah Hardy led Eastern Illinois (0-4) with 16 points.

NO. 23 WEST VIRGINIA 80, APPALACHIAN STATE 51

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Gia Cooke scored 19 points, Kierra Wheeler added 15 and West Virginia beat Appalachian State for coach Mark Kellogg’s 500th career victory.

West Virginia (5-0) won its 21st straight home game, spanning three seasons. West Virginia has also won 39 consecutive nonconference regular-season contests inside the WVU Coliseum dating to the 2018-19 season.

Sydney Shaw made her only two 3-pointers during a 15-0 run in the second quarter and Sydney Woodley scored five of her nine points during the spurt to help push West Virginia ahead 39-20. The Mountaineers led 46-29 at the break.

Cooke scored 11 of her points in the third quarter, including six in a 12-0 run to go ahead by 30 at 62-32. West Virginia entered averaging 79.3 points per game and 51 points allowed — to nearly match the final score.

Jordan Thomas had 10 points for West Virginia. Wheeler and Shaw each had five of West Virginia’s 17 steals.

Emma Smith led Appalachian State (3-2) with 17 points and three 3-pointers. App State turned it over 27 times, leading to 30 West Virginia points.