No. 13 NC State earns 800th win, tops Pitt 79-68
PITTSBURGH -- Markeisha Gatling scored 20 points and Len'Nique Brown added 19 points, including six free throws in a row in the final 90 seconds of the game as No. 13 NC State beat Pittsburgh 79-68 for the 800th victory in the program's history.
In earning their first win at Pitt in the first meeting between the teams as Atlantic Coast Conference rivals, the Wolfpack (24-5, 11-4) picked up their 24th win of the season - the 12th time in program history they've reached that milestone, and their 11th ACC victory - a milestone they now have reached 10 times.
NC State shot 53.8 percent from the field (28 of 52) while its defense held the Panthers to 23 of 67 (34.3 percent).
Jennifer Mathurin had 10 points and 10 rebounds for NC State.
Chelsea Welch came off the bench to score 16 points for Pittsburgh (11-18, 3-12).
McBride leads No. 2 Irish to win against No. 14 UNC
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Kayla McBride scored 28 points and Natalie Achonwa added 24 to lead second-ranked Notre Dame to a 98-75 victory against No. 14 North Carolina on Thursday to finish the regular season unbeaten at home.
The Irish (28-0, 15-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) opened a 22-point lead late in the first half and led 55-38 at intermission. The Tar Heels (21-8, 9-6) rallied in the second half with a 10-4 run, highlighted by a three-point play by Xylina McDaniel, to cut the lead to 61-51.
McBride hit a jumper to spark a 6-0 spurt as the Irish regained control and eventually led by 28.
Notre Dame shot 52 percent against the Tar Heels, which had been holding opponents to 35-percent shooting.
McDaniel led UNC with 18 points and Diamond DeShields had 17.
The game was Notre Dame's Muffet McGraw's 1,000th as a head coach, improving her overall record to 742-258.
Mitchell lifts No. 4 South Carolina past Georgia
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Tiffany Mitchell scored a career-high 25 points and No. 4 South Carolina wrapped up its first Southeastern Conference title with a 67-56 victory against Georgia on Thursday night.
Alaina Coates added 18 points as the Gamecocks (26-2, 14-1 SEC) won their 10th in a row and finished 16-0 at home. South Carolina's other 6-foot-4 forward, Elem Ibiam, had a team-high nine rebounds and five of the team's 11 blocks.
Erika Ford had 16 points to lead the Bulldogs (18-10, 6-9), who'll finish with a losing SEC season for just the fourth time in league history.
Mitchell scored 16 points in the opening half to help the Gamecocks build a 16-point lead and Georgia could never recover.
The crowd of 12,458 chanted ''S-E-C Champs'' as time ran down, celebrating a feat few thought coach Dawn Staley could accomplish pull off when she arrived six years ago.
No. 5 Stanford cruises past Washington
STANFORD, Calif. -- Chiney Ogwumike gave the politically correct answer when asked if No. 5 Stanford's big win against Washington was about payback for a loss earlier in the season.
Ogwumike finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds in the Cardinal's 83-60 win against the Huskies on Thursday night.
The Huskies handed Stanford its only Pac-12 loss this season, an 87-82 defeat on Feb. 9 at Seattle that snapped Washington's 14-game losing streak to the Cardinal.
Bonnie Samuelson added 14 points for Stanford (27-2, 16-1 Pac-12), while Lili Thompson had 11 and Amber Orrange 10. Ruef grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and helped clamp down defensively on the Huskies.
Ogwumike fell four points shy of tying her career high, reached twice this season. The senior forward increased her career scoring total to 2,543, leaving her 87 shy of breaking former Stanford star Candice Wiggins' Pac-12 record. Ogwumike also had her 21st double-double of the season.
Kelsey Plum led Washington (16-12, 9-8) with 21 points. Talia Walton added 12 and Jazmine Davis 10.
No. 7 Duke wins 40th in a row vs. Wake 71-56
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke doesn't have any more point guards. What the seventh-ranked Blue Devils do have are three tall seniors - and the formula to beat Wake Forest every time they play.
Duke pulled away for its 40th consecutive win against the Demon Deacons on Thursday night, beating them 71-56.
And each of the Blue Devils' three active seniors came up big in their final regular-season game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Haley Peters scored a season-high 22 points, Richa Jackson added 15 and Tricia Liston scored 10 with a critical 3-pointer late.
''I think it says a tremendous amount,'' Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. ''They've all grown.''
This wasn't their Cameron farewell, though - they'll be back in a few weeks for the NCAA tournament subregional that Duke is hosting.
No. 9 Maryland coasts past BC 92-66
BOSTON -- Alyssa Thomas scored 26 points to move into second place on Maryland's all-time women's scoring list, carrying the ninth-ranked Terrapins to a 92-66 victory against Boston College on Thursday night.
Lexie Brown added 12 points, all coming on 3-pointers, and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough had 11 for Maryland (23-5, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). Thomas added nine boards.
Kristen Doherty led Boston College (12-17, 3-12) with 15 points in her final home game. Kat Cooper added 13 points and Kelly Hughes 12 for the Eagles, who have lost 10 of 11.
Thomas surpassed Marissa Coleman for second and needs 34 points to move ahead of Crystal Langhorne's record of 2,247. She also needs 56 to break Juan Dixon's overall school record of 2,269.
It was the Terrapins' third consecutive win since a 21-point loss at No. 7 Duke.
Simmons leads No. 10 Vols past LSU 72-67
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Meighan Simmons highlighted a 31-point performance with a clutch 3-pointer in the final minute, and No. 10 Tennessee held off LSU 72-67 on Thursday night after the Lady Tigers had erased a 21-point halftime hole.
Simmons hit five 3s in all and also made a couple free throws to help seal the victory for the Lady Vols (23-5, 12-2 Southeastern Conference), who won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Cierra Burdick added 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Isabelle Harrison 11 points and 11 rebounds for Tennessee, which had to rescue the victory after allowing LSU to tie the score with 3:28 to go.
Jeanne Kenney scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half, including two 3s and the tying free throws during LSU's late 10-0 run. Theresa Plaisance added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Lady Tigers, who've lost five in a row.
No. 12 Kentucky defeats MSU 81-74 in OT
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- DeNesha Stallworth had 16 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds as No. 12 Kentucky avoided the upset with an 81-74 overtime victory Thursday night against Mississippi State.
Kentucky's Bria Goss twice broke ties in overtime before Kastine Evans scored to give the Wildcats a 73-71 lead with 2:27 to play. Kentucky closed on an 8-3 run to seal it.
The Wildcats (21-7, 9-6 SEC) will clinch a double-bye in the SEC tournament if it defeats Vanderbilt on Sunday.
Jerica James' trey capped a 23-9 run to give Mississippi State a 66-64 lead with 1:19 to play in regulation. Goss split a pair of free throws to pull the Wildcats within 66-65 with 49 seconds left. With a second remaining, Kentucky's Samarie Walker missed her first free throw, but nailed the second to send it into overtime.
Martha Alwal had 12 points and 16 boards for Mississippi State (18-11, 5-10).
No. 16 Nebraska holds off Illinois 72-65
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Jordan Hooper, a Nebraska native and lone senior on the roster, scored 29 points on Senior Night as the No. 16 Cornhuskers held off Illinois 72-65 Thursday for their ninth-consecutive win.
Tear'a Laudermill added 15 points, Emily Cady had 10 points with 12 rebounds and Rachel Theriot had 10 assists for the Cornhuskers (22-5, 12-3 Big Ten).
Amber Moore had 19 points for Illinois (9-19, 2-13). Ivory Crawford added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Taylor Gleason had 13.
Nebraska, which led 38-31 at the half, had a tough time shaking Illinois, though after the Illini tied it at 40 the Huskers built a 60-51 lead.
After Moore's 3-pointer pulled Illinois within two with 3:03 left, Sarah Livingston missed two free throws. After Laudermill made two, Crawford missed two more. Illinois was 3-10 from the line but made 10 3's. Nebraska also had 10 but was 14-17 from the line.
No. 17 Texas A&M runs away from Arkansas 77-54
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Jordan Jones scored 19 points, gathered 10 rebounds and had 10 assists as No. 17 Texas A&M had little trouble with Arkansas, running away to a 77-54 win on Thursday.
Texas A&M (22-7, 12-3 SEC) scored the first 13 points of the game, including a 3-pointer by Jones, en route to a 43-32 lead at the break.
The Aggies poured in on in the second half. A 12-0 run - Courtney Williams and Courtney Walker had four points apiece in the run - pushed the lead to 61-38 and Texas A&M cruised home from that point.
Williams finished with 18 points and eight rebounds while Walker had 10 points. The Aggies shot 59 percent from the floor.
Arkansas (18-10, 5-10 SEC) was led by Jhasmin Bowne with 11 points and 6 boards while Calli Berna added 10 points. Arkansas made just 4 of 20 beyond the arc.
No. 18 Cal beats Washington State 75-68 in OT
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Reshanda Gray set career highs by scoring 43 points and pulling down 16 rebounds and Brittany Boyd recorded just the second triple-double in school history as No. 18 California beat Washington State 75-68 in overtime Thursday night.
Boyd scored eight of her 13 points in overtime, finishing with 11 assists and a career-high 14 rebounds. She made just 2 of 16 field goals.
Gray made 17 of 20 from the floor and recorded her seventh consecutive double-double. She has 14 on the season.
The two teams combined to attempt 159 field goals, including 90 by WSU - the second most in program history. WSU attempted 103 field goals against St. Mary's in 2006. They also combined for 102 rebounds.
Tia Presley finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Shalie Dheensaw added 14 and 15 for WSU (15-14, 9-8 Pac-12), which made just 2 of 14 field goals in overtime.
No. 21 Michigan State rolls past Northwestern 75-44
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 21 Michigan State got its 20th win of the season and kept hope alive for a share of Big Ten Conference title with an easy, 75-44 win against Northwestern on Thursday night.
With one game left in the regular season, the Spartans are tied with No. 11 Penn State and No. 17 Nebraska, which knocked off the Lady Lions Monday. All three schools are 12-3. Michigan State closes out the regular season at home Sunday against Indiana.
Aerial Powers put up 19 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead Michigan State (20-8, 12-3 Big Ten). Annalise Pickrel scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Jasmine Hines and Tori Jankoska added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Alex Cohen had 11 points and was the only scorer to reach double figures for Northwestern (14-14, 4-11), which now has lost seven in a row. The Wildcats shot just 27.9 percent (17 of 61).
No. 22 Gonzaga tops Saint Mary's 75-65 to win WCC
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Haiden Palmer scored 19 points to lead No. 22 Gonzaga to a 75-65 win against Saint Mary's on Thursday, giving the Bulldogs their 10th-consecutive West Coast Conference title.
Keani Albanez added 14 points for the Bulldogs (25-4, 15-2).
Danielle Mauldin had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Saint Mary's (20-8, 10-7), which opened league play with a 79-78 win against the Bulldogs in overtime. Kate Gaze added 17 points and Jackie Nared 14.
Gonzaga had a 10-0 run in the first half to take a 27-19 lead, and it was 35-29 at halftime.
The Zags again had trouble with the Gaels' front line. Mauldin hit all 10 of her free throws as the team went 21 of 27. But after getting outrebounded 54-31 the first time, including 22-14 on the offensive end, this time the difference was just three and GU had one more offensive board.
Gonzaga had eight 3s.
No. 25 Iowa beats Ohio State 65-61
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Theairra Taylor scored 21 points Thursday night and No. 25 Iowa pulled away in the second half to beat Ohio State 65-61.
Melissa Dixon scored 14, Bethany Doolittle 12, and Iowa (22-7, 10-5 Big Ten) forced 21 turnovers and had 15 steals. Ohio State (15-16, 5-10) outshot the Hawkeyes 46.2 percent to 41.7 percent from the field, 33.3 percent to 29.4 percent from distance, and 66.7 percent to 55.6 percent from the free-throw line.
The Buckeyes at one point led by five and the lead changed hands 10 times until Doolittle's jumper with 10 seconds to play gave Iowa a 36-34 halftime edge.
Taylor's free throws in the second half sparked a 9-2 run for a 61-55 Iowa lead. Ohio State's Ameryst Alston made it a two-point game with a layup, but Taylor hit consecutive layups for the win.
Alston led Iowa with 18 and Ashley Adams scored 12.
