South Carolina guard Destanni Henderson dribbles towards the basket during the Gamecocks’ 71-57 win over Mississippi on Sunday in Oxford, Mississippi. Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press
OXFORD, Miss. — Destanni Henderson tied her career high with 23 points and Aliyah Boston had 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead No. 1 South Carolina to a 71-57 win over Mississippi in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Boston extended her record streak of double-doubles to 21 for the Gamecocks (27-1, 15-1 Southeastern Conference), who had already clinched the regular-season title and No. 1 seed entering the league tournament in Nashville.
They found themselves in a tight game until a dominant closing stretch against the Rebels (22-7, 10-6), who had won four straight. Then South Carolina put it away with a 12-0 run.
Shakira Austin led Ole Miss with 20 points and seven rebounds and scored all of the Rebels’ eight points in the fourth. She made 8 of 14 shots.
(3) NORTH CAROLINA STATE 68, (23) VIRGINIA TECH 66: Elissa Cunane scored 22 points despite foul trouble and the Wolfpack (26-3, 17-1 ACC) secured the top overall seed in the conference tournament with a victory at the Hokies (21-8, 13-5) in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The Wolfpack led almost throughout after outscoring the Hokies 23-12 in the first period and closed the regular season with seven straight wins to break a tie with No. 4 Louisville (25-3, 16-2), which bludgeoned No. 14 Notre Dame 86-64 earlier Sunday.
Elizabeth Kitley led the Hokies with 18 points. Virginia Tech, which pulled even with 1:20 left before Cunane’s turnaround restored the NC. State lead with 53 seconds left, was seeking it first top four seed in the ACC Tournament.
(4) LOUISVILLE 86, (14) NOTRE DAME 64: Kianna Smith and Hailey Van Lith each scored 20 points and the Cardinals (25-3, 16-2 ACC) raced to a huge lead and routed the Irish (21-7, 13-5) in a testy matchup in South Bend, Indiana.
The Cardinals led 41-3 early in the second quarter. They beat the Irish for the sixth straight time in the conference regular-season closer for both teams.
Louisville was up 48-6 when Notre Dame made consecutive baskets, the second by Olivia Miles at 2:49 before halftime after her steal.
Miles and Mykasa Robinson then got in a shoving match after exchanging words. Notre Dame’s Dara Mabrey and Van Lith also were whistled for intentional fouls after a lengthy video review and some heated consultation from coaches Jeff Walz of the Cardinals and Niele Ivey of the Irish.
(21) IOWA 104, (6) MICHIGAN 80: Caitlin Clark had 38 points and 11 assists and the Hawkeyes (20-7, 14-4 Big Ten) clinched a share of the Big Ten championship with a win over the Wolverines (22-5, 13-4) in Iowa City, Iowa.
It’s the first conference regular-season title since 2008 for the Hawkeyes, who shared the championship with Ohio State.
Monika Czinano added 19 points for Iowa. Gabbie Marshall had 14.
(7) UCONN 88, PROVIDENCE 31: Paige Bueckers made her first start since getting injured two months ago and Christyn Williams scored 16 points in her final regular-season game to lead the Huskies 22-5, 16-1 Big East) to a rout of the Friars (11-8, 6-14) in Storrs, Connecticut.
Bueckers played 13 minutes again, scoring two points and had five assists in her second game since returning from the left knee injury that kept her sidelined since Dec. 5.
UConn has won seven straight games by an average of more than 39 points since losing their first conference game in almost nine years to Villanova on Feb. 9.
(8) LSU 57, (16) TENNESSEE 54: Jailin Cherry scored 14 points and the Tigers (25-4, 13-3 SEC) held off a furious fourth-quarter comeback by the Volunteers (22-7, 11-5) in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Lady Vols cut LSU’s eight-point lead entering the fourth quarter down to two with 25 seconds to play, but Tamari Key missed a short jumper with 5 seconds left that would have tied the game.
MISSOURI 78, (15) FLORIDA 73: Hayley Frank scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Tigers (18-11, 7-9 SEC) to an upset of the Gators (20-9, 10-6) to close the regular season, in Gainsville, Florida.
Frank, who was 8-of-11 shooting, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range, and 5 of 5 from the foul line, did all her damage of going scoreless in the first quarter and fouling out with 2:11 to play. She had 10 points in the second quarter, in a two-minute surge, when the Tigers took the lead, and had 10 in the third to help Missouri keep the lead.
(17) OHIO STATE 61, MICHIGAN STATE 55: Taylor Mikesell scored 17 points, Jacy Sheldon added 13 points and 10 assists, and the Buckeyes (22-5, 14-4 Big Ten) defeated the Spartans (14-14, 8-9) in East Lansing, Michigan.
(18) NORTH CAROLINA 74, DUKE 46: Anya Poole and Alyssa Ustby scored 15 points each and the Tar Heels (23-5, 13-5 ACC) defeated the Blue Devils (16-12, 7-11) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Kennedy Todd-Williams scored 14 points for the Tar Heels and Carlie Littlefield added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Ustby had eight rebounds. Deja Kelly, North Carolina’s leading scorer at 16.3 ppg, had two points on 1-for-13 shooting.
(22) GEORGIA TECH 65, WAKE FOREST 56: Lorela Cubaj scored 18 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and had seven assists and the Yellow Jackets (20-9, 10-7 ACC) ended a three-game losing streak with a win over the Demon Deacons (14-15, 4-15) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to close the regular season.
Cubaj scored nine points in the fourth quarter, including the clinching free throws with 31.8 seconds to go as the Yellow Jackets secured the sixth-seed in next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
(25) GEORGIA 67, TEXAS A&M 58: Jenna Staiti scored 14 of her 17 points in the second half, including 10 in the pivotal third, to lead the Bulldogs (20-8, 8-7 SEC) to a win over the Aggies (14-14, 4-12) in the regular-season finale in Athens, Georgia.
The Bulldogs trailed 34-33 before Staiti hit back-to-back baskets to put them on top for good midway through the third quarter. She added another inside basket that capped an 8-0 run to close the quarter with a 48-37 lead.
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(14) HOUSTON 75, SMU 61: Fabian White Jr. had 21 points and nine rebounds and Josh Carlton added 19 points and eight rebounds to lead the Cougars (24-4, 13-2 AAC) to a win over the Mustangs (20-7, 11-4) in Houston.
Taze Moore chipped in 11 points, and Jamal Shead finished with 10 points and 11 assists for Houston.
(15) ILLINOIS 93, MICHIGAN 85: Kofi Cockburn scored 27 points and Alfonso Plummer had 26, helping the Fighting Illini (20-8, 13-5 Big Ten) beat the Wolverines (15-12, 9-8) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Plummer had 23 points in the first half as the Fighting Illini led by eight. They were ahead by 15 midway through the second half before the Wolverines rallied to give themselves a shot at a comeback win.
(21) UCONN 88, GEORGETOWN 77: R.J. Cole scored 18 points and the Huskies (21-7, 12-5 Big East) excelled from behind the arc while sending the Hoyas (6-22, 0-17) to their school-record 18th straight loss, in Washington.
Connecticut shot 11 of 20 on 3-pointers. Seven different Huskies made at least one 3.
MARYLAND 75, (22) OHIO STATE 60: Fatts Russell matched his career high with 27 points, Eric Ayala scored 23 and the Terrapins (14-15, 6-12 Big Ten) took down the Buckeyes (18-8, 11-6) in College Park, Maryland.
The Terrapins had lost six of their previous eight. But they wore down the Buckeyes and held them to 36.2% from the field.
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