NO. 2 MISSISSIPPI STATE 67,
NO. 7 SOUTH CAROLINA 53
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Victoria Vivians had never beaten South Carolina during her stellar career at Mississippi State.
In front of the first sellout crowd in women's basketball history, Vivians scored 20 of her 24 points in the first half to help No. 2 Mississippi State beat seventh-ranked South Carolina 67-53 on Monday night.
The Bulldogs (24-0, 10-0 SEC) had lost 11 consecutive to the Gamecocks, including a defeat in the national championship game last season.
The rematch of that April game brought 10,794 fans to Humphrey Coliseum with the game sold out two weeks in advance. Student tickets were exhausted within eight minutes of them being offered earlier in the week.
"Our crowd was awesome," Blair Schaefer said. "Having people drive from other states to watch us play is a really great feeling. It got as loud as we thought it would; even louder. When [Vic Schaefer] came to Starkville, this is what he wanted to create."
The Gamecocks (18-5, 7-3) got off to a strong start and led 20-10 before the Bulldogs rallied behind Vivians.
A 13-0 run to begin the fourth quarter was the difference in the game as the Bulldogs turned a five-point third quarter deficit into a lead they wouldn't lose. Schaefer hit two big three-pointers during that stretch to help flip the game in the Bulldogs' favor.
Mississippi State had 14 points from Schaefer to go along with Vivians' big night. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Gamecocks 40-36 and forced them into 17 turnovers.
"I think we are tough because I know how hard we practice," Vic Schaefer said. "We regrouped in the huddle at the end of the [first quarter] and did some great things executing.
Star center Teaira McCowan had two points in three quarters and finished with nine for the game. She did add a career-high 20 rebounds. Keeping her out of the paint was South Carolina's game plan.
"We understand that [McCowan] is very effective when she does things well on the floor," South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley said. "We want to make it more difficult on her scoring deep in the paint. She did a good job getting put-backs."
South Carolina (18-5, 7-3) started the game up 20-10 after one quarter holding the Bulldogs to just 4-of-16 from the field. The second quarter belonged to the Bulldogs who inserted freshman forward Chloe Bibby to guard A'ja Wilson. South Carolina scored eight points in the quarter and the Bulldogs had a 13-2 run that helped them out to a 29-28 halftime advantage.
The Gamecocks had 25 points and 14 rebounds from A'ja Wilson, but she managed just seven points in the second half. Doniyah Cliney also managed double figures with 10 points.
NO. 3 BAYLOR 74,
OKLAHOMA 65
WACO, Texas -- Lauren Cox scored a career-high 24 points and No. 3 Baylor beat Oklahoma for its 19th consecutive victory.
While the Lady Bears (22-1, 12-0 Big 12) never trailed, Oklahoma tied the game at 60-60 when Maddie Manning hit a running scoop shot with just under 5 1/2 minutes left. The Sooners (12-12, 7-6) were still within 64-63 on a three-point play by Manning just over two minutes later.
Dekeiya Cohen then made a layup for Baylor, which sealed the game by making 8-of-10 free throws in the final 1:36 after winning its first 11 Big 12 games by an average margin of 29.5 points.
Cohen finished with 13 points, and Didi Richards added 11. Kristy Wallace was 2 for 12 shooting but had 12 assists and made five of those free throws in the closing streak.
Vionise Pierre-Louis led Oklahoma with 19 points before fouling out with 1:36 to go. Gabbi Ortiz made four three-pointers and had 14 points, all in the second half. Shaina Pellington also had 14 points, and Manning had 13.
NO. 6 TEXAS 73,
WEST VIRGINIA 55
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Jatarie White had 18 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season to lead No. 6 Texas over West Virginia.
The Longhorns (19-4, 10-2 Big 12) opened up the game on a 7-0 run, but West Virginia clawed back into the game thanks to five first quarter 3-pointers.
Texas responded by outscoring the Mountaineers (17-7, 5-7) 19-7 in the second quarter to have a 37-26 lead at the half.
Both teams would trade scores throughout the first 15 minutes of the second half. West Virginia cut the lead to seven with 5:16 left in the third quarter, but couldn't get closer.
The Longhorns would finish the game on an 11-1 run to complete the regular season sweep of West Virginia.
Ariel Atkins would join White in double figures with 17 points. Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau was a point short of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Naomi Davenport led the Mountaineers with 14 points. Teana Muldrow added 12 points.
West Virginia finished the game shooting 10 of 20 from beyond the arc.
NO. 8 UCLA 84, USC 70
LOS ANGELES -- Monique Billings and Jordin Canada each scored 18 points to lead No. 8 UCLA over USC.
Billings also had 11 rebounds for her 41st career double-double. It was the second time in four days UCLA beat USC.
UCLA (19-4, 10-2 Pac-12) moved into a three-way tie for first place in the Pac-12 with Oregon and Stanford. It was the Bruins' eighth consecutive victory and they moved up one spot in the national rankings earlier in the day.
Aliyah Mazyck had a team-best 21 points for the Trojans (15-8, 5-7 Pac-12). Minyon Moore made one of two free throws to pull USC within 69-68 in the fourth quarter, but the Trojans wouldn't get any closer as the Bruins closed the game on a 15-2 run.
USC senior Kristen Simon played just three minutes in the first half and was on the bench in foul trouble, but finished with 12 points. She made a three-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer to pullUSC within five points at 61-56.
NO. 15 MISSOURI 66,
FLORIDA 64
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Cierra Porter scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help No. 15 Missouri hold off Florida.
Sophie Cunningham, averaging 18.4 points per game, scored her final points of the game, 10, on a baseline jumper to extend Missouri's lead to 64-59.
Florida guard Funda Nakkasoglu sank a three-pointer from the corner with 1:01 remaining to pull to 66-64. Missouri took some time off the clock after a defensive foul but Florida deflected the ball out of bounds off Cunningham's knee at 12.1. The Gators' offense stalled near the 3-point arc and Haley Lorenzen didn't hit the rim on a long three-pointer at the buzzer.
Jordan Frericks scored 12 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter for Missouri (18-5, 6-4 SEC). Porter scored 21 of Missouri's 32 first-half points as she was 8 of 12 from the field and the rest of the team was just 5-of-19 shooting.
Delicia Washington led Florida (10-13, 2-8) with 23 points.
MEN’S TOP 25
N0. 19 WEST VIRGINIA 75,
NO. 17 OKLAHOMA 73
NORMAN, Okla. — Lamont West scored 17 points, and No. 19 West Virginia survived a 32-point night from
Oklahoma’s Trae Young to escape with a victory over the 17th-ranked Sooners on Monday night.
Esa Ahmad and Sagaba Konate each scored 14 and Jevon Carter added 10 points, 8 assists and 6 steals for the
Mountaineers (18-6, 7-4 Big 12), who swept the regular-season series and moved within a half-game of conference co-leaders Kansas and Texas Tech.
Young, the freshman who leads the nation in scoring and assists, had just one assist.
Brady Manek scored 12 points and Khadeem Lattin had 13 rebounds and four blocks for the Sooners (16-7, 6-5).
Rashard Odomes made a layup to cut West Virginia’s lead to 74-73 with 24.3 seconds to play.
Oklahoma struggled to get the ball upcourt after Ahmad made one of two free throws with 13 seconds remaining, and Odomes missed under duress in close in the final seconds.
Carter sliced through Oklahoma’s defense for a layup at the first-half buzzer to give West Virginia a 50-40 lead. The Mountaineers shot 57 percent from the field and made 8 of 13 three-pointers before the break. Young scored 17 points in the first half and had just one turnover, but the Sooners couldn’t stop the Mountaineers.
Sports on 02/06/2018