Clark scores 44 as No. 3 Iowa tops 8th-ranked Virginia Tech
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Caitlin Clark had 44 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and No. 3 Iowa pulled away late from eighth-ranked Virginia Tech en route to an 80-76 victory Thursday night in a neutral site game.
The Associated Press 2023 player of the year showed off her full arsenal, hurting the Hokies with step-back 3-pointers, driving one-handed scoop layups, turnaround jumpers and nifty passes to escape double teams. She repeatedly found her way to the free throw line, where she went 13 of 17.
Clark finished just shy of her career best of 46 points against Michigan in 2022.
Hannah Stuelke added 12 points and Sydney Affolter had 14 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (2-0).
The Hawkeyes overcame a big game from Georgia Amoore, who had 31 points on seven 3-pointers for the Hokies (1-1). Two-time ACC player of the year Elizabeth Kitley had 16 points and 16 rebounds.
No. 1 LSU 112, QUEENS 55
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Angel Reese had 28 points and 14 rebounds, Sa’Myah Smith added 21 points, and LSU defeated Queens in the Tigers’ first home game since winning the 2023 national title.
Coming off a surprising season-opening loss to No. 20 Colorado in Las Vegas on Monday, LSU (1-1) looked determined to win convincingly as they took the court following pre-game ceremonies celebrating the program’s first national championship last spring.
Reese was aggressive from the start, hitting a layup along with seven free throws in the first quarter alone to help stake LSU to a 33-20 lead. She had 21 points and nine rebounds by halftime, when LSU led 56-30.
Nicole Gwynn provided most of the highlights for the Royals (0-2), hitting eight 3-pointers and finishing with 26 points.
No. 4 UCLA 90, UC RIVERSIDE 52
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice scored 18 points, Lauren Betts added 14 points with 15 rebounds, and UCLA turned a fast start into an easy victory over UC Riverside.
Londynn Jones scored 15 points and Charisma Osborne had 13 points with 11 rebounds for the Bruins (2-0), who had nine players see the floor for at least 10 minutes.
The Bruins opened the game on a 20-0 run, shot 52.4% from the field, led the rebounding battle 52-22 and never saw the lead fall under 18 points after the early burst. UCLA has averaged 91.0 points per game in its two victories.
Jordan Webster scored 18 points for UC Riverside (0-2).
No. 5 UTAH 108, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 48
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Issy Palmer scored 21 points, hitting seven 3-pointers and Gianna Kneepkins added 16 points to help Utah to a rout of South Carolina State.
Kneepkins hit four of Utah’s school record 21 3-pointers. The Utes were 21-of-53 from behind the arc. Utah also dominated on the glass with a 63-23 advantage. Alissa Pili chipped in 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Cassandra Colon led South Carolina State with 12 points. Taniya McGown chipped in 10 points for the Bulldogs.
No. 9 INDIANA 96, EASTERN ILLINOIS 43
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Preseason All-American Mackenzie Holmes had 19 points and six rebounds and moved into third place on Indiana’s career scoring list while leading the Hoosiers to a rout over Eastern Illinois.
Holmes (1,916 points) passed Karna Abram and needs two more to surpass Denise Jackson for No. 2.
Indiana (1-0) won its 11th straight season opener, giving reigning national coach of the year Teri Moren her 400th career victory. Moren is one of five active Big Ten coaches with 400 wins.
It was the 11th-most lopsided win in school history.
The Panthers (0-2) were led by Miah Monahan with 13 points and freshman Lalani Ellis with eight.
No. 18 FLORIDA STATE 92, No. 11 TENNESSEE 91
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — O’Mariah Gordon scored 22 points, Ta’Niya Latson added 20 points and Florida State held off Tennessee.
Florida State (2-0) beat a Top 25 non-conference opponent for the first time since December 2019.
Amaya Bonner made Florida State’s 13th 3-pointer of the game to tie it at 91-all. Tennessee forward Rickea Jackson grabbed an offensive rebound on the ensuing possession but missed a putback before fouling Alexis Tucker with 24.9 seconds left. Tucker went 1 of 2 from the stripe to put Florida State ahead.
Tennessee elected not to call a timeout and Jackson got into the lane, but her fadeaway jumper rolled off and the buzzer sounded before a putback attempt.
OKLAHOMA 80, No. 12 MISSISSIPPI 70
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Skylar Vann scored 24 points, Sahara Williams had a double-double and Oklahoma upended Mississippi.
Behind Vann, the only player to win Big 12 Conference Sixth Player of the Year twice, the Sooners took charge by scoring the last six points of the third quarter and the first four of the fourth for a 66-57 lead.
Ole Miss (1-1) got within five but the Sooners (2-0) pulled away again. Vann hit a 3-pointer and followed it up with a three-point play on the next possession before her layup made it 80-66 with 1:43 to play.
Williams had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Lexy Keys added 11 points. Oklahoma had 21 assists on 28 baskets and went 20 of 23 from the foul line. The Sooners picked up their first true road win over a ranked nonconference opponent since 2007, a skid of 16 games.
Snudda Collins had 15 points and North Carolina transfer Kennedy Todd-Williams had 13 as the Rebels put five players in double figures.
No. 24 WASHINGTON STATE 77, GONZAGA 72, OT
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 26 points, including the go-ahead basket in overtime, and Washington State turned back Gonzaga.
The Cougars (2-0) made 4 of 6 shots with a 3-pointer and free throw in the extra period while Gonzaga was limited to Kaylynne Truong’s free throws and 3. The Bulldogs (1-1) were 1 of 7.
Truong hit a 25-footer at the buzzer to force overtime.
WSU opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run for the biggest lead of the game, 53-43. Truong and her twin sister combined for six-straight points for a 62-61 Gonzaga lead with less than 30 seconds to go. Leger-Walker scored the last six points for WSU, with her free throws with six seconds to go making it 67-64.
Astera Tuhina scored 15 points with a clutch 3 in OT for Washington State, which had 24 turnovers.
Kaylynne Truong had 22 for Gonzaga.
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