Paopao, Johnson lead No. 1 South Carolina women to 89-66 drubbing of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Te-Hina Paopao scored 17 points, Raven Johnson added 16 and top-ranked South Carolina opened Southeastern Conference play with an 89-66 drubbing of Florida on Thursday night.
Bree Hall added 15 points for the Gamecocks (13-0), who won for the 55th time in their last 56 games and extended their conference winning streak to 17.
Kamilla Cardoso chipped in 10 points and 15 rebounds for the visitors, who also got eight boards and six blocks from Ashlyn Watkins.
Leilani Correa scored 27 points for the Gators (9-4), who lost their 16th straight in the series.
NO. 3 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 88, NO. 22 FLORIDA STATE 80, OT
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — River Baldwin scored 21 points against her former team before leaving with an injury, and North Carolina State beat Florida State in overtime.
Baldwin fell to the floor late in the third quarter. The senior center was assisted off the court and didn’t return.
Aziaha James had 18 points and Zoe Brooks scored 15 for the Wolfpack (14-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Ta’Niya Latson finished with 30 points for the third straight game for Florida State (11-4, 2-1), which overcame a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit to force OT.
NO. 7 LSU 92, MISSOURI 72
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Aneesah Morrow had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Angel Reese added 21 points and 13 boards, and LSU pulled away in the second half to beat Missouri in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Flau’jae Johnson scored 24 points for LSU (14-1), which won its 14th straight game.
Hayley Frank led Missouri (9-5) with 22 points.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA TECH 82, WAKE FOREST 73
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Elizabeth Kitley had 27 points and 12 rebounds, Georgia Amoore had 20 points and 10 assists, and Virginia Tech beat Wake Forest for its sixth straight victory.
Virginia Tech (11-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won 14 straight games against ACC opponents.
Elise Williams scored a career-high 29 points for Wake Forest (4-10, 0-2). Williams, who entered averaging 9.8 points per game, was 10 of 18 from the field, 3 of 5 behind the arc, and 6 of 6 on free throws to top her previous best of 18 points.
NO. 14 INDIANA 80, MICHIGAN 59
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Mackenzie Holmes scored 20 points and Indiana shot 13 of 13 from the field in the first quarter to race past Michigan.
Sara Scalia finished with 16 points and Sydney Parrish scored 14 for the Hoosiers (12-1, 3-0 Big Ten), who led 36-17 after the first period.
Laila Phelia scored 23 points to lead Michigan (11-4, 2-1), which has dropped five of six to Indiana.
NO. 16 NOTRE DAME 71, PITTSBURGH 66
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo had 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Notre Dame outlasted Pittsburgh after blowing a 20-point lead.
Maddy Westbeld added 17 points for the Irish (10-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). She left the game in the third quarter after taking an accidental hit to the mouth.
Liatu King led the Panthers (6-9, 0-2) with a career-high 34 points on 13-of-18 shooting. She added 13 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal.
NO. 17 LOUISVILLE 61, DUKE 44
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kiki Jefferson made 8 of 8 from the free-throw line and scored 15 points, Olivia Cochran added 13 points and three steals, and Louisville beat Duke for the 1,000th win in program history.
Louisville (13-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) is the 27th program to reach 1,000 victories. Duke has 995 wins.
Oluchi Okananwa led Duke (9-5, 1-2) with 14 points. The Blue Devils tied the program record for fewest points in a quarter, scoring four in the second period.
NO. 18 GONZAGA 74, PORTLAND 53
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Brynna Maxwell scored 21 points, Yvonne Ejim had 18 and Gonzaga beat Portland in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams.
Kayleigh Truong, Eliza Hollingsworth (who had 11 rebounds) and Calli Stokes each scored nine points for the Bulldogs (14-2).
Maisie Burnham had 13 points for the Pilots (8-7) and Natalie Fraley had 10.
NORTH CAROLINA 75, NO. 25 SYRACUSE 51
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Alyssa Ustby had the first triple-double in program history, and North Carolina snapped Syracuse’s eight-game winning streak.
Ustby finished with 16 points, a season-high 16 rebounds, a career-best 10 assists and two steals. Maria Gakdeng scored 22 points to lead the Tar Heels (10-4, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won four straight.
Syracuse (11-2, 1-1) lost for the first time since falling 83-81 at Maryland on Nov. 19. Dyaisha Fair led the Orange with 17 points.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball