FRIDAY’s WOMEN’S TOP 25 BASKETBALL GAMES

No. 2 South Carolina 88, No. 6 Ohio State 80

COLUMBIA, S.C.

A’ja Wilson had 20 points and 14 rebounds, Alaina Coates added 17 points and 13 rebounds and South Carolina withstood Kelsey Mitchell’s 36 points to beat Ohio State. The marquee matchup played out more like an NCAA tournament contest than a season opener. The Buckeyes held a 68-65 lead with 8:47 left on Mitchell’s 3-pointer. That’s when the Gamecocks’ height in the 6-foot-4 Coates and 6-foot-5 Wilson took control. The duo scored the Gamecocks’ last 16 points and Coates twice blocked Shayla Cooper’s close-in shots with Ohio State still in contention the final 2 minutes. Tiffany Mitchell had 15 points for South Carolina. Ameryst Alston had 23 points for Ohio State, which next faces No. 1 Connecticut on Monday.

Gardner-Webb 66, No. 22 North Carolina 65

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

Candance Brown made a layup with 1.2 seconds left and Gardner-Webb rallied to shock North Carolina in the opener for both teams. Gardner-Webb trailed by 15 points entering the fourth quarter. Kiera Currie’s 3-pointer with 6:12 to play capped a 16-2 run to open the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs didn’t take a lead until Currie’s jumper at the 3:05 mark. The teams traded the lead several times, with the Tar Heels, who had not lost an opener since falling to Buffalo in 2000, going up 65-64 on Jamie Cherry’s 3-pointer with 8 seconds left. The Bulldogs, who had never beaten a ranked team before, called a timeout with 7 seconds to go and — per the new rules implemented this season along with the change to four quarters instead of two halves — were allowed to inbound the ball in the front court. Brown finished with 17 points. Alexus Hill added 14 points for the Bulldogs.

No. 5 Baylor 62, Texas-Arlington 20

WACO, TEXAS

Preseason All-America Nina Davis scored 19 points, Alexis Jones added 15 and Baylor routed Texas-Arlington. Jones had 11 points in the first half, when the Lady Bears built a 30-6 lead and held UT-Arlington to 2-of-19 shooting. The Mavericks, whose 14-win improvement was the best in Division I last season, finally reached double digits on a jumper by Toma Zaleckaite that made it 34-10 with 6:10 remaining in the third quarter.

No. 11 Mississippi State 68, Samford 47

STARKVILLE, MISS.

Dominique Dillingham had 13 points and 11 rebounds in Mississippi State’s victory over Samford. Jazzmun Holmes added 12 points for Mississippi State. Brittany Stevens led Samford with 13 points.

No. 13 Texas A&M 87, Texas State 50

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS

Khaalia Hillsman scored 17 points and Courtney Walker added 16 to lead Texas A&M past Texas State. Danni Williams added 14 points, the most by an Aggies freshman in her debut since 2004. Hillsman and Walker combined to go 12 of 17 from the field and 9 of 9 from the foul line. Williams was 5 of 8 from the field but the rest of the Aggies went 18 of 48.

No. 18 Kentucky 72, Rice 39

LEXINGTON, KY.

Evelyn Akhator had 16 points and 17 rebounds in her debut, and Maci Morris added 16 points in Kentucky’s victory over Rice. Akhator helped Chipola Community College win a national title last season.

No. 20 South Florida 74, Jacksonville 52

TAMPA, FLA.

Courtney Williams had 34 point, 18 rebounds and three steals to lead South Florida past Jacksonville in the Preseason NIT. Kitija Laksa added 15 points for the Bulls. Briona Brown had 12 points and seven rebounds for Jacksonville.

No. 23 Syracuse 57, Rhode Island 54

KINGSTON, R.I.

Briana Day scored five of her 14 points in the final 5 minutes to lead Syracuse past Rhode Island. Day also had a key late block and a steal. Brianna Butler added 20 points for the Orange. Charise Wilson scored 26 points for Rhode Island.

No. 25 Chattanooga 68, McNeese State 53

CHATTANOOGA, TENN.

Jasmine Joyner had 15 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks in Chattanooga’s victory over McNeese State. Keiana Gilbert added 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Donnes had 16 points and Victoria Rachal added 11 for the Cowgirls.

Associated Press