college basketball roundup | Thursday’s games

WOMEN

No. 2 Notre Dame 87, Syracuse 72

SOUTH BEND, IND.

Junior Jessica Shepard, playing despite a sprained ankle, had 24 points and 12 rebounds as No. 2 Notre Dame pulled away from upset-minded Syracuse for an Atlantic Coast Conference victory. Jackie Young tied her career-high with 23 points, Kathryn Westbeld had 16 and Arike Ogunbowale had 12 points for the Irish (12-1). Sophomore point guard Tiana Mangakahia had a game-high 26 points, eight assists and nine rebounds to lead Syracuse (12-2).

No. 3 Louisville 74, Georgia Tech 71

ATLANTA

Louisville point guard Asia Durr returned to her hometown and scored 38 points, but it took teammate Myisha Hines-Allen’s driving layup with 1.9 seconds remaining for the third-ranked Cardinals to squeak out a win at Georgia Tech. Tech was led by reserve guard Kayla Pugh’s 17 points while Fletcher and Francesca Pan added 15 and O’Neil pitched in 15 points and nine rebounds.

No. 5 Mississippi State 112, Mississippi Valley State 36

STARKVILLE, MISS.

Teaira McCowan scored a career-high 41 points, and No. 5 Mississippi State scored the second-most points in school history in a victory over winless Mississippi Valley State. Victoria Vivians added 16 points for the Bulldogs. Kristy Parker had 10 points in 29 minutes to lead the Devilettes (0-11).

No. 6 Baylor 88, Kansas St. 58

MANHATTAN, KAN.

Kalani Brown scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting to lead No. 6 Baylor to a victory over Kansas State in the Big 12 opener for both teams. Kansas State’s Kayla Goth led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field.

No. 9 West Virginia 87, TCU 82

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

Katrina Pardee and Chania Ray combined on two quick baskets in the fourth quarter to finally put No. 9 West Virginia ahead to stay, and the Mountaineers remained undefeated with a win at TCU in the Big 12 opener for both teams. Naomi Davenport scored 19 of her career-high 32 points in the first half for the Mountaineers (13-0, 1-0 Big 12). Amber Ramirez had 21 points for TCU.

No. 8 Texas 88, Oklahoma 78

NORMAN, OKLA.

Lashann Higgs scored a career-high 25 points and No. 8 Texas won at Oklahoma for the first time since the 2009-10 season, beating the Sooners in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams. Shaina Pellington scored 16 points and Ana Llanusa and Maddie Manning each added 14 to lead the Sooners.

No. 12 Ohio State 73, Nebraska 61

OMAHA, NEB.

Kelsey Mitchell tossed in 25 points and Linnae Harper added 14 points and eight rebounds as No. 12 Ohio State opened Big Ten Conference play with a victory over Nebraska. Sierra Calhoun scored 13, while Stephanie Mavunga snared 10 rebounds for the Buckeyes (12-2). Maddie Simon and Kate Cain scored 14 apiece to pace the Cornhuskers (9-5).

No. 13 Florida State 82, Jacksonville 50

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.

Imani Wright scored 24 points, leading four into double figures, as 13th-ranked Florida State defeated Jacksonville. Shakayla Thomas scored 18 points, Chatrice White and Nicki Ekhomu added 14 apiece. Jasmyn Brown led Jacksonville with 12 points.

No. 15 Maryland 100, Illinois 65

COLLEGE PARK, MD.

Kaila Charles scored 24 points, Blair Watson had 22 and No. 15 Maryland opened Big Ten play with a win over Illinois. Stephanie Jones had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Terrapins (12-2), who have won nine straight. Ieshia Small and Brianna Fraser had 12 points apiece off the bench. Brandi Beasley had 16 points and Alex Wittinger 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Illini (9-5).

Creighton 69, No. 18 Villanova 54

OMAHA, NEB.

Audrey Faber and Jaylyn Agnew each scored 19 points and Creighton upset No. 18 Villanova in a Big East Conference opener to give coach Jim Flanery his 300th program win. Sydney Lamberty’s 3-point play off a layup put Creighton (7-4) ahead 39-36 with 5:51 left in the third quarter and the Bluejays never trailed thereafter.

No. 19 Green Bay 58, Wright State 51

DAYTON

Jessica Lindstrom had a double-double and Jen Wellnitz had 11 points, including the clinching 3-point play with 17.3 seconds left, to rally No. 19 Green Bay to a win over Wright State to open Horizon League play. Lindstrom had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Phoenix (11-1). Allie Wright also had 15 points. Chelsea Welch scored 22 points for the Raiders.

No. 21 Michigan 89, Penn State 69

ANN ARBOR, MICH.

Katelynn Flaherty had a school record 10 3-pointers and scored 33 points, Hallie Thome had a double-double and No. 21 Michigan used a 20-0 run in the first quarter to roll to a win over Penn State in the Big Ten opener. Thome had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Nicole Munger had 15 points.

No. 22 Texas A&M 79, SMU 57

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS

Chennedy Carter scored 28 points, Anriel Howard had 15 points and 16 rebounds, and No. 22 Texas A&M cruised to a victory over SMU. Kiara Perry scored 11 points to lead SMU (6-7).

No. 23 Iowa 56, Wisconsin 46

MADISON, WIS.

Megan Gustafson had 21 points and 16 rebounds to lead No. 23 Iowa to its sixth straight win with a victory over Wisconsin in a Big Ten Conference opener. Chase Coley added 14 points and Alexis Sevillian had 11 for Iowa (13-1). Suzanne Gilreath scored 11 points to lead Wisconsin (7-7).

No. 24 Oklahoma State 98, Texas Tech 57

LUBBOCK, TEXAS

Kaylee Jensen had 26 points and 12 rebounds and No. 24 Oklahoma State won its fourth straight with a rout of Texas Tech in a Big 12 Conference opener. Loryn Goodwin added 20 points and Braxtin Miller 17 for Oklahoma State (10-2). Recee’ Caldwell scored 20 points to lead Texas Tech (6-6).

MEN

Albany 78, Kent State 68

ALBANY, N.Y.

Travis Charles scored 19 points with nine rebounds and five assists, and his jumper sparked a game-changing run that let Albany pull away from Kent State for a win to conclude non-conference play. David Nichols scored 15 points, Joe Cremo added 14 with nine assists and Devonte Campbell had 11 for Albany (12-3). Jaylin Walker scored 20 points and Kevin Zabo and Desmond Ridenour scored 10 apiece for Kent State (6-7).

No. 23 Seton Hall 90, No. 25 Creighton 84

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

Khadeen Carrington hit a go-ahead layup with 2:05 to play and No. 23 Seton Hall rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to defeat No. 25 Creighton in the Big East Conference opener for both schools. Desi Rodriguez led the Pirates (12-2, 1-0 Big East) with 23 points. Martin Krampelj had a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds for Creighton (10-3, 0-1).

Associated Press