Dangerfield, Walker lead No. 1 UConn women past Wichita St.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Crystal Dangerfield scored 22 points and Megan Walker added 21 to lead top-ranked UConn to an 83-55 win over Wichita State Thursday night, giving the Huskies their 122nd win without a loss in American Athletic Conference play.
Christyn Williams had 19 points for the Huskies (11-0, 2-0), who have won all 104 regular-season games since the conference was formed and all six AAC tournaments.
UConn missed its first six shots and the Shockers (8-6, 0-1) ran out to a 10-1 lead. But Walker took over from there.
Mariah McCully scored 16 points and Carla Bremaud had 13 for Wichita State.
NO. 4 SOUTH CAROLINA 99, NO. 13 KENTUCKY 72
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Freshmen Brea Beal and Zia Cooke had 15 points each and South Carolina quickly eliminated any thoughts of an upset, dispatching Kentucky to start Southeastern Conference play.
The Gamecocks (13-1, 1-0 SEC) opened a 12-point lead in the first quarter and stretched it to 21 by halftime.
The Wildcats (11-2, 0-1) got 28 points from star guard Rhyne Howard. But South Carolina also forced her to commit six turnovers.
Two more South Carolina freshmen — the Gamecocks had the country's top-ranked recruiting class entering the season — scored in double digits as Aliyah Boston and Laeticia Amihere had 14 points apiece.
NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 75, CLEMSON 50
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Dana Evans had 27 points with a career-high seven 3-pointers and Louisville blew past Clemson.
Evans scored 24 points in the first half as the Cardinals (13-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) cruised to their fifth straight win overall and eighth in a row over the Tigers (5-9, 1-2).
Evans and Elizabeth Balogun, who had 15 points, helped Louisville come out fast and put things away early.
Hannah Hank led Clemson with 11 points.
SYRACUSE 90, NO. 8 FLORIDA STATE 89, OT
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Emily Engstler hit the winning layup at the overtime buzzer, Syracuse upset previously unbeaten Florida State.
Engstler’s basket came off an inbound pass from Teisha Hyman. It answered a score by FSU’s Kiah Gallespie that put the Seminoles up 89-88 with 0.6 seconds left.
Lewis paced the Orange (7-6, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 21 points and Gabrielle Cooper added 14. Engstler and Digna Strautmane each had 12 for the Orange.
Gillispie led the Seminoles (13-1, 2-1) with 27 points and Nausia Woolfolk had 19.
Strautmane sent the game to overtime with a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left.
NO. 9 N.C. STATE 76, VIRGINIA TECH 69
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Elissa Cunane scored 14 of her 28 points in the final 7:10 to lift N.C. State past Virginia Tech.
Cunane also grabbed nine rebounds as the Wolfpack (13-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit and survived an incredible shooting performance by Virginia Tech's Aisha Sheppard.
Sheppard shot 8 of 15 from 3-point range and scored 28 points as the Hokies (10-3, 0-2) fell on the road against a top-10 opponent for the second time in five days. Sheppard tied the school record for 3-pointers. Taja Cole added 13 points and Elizabeth Kitley scored 11 for Virginia Tech.
Aislinn Konig scored eight of her 18 points in the fourth quarter for the Wolfpack. Kai Crutchfield added 12 points and Kayla Jones scored 11.
NO. 11 TEXAS A&M 84, NO. 20 ARKANSAS 77
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Chennedy Carter scored 28 points, N'dea Jones and Ciera Johnson each had a double-double, and Texas A&M beat Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Jones finished with a career-high 22 points and 14 rebounds and Johnson had 11 points and 10 boards. Kayla Wells added 15 points for Texas A&M.
Texas A&M (13-1) has won eight in a row.
Chelsea Dungee led Arkansas (12-2) with 20 points — including 12 in the fourth quarter — and Alexis Tolefree scored 18. Arkansas had its seven-game win streak snapped.
NO. 15 MISSISSIPPI STATE 93, FLORIDA 47
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Jordan Danberry scored 21 points and freshman Rickea Jackson added 20 to lead Mississippi State past Florida in the team’s Southeastern Conference opener.
Danberry was 10 of 11 from the field with eight assists and Jackson 9 of 11 with two 3-pointers and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs (13-2), who extended their win streak versus the Gators (9-5) to seven games.
Kiara Smith and Lavender Briggs had 15 points each for Florida, which shot 20% and was just 3 of 16 from the arc.
NO. 17 GONZAGA 55, BYU 43
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Katie Campbell had 11 points, Kayleigh Truong had 10 off the bench and Gonzaga beat BYU to run its winning streak to 11.
The Bulldogs won by responding to a poor start to the second half with a 10-0 run to close the third quarter. Campbell started it with a 3-pointer and Jessi Loera added another 3 before Jill Townsend's layup made it 44-33.
Townsend opened the fourth quarter with another basket and Truong and Campbell had 3-pointers down the stretch to protect the lead.
Gonzaga (13-1, 2-0 West Coast Conference) made 8 of 13 3-pointers (61.5%) but were only 14 of 42 (33%) inside the arc.
Babalu Ugwu led the Cougars (7-6, 2-1), who handed Gonzaga three of their five losses last year, with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Kaylynne Truong hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half for a 31-18 lead at the half. BYU opened the second half with a 15-2 run to close it to 34-33 before the Zags put together the game-changing run.
NO. 22 TENNESSEE 77, MISSOURI 66
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Rennia Davis had 19 points and 12 rebounds as Tennessee beat Missouri in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Freshman Tamari Key scored a season-high 16 points and Jordan Horston added 13 as Tennessee (11-2) handed Missouri (3-11) its fifth consecutive loss. Tennessee's Jazmine Massengill had seven points and a career-high 12 assists with only one turnover.
Amber Smith scored 22 points and Aijha Blackwell added 16 for Missouri.
GEORGIA TECH 61, NO. 23 MIAMI 54
ATLANTA (AP) — Jasmine Carson and Lotta-Maj Lahtinen scored 15 points apiece, combining for 18 in a dominating fourth quarter, and Georgia Tech beat Miami.
Lorela Cubaj had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets (11-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who outscored Tech 30-12 in the fourth quarter.
Kelsey Marshall led the Hurricanes (9-4, 1-1), who had won four straight, with 14 points. Miami was 3 of 10 in the final period.
