Alissa Pili pushed South Carolina for 40 minutes, but the No. 1 Gamecocks survived her career-high 37-point performance to outlast No. 11 Utah in the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn.
Pili scored 15 points in the second quarter, keeping Utah in the game after falling behind 27-16 in the first 10 minutes.
The Gamecocks posted a win over a ranked team for the fourth time this season — more than any other team — and slowed Utah’s high-volume 3-point attack but allowed 46 points in the paint. Kamilla Cardoso scored a team-high 17 points with six rebounds and Te-Hina Paopao added 15 for the Gamecocks (9-0), who had 23 turnovers.
One of the nation’s leaders with a 43.6 3-point field goal percentage entering the game, Utah (8-2) made only 5 of 20 3-point tries. Pili was 3 of 6 from long range and made 15 of 23 field-goal attempts.
No. 4 Iowa 87, Wisconsin 65
Caitlin Clark scored 28 points with nine rebounds and five assists and Hannah Stuelke came off the bench to put up 21 for the Hawkeyes in an easy win over the Badgers in the Big Ten opener in Madison, Wis.
It was the 28th consecutive win for the Hawkeyes over the Badgers. Clark moved to No. 10 on the all-time women’s Division I scoring list and passed an impressive list of legends on Sunday: Elena Delle Donne, Maya Moore, Chamique Holdsclaw and Cheryl Miller.
The first home sellout for Wisconsin’s women’s hoops at Kohl Center in 21 years made for a high-energy atmosphere, but Clark made a series of deflating plays to keep the Hawkeyes (10-1, 1-0) in their comfort zone.
Clark hit an NBA range 3 in front of the Badgers’ bench in the final seconds of the second quarter, shrugged toward the crowd in Jordan-esque fashion and Iowa carried a 43-33 lead into the break. She made another logo-mark 3 from the left wing, staking Iowa to a 65-47 advantage with 1:44 to play in the third quarter.
Wisconsin (5-4, 0-1) was led by Ronnie Porter with 17 points and seven rebounds.
No. 12 Ohio State 94, Penn State 84 (OT)
Jacy Sheldon scored nine of her 31 points in overtime and the Buckeyes beat the Nittany Lions to push their winning streak to eight with a victory in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Trailing 80-76 following Celeste Taylor’s 3 with 43 seconds left in regulation, Penn State (7-3) tied the game with 10.8 seconds to go on back-to-back buckets from Makenna Marisa and Tay Valladay on either side of an Ohio State turnover. Marisa had 28 points in 40 points before she was carried to the locker room with a leg injury late in overtime.
Ohio State (8-1) was down by nine to start the fourth quarter, which Sheldon trimmed to six with an immediate 3. The Buckeyes took the lead 69-68 on Rebeka Mikulasikova’s 3.
The Buckeyes owned overtime, including five points from Sheldon during a 7-0 run that also included Cotie McMahon knocking down an open shot with 2:24 to go. McMahon had 27 points for Ohio State.
No. 15 Virginia Tech 85, Radford 40
Center Elizabeth Kitley had 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks for the Hokies, who hammered the Highlanders to improve to 5-0 at home this season in Blacksburg, Va.
Virginia Tech (7-2) burst out of the gate, led 22-4 before the end of the first quarter and never let off the gas. Radford had 11 field goals and shot 19.3 percent from the field.
Georgia Amoore chipped in 15 points with three assists and three blocks for the Hokies.
Ashlyn Traylor-Walker missed 14 of her 16 field-goal attempts but led the Highlanders (2-8) with 16 points with an 11-of-12 day at the free throw line.
No. 18 Louisville 73, Kentucky 61
Eylia Love led five players scoring in double figures and the host Cardinals eased past the Wildcats in their annual rivalry duel Sunday afternoon
Love had 14 points, and Nyla Harris and Syndey Taylor had 13 points apiece for Louisville (9-1). Maddie Scherr paced Kentucky with 22 points; she made four 3-pointers and had five rebounds and three steals.
Kentucky (4-7) trailed 50-44 entering the fourth quarter when Louisville surged behind Love’s 3-pointer and a jumper by Jayda Curry, which pushed the Cardinals ahead 55-46 with 8:16 remaining.
The Wildcats closed to 62-56 with 1:55 to go with Cassidy Rowe nailing a 3-pointer, but Louisville sealed the win with three Kiki Jefferson free throws in a span of seven seconds.
–Field Level Media
