No. 24 Florida State hands No. 3 Notre Dame second straight loss, 86-81

By Canadian Press on February 27, 2025.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Ta’Niya Latson scored 23 points, Makayla Timpson scored 22 and No. 24 Florida State handed No. 3 Notre Dame its second straight loss, 86-81 on Thursday night.

It was Florida State’s second win over Notre Dame in 15 meetings between the teams and its first in South Bend.

O’Mariah Gordon scored 15 points for the Seminoles (23-6, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won four in a row.

Sonia Citron scored 21 points to lead Notre Dame (24-4, 15-2) and Liatu King scored 17 points. Hannah Hidalgo scored 16 points, but was 4-of-17 shooting.

The Fighting Irish suffered a 104-95 double-overtime loss at N.C. State on Sunday and are now tied with the Wolfpack for the ACC lead. If the Fighting Irish and the Wolfpack share the ACC title, N.C. State would be the No. 1 seed in the conference Tournament because of its victory over Notre Dame.

NO. 1 TEXAS 68, MISSISSIPPI STATE 64

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Shay Holle scored all of her season-high 16 points in the second half, and No. 1 Texas edged Mississippi State in coach Vic Schaefer’s return to Starkville.

Schaefer’s team won its 12th straight game, this one against the team he coached from 2012-20 — but the Bulldogs didn’t make it easy.

Holle matched her career high of four 3-pointers as Texas (28-2, 14-1 Southeastern Conference) pulled in front by 10 points in the fourth quarter after trailing by one at halftime.

Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda had a season-best 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Madison Booker scored 12, and Rori Harmon had 10 points and seven assists.

Jerkaila Jordan scored 14 points for Mississippi State (19-10, 6-9) and Madina Okot had 11.

NO. 5 UCONN 72, NO. 22 CREIGHTON 53

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Sarah Strong had 22 points and nine rebounds and Paige Bueckers added 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as No. 5 UConn defeated No. 22 Creighton and claimed its fifth straight Big East regular-season title.

Kaitlyn Chen had 11 points and three assists and Azzi Fudd scored nine points for UConn (27-3, 17-0 Big East), which notched its 37th consecutive regular-season conference victory.

Morgan Maly scored 11 points for Creighton (23-5, 15-2).

Creighton scored the first eight points of the game. A jumper by Azzi Fudd with 47 seconds left in the first quarter gave UConn its first lead and the Huskies opened the second period with a 9-1 run to extend their lead to nine points.

UConn won its 22nd outright Big East regular-season title and has shared the crown twice.

Redshirt junior Caroline Ducharme made her first appearance at home for UConn since Nov. 16, 2023. Her play has been limited the last two seasons due to a concussion and other injuries.

NO. 6 SOUTH CAROLINA 75, MISSISSIPPI 59

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Sania Feagin scored 22 points, Chloe Kitts had 16 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, and No. 6 South Carolina beat Mississippi.

The win kept the Gamecocks (26-3, 14-1 Southeastern Conference) tied with No. 1 Texas at the top the league standings.

Feagin finished 10 of 13 from the field as South Carolina expanded a 37-33 halftime lead, closing with a 20-12 surge in the final period.

Sira Thienou led Ole Miss (18-9, 9-6) with 15 points, and Christeen Iwuala added 10 points with nine rebounds.

The Rebels forced 15 turnovers and blocked nine shots but shot only 37% from the field. South Carolina shot 45% from the field but was 13 of 25 in the second half.

NO. 20 ALABAMA 88, NO. 7 LSU 85, OT

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Aaliyah Nye scored 28 points, Sarah Ashlee Barker added 21 and No. 20 Alabama survived both of them fouling out, getting a critical block from Essence Cody in the final seconds of overtime to hold off No. 7 LSU.

Cody finished with 17 points and five blocks, and she denied Mikaylah Williams’ attempt at a go-ahead layup with 4 seconds left in the extra period. Zaay Green, who scored 15 points, hit two free throws to seal it for the Crimson Tide (23-6, 10-5 Southeastern Conference), who have won six of seven.

Williams scored 22 points for LSU (27-3, 12-3), and her jumper with 23 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 79-all.

Aneesah Morrow added 16 points for the Tigers, Sa’Myah Smith had 15 and Miracle Sheppard scored 10.

NO. 16 DUKE 68, NO. 8 NORTH CAROLINA 53

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Reigan Richardson scored 13 of her 23 points in the third quarter to help No. 16 Duke beat eighth-ranked rival North Carolina.

Freshman Toby Fournier added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (22-7, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) after missing all eight of her shots in last month’s loss to UNC.

Freshman Lanie Grant had 17 points for the Tar Heels (25-5, 13-4), who were the nation’s only unbeaten road team at 9-0 before Thursday.

Both teams are chasing a top-four seed in next week’s ACC Tournament and the double-round bye that goes with it. They’re also pursuing a chance to host opening-weekend games in the NCAA Tournament; the selection committee had both teams positioned to do so as regional 3 seeds in its latest projections, released shortly before tipoff.

NO. 9 N.C. STATE 78, WAKE FOREST 57

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Aziaha James scored 21 points in her final regular-season home game and No. 9 N.C. State beat Wake Forest.

Zoe Brooks scored eight of her 17 points in the first quarter and Madison Hayes finished with 14 points for N.C. State (23-5, 15-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which improved to 16-0 at home. James, who scored 18 in the first half, made six 3-point shots.

The Wolfpack built off Sunday’s double-overtime win over then-No. 1 Notre Dame. N.C. State pulled into a tie for first place in the ACC with the Irish, who lost Thursday night to Florida State.

Malaya Cowles scored 14 points off the bench and Elise Williams had 13 points for Wake Forest (9-19, 2-15), which has lost 10 of its last 11 games.

NO. 15 KENTUCKY 82, NO. 11 TENNESSEE 58

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Clara Strack made all 11 of her shots in scoring 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as No. 15 Kentucky routed No. 11 Tennessee by 24 points, the Wildcats’ largest margin of victory ever over the Lady Vols.

Kentucky’s victory solidified the Wildcats’ bid for a top-four finish and a double-bye into the SEC Tournament that runs March 5-9.

Strack collected her 13th double-double this season and blocked three shots in setting a season-single program record with 67. Her perfect shooting night set a program record (10 attempts minimum).

Teonni Key picked up her 11th double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (22-5, 11-4). Georgia Amoore also scored 18 points and had seven assists. Dazia Lawrence scored 13 points.

Talaysia Cooper was only player in double figures for Tennessee (21-7, 8-7) with 25 points.

NO. 13 OKLAHOMA 89, FLORIDA 65

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Payton Verhulst scored 17 points, Raegan Beers added 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and No. 13 Oklahoma beat Florida for its sixth win in a row.

Skylar Vann scored 13 points, Sahara Williams had 11 points with nine rebounds and Liz Scott also scored 11 points for Oklahoma (22-6, 10-5 SEC).

Verhulst hit two 3-pointers as the Sooners jumped to a 16-4 lead after Zya Vann, who finished with 10 points, made two free throws with 4:20 left in the first quarter. Florida scored the next 10 points to spark a 15-2 run that gave the Gators their first lead when Laila Reynolds hit a 3 to make it 19-8. But Reyna Scott answered with a three-point play 16 seconds later and Oklahoma led the rest of the way.

Liv McGill led Florida (14-15, 5-10) with 14 points. Ra Shaya Kyle scored 11 points with nine rebounds and Alexia Dizeko also scored 11.

Oklahoma shot 44% (31 of 71), outrebounded the Gators 52-39 and outscored them 13-4 in second-chance points. Florida made 22 of 70 (31%) from the field.

NO. 19 MARYLAND 74, INDIANA 60

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Shyanne Sellers scored 21 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter to help No. 19 Maryland pull away and beat Indiana.

Sellers made three 3-pointers, shot 5 of 7 overall and hit all eight of her free-throw attempts in the final quarter, while Indiana scored 21 points as a team.

Indiana trailed by 10 points at the break but Yarden Garzon’s 3-pointer pulled the Hoosiers to 39-37 late in the third. Sellers answered with a layup, sparking a 15-5 run to give the Terrapins a 54-42 lead early in the fourth. Indiana then cut the deficit to 61-55 with 3:11 remaining but didn’t get closer.

Kaylene Smikle scored six of her 16 points in the second quarter as Maryland outscored Indiana 16-6 and led 30-20 at the break. Smikle finished with 16 points and Christina Dalce had 11 for Maryland (22-6, 12-5 Big Ten), which has won three straight and five of its last six games. Allie Kubek added 11 rebounds to go with six points. Sellers has scored in double figures in 22 of 26 games.

Garzon scored 18 points and Shay Ciezki added 15 to lead Indiana (17-11, 9-8). The Hoosiers have lost two consecutive games and four of their last six.

NO. 25 LOUISVILLE 78, CLEMSON 52

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Tajianna Roberts scored 18 of her 19 points in the second half, Olivia Cochran and Jayda Curry each had a double-double and No. 25 Louisville beat Clemson for its fifth win in the last six games.

Louisville (20-8, 13-4 ACC) reached 20 wins for the 15th straight season and improved to 13-0 against Clemson under coach Jeff Walz.

The Cardinals conclude their regular season on Sunday at No. 3 Notre Dame, hoping to be a top-four finish in the conference to receive a double bye in the tournament.

Curry had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Cochran added 11 points and 10 boards to secure a double-double in back-to-back games for Louisville. Izela Arenas scored 14 points and Nyla Harris had 12.

Roberts scored the opening six points of the fourth quarter and she capped the 11-0 run with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 66-46.

Loyal McQueen scored 16 points and Mia Moore added 10 for Clemson (13-15, 6-11). The Tigers shot 32% overall, including 3 of 15 from 3-point range.

The Associated Press