No. 9 Iowa beats Wisconsin 81-52 to clinch No. 2 seed in Big Ten

By Canadian Press on March 1, 2026.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Ava Heiden had 16 points and 14 rebounds, Chadazi Wright added 14 points and No. 9 Iowa secured the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament with an 81-52 victory over Wisconsin on Sunday in the regular-season finale.

Playing without injured leading rebounder and No. 2 scorer Hannah Stuelke, Iowa (24-5, 15-3) led 33-29 at the half and had a 26-9 edge in the third quarter.

Stuelke was out with an upper-body injury sustained in a win over Illinois on Thursday night. Stuelke is listed as day-to-day and hopeful to play in the conference tournament.

Taylor Stremlow had 12 points and Layla Hayes and Teagan Mallegni each had 10 for Iowa. The Hawkeyes have won six straight after dropped three in a row.

Destiny Howell had 23 points for Wisconsin (13-16, 5-13). The Badgers have lost nine straight.

NO. 3 SOUTH CAROLINA 60, NO. 16 KENTUCKY 56

LEXINGTON, Ky (AP) — Madina Okot had 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead South Carolina to a win over Kentucky.

The Gamecocks (29-2, 15-1 Southeastern Conference) took a 54-43 lead with 8:28 left in the game, but only got baskets from Okot and Tessa Johnson the rest of the game as the Wildcats (21-9, 8-8 Southeastern Conference) mounted a late rally.

Clara Strack had 24 points and nine rebounds, scoring eight points down the stretch, to lead the rally. The Wildcats had the ball down two at 58-56, but Teonni Key missed a layup and a tie-up on the rebound gave South Carolina the ball. Okot put in a layup for the final basket.

Johnson had 12 points and Raven Johnson added 11 for the Gamecocks.

Strack was 11 of 19 for the game, but the rest of the Wildcats shot 13 of 44.

South Carolina led 33-27 at the half, but a quick 10-4 run by Kentucky sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Asia Boone tied the game at 37.

Okot quickly put the Gamecocks ahead with consecutive layups and they took a 54-43 lead and held on for the win.

NO. 4 TEXAS 72, ALABAMA 65

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Madison Booker had 21 points and nine rebounds, Jordan Lee and Kyla Oldacre each scored 11 and the Texas women beat Alabama.

Booker surpassed 1,800 career points, becoming the seventh player in program history to pass that mark.

Lee started the game with a fast break layup to put Texas (28-3, 13-3 Southeastern Conference) ahead and the Longhorns never trailed.

Texas scored 13 fewer points than its season average, but the SEC’s top defense played to its reputation.

The Longhorns forced 19 Crimson Tide turnovers, blocked five shots and recorded seven steals.

Alabama (21-9, 7-9) struggled significantly on offense in the first half — its 20 points at halftime was its lowest total of the season.

Jessica Timmons had 24 points in the final home game of her Alabama career.

NO. 5 VANDERBILT 87, TENNESSEE 77

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mikayla Blakes scored 34 points to lead Vanderbilt to a victory over Tennessee.

Blakes scored eight points in a 12-2 run late in the third quarter for the Commodores (27-3, 13-3 Southeastern Conference). Aubrey Galvan added 24 points and Sacha Washington had 16 points and eight rebounds.

The Volunteers (16-12, 8-8), who lost their sixth straight game, were led by Talaysia Cooper’s 23 points. Janiah Barker added 17 points and eight rebounds, Nya Robertson had 12 points and Zee Spearman 10.

Cooper scored 11 points in the second quarter — 14 in the opening half — to help Tennessee to a 43-37 lead at the break. Barker led the way with 15 points. Galvan had 12 and Blakes 11 for the Commodores.

While Tennessee, which is playing the toughest schedule in the country, came into the game unranked, Blakes has a streak of five consecutive games against ranked teams scoring 30 or more points. The win over the Vols was Vandy’s 13th SEC victory, the most in program history.

NO. 6 LSU 72, MISSISSIPPI STATE 63

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Mikayiah Williams had 28 points and 15 rebounds and LSU closed the third quarter with a big run to beat Mississippi State in the regular-season finale for both teams.

LSU (26-4, 12-4 Southeastern Conference) has a double-bye in the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina, while Mississippi State (18-12, 5-11) will play Florida on Wednesday in the first round.

LSU closed the quarter with 16-7 run after Mississippi State had a 13-0 run to take a 41-38 lead.

Williams was 10 of 17 from the field, making 2 of 3 3-pointers. She also had four assists. MiLaysia Fulwiley had 16 points, and Jada Richard added 12.

NO. 7 OKLAHOMA 84, MISSOURI 78

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Raegen Beers had 23 points and nine rebounds, Aaliyah Chavez scored 18 and Oklahoma beat Missouri.

Payton Verhulst added 16 points and a season-best 12 rebounds for the Sooners (23-6, 11-5 Southeastern Conference), who have won 28 straight games against unranked opponents dating to last season. Sahara Williams had 13 points and nine boards.

Shannon Dowell scored a season-best 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Missouri (16-15, 4-12), which has lost six in a row. Grace Slaughter added 15 points.

Oklahoma shot 42.1% from the field but outrebounded Missouri 54-35 and converted 20 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points.

Chloe Sotel hit a 3-pointer with 6:26 remaining in the third quarter to cut Missouri’s deficit to 46-43, but Oklahoma responded with a 14-0 run over the next four minutes to pull away.

NOTRE DAME 65, NO. 10 LOUISVILLE 62

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo scored 30 points and Notre Dame rallied for a victory over Louisville.

The Fighting Irish (20-9, 12-6 Atlantic Coast) outscored the Cardinals 9-2 in the final 4:25 to finish the regular season with five straight victories, and their All-American guard overcame foul trouble to secure the win.

Hidalgo scored seven in that run and also had a steal with 14 seconds left. She could have scored an easy fast-break layup, but she chose to run off some clock as Louisville (25-6, 15-3) had fouls to give.

Imari Berry missed a 3-pointer for Louisville, which committed 19 turnovers, in the closing seconds that could have forced overtime.

Hidalgo added 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals, and Vanessa de Jesus finished with 14. Mackenly Randolph led Louisville with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

NO. 11 TCU 65, NO. 18 BAYLOR 53

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Marta Suarez had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Olivia Miles scored 19 and TCU repeated as the outright Big 12 regular-season champion with a victory over Baylor, which also extended the Horned Frogs’ home winning streak to 42 games.

It was the second year in a row that the in-state rivals played in the conference’s final regular-season game. The Frogs (27-4, 15-3 Big 12) won both times to keep from having to share the title with the Bears (24-7, 13-5).

Suarez thrust her right arm into the air after hitting a 3 — her fourth of five of the game — with 6:02 left in the third quarter to stretch TCU lead to 40-21. Miles and Taylor Bigby, who finished with 12 points, had three-point plays right before that.

Taliah Scott had 13 of her 17 points for Baylor in the fourth quarter. The Bears finished with a season low in points, with their only lead at 2-0 after free throws by Scott just over a minute into the game.

NO. 13 OHIO STATE 87, NO. 15 MICHIGAN STATE 68

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Jaloni Cambridge scored 33 points, Chance Gray added 21 and Ohio State hit a program-record 18 3-pointers in a win over Michigan State.

Cambridge shot 12 of 24 from the field and 7 of 12 from beyond the arc, the most she has made from deep all season. Gray shot 7 of 11 from 3-point range.

Elsa Lemilla recorded a double-double for the Buckeyes (24-6, 13-5 Big Ten) with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kennedy Cambridge put up 10 points.

The Buckeyes had a 15-0 run in the second quarter, putting them up 38-11, and they went into halftime leading 49-26.

The Spartans (22-7, 11-7) were led in scoring by Grace VanSlooten with 17. Rashunda Jones scored 16 and Ines Sotelo added 11.

NO. 17 WEST VIRGINIA 118, CINCINNATI 60

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Sydney Shaw, Kierra Wheeler, Jordan Harrison, and Gia Cooke combined for 85 points and West Virginia hit a season-high 15 3-pointers as the Mountaineers beat Cincinnati.

Shaw scored a career-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, and went 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Wheeler had 21 and 10 rebounds, Harrison added 20 points and 10 assists, and Cooke scored 20. The Mountaineers (24-6, 14-4 Big 12), who scored their most points in a win since 2002, have a double-bye into the Big 12 Tournament which begins Wednesday.

West Virginia jumped ahead with an early 18-3 run, spanning most of the first quarter and carrying over into the second to take a 35-9 lead. Cincinnati (11-19, 6-12) could never find its footing, committing 18 turnovers for 25 West Virginia points.

The Bearcats were led in scoring by Mya Perry, with 19.

TEXAS A&M 66, NO. 19 MISSISSIPPI 58

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Ny’Ceara Pryor scored 16 points, Fatmata Janneh had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and surging Texas A&M defeated slumping Mississippi.

The Aggies (14-11, 7-9 SEC) head to the conference tournament on a five-game win streak while Ole Miss (21-10, 8-8) has lost four in a row.

Texas A&M never trailed and there was only one tie. Still, the Rebels were within 57-55 with 5:40 remaining in the game. Pryor then hit a 3-pointer to start a 9-2 run for the Aggies and they allowed only one point in the final four minutes.

Cotie McMahon had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Rebels and backup guard Tianna Thompson scored 12.

Salese Blow scored 11 points off the bench for the Aggies.

Pryor scored seven points in the first quarter, including one of Texas A&M’s three 3-pointers in the first 4 1/2 minutes as the Aggies raced out to a 15-5 lead. They led 23-13 heading to the second quarter.

NO. 20 TEXAS TECH 58, ARIZONA STATE 51

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Jalynn Bristow scored 18 points and Jada Malone added 11 in Texas Tech’s win over Arizona State.

Denae Fritz also put up 11 points for the Red Raiders (25-6, 12-6 Big 12), who shot 43% from the field as a team (18 of 42) in the win in a close game that saw six lead changes.

Texas Tech scored the first points of the game and Arizona State (22-9, 9-9) matched the pace to tie it at 10-all early. The Sun Devils led going into halftime, 27-25. A 12-0 run for the Red Raiders that lasted the last 4:02 seconds of the third quarter extended their lead to 47-36.

Arizona State outscored Texas Tech in the final quarter, 15-11, but couldn’t overcome the deficit.

The Sun Devils were led in scoring by Gabby Elliott, with 15 points. Helosia Carrera added 10 on perfect 5 of 5 shooting from the field.

NO. 21 NORTH CAROLINA 74, NO. 12 DUKE 69

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Elina Aarnisalo scored a career-high 22 points while Nyla Harris had 10 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter to help North Carolina beat Duke.

The Tar Heels (25-6, 14-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) denied the Blue Devils (21-8, 16-2) a chance to secure their first outright league regular-season title since 2013. While Duke had already clinched the No. 1 seed for next week’s ACC Tournament, 10th-ranked Louisville can clinch a share of the regular-season crown with a win later Sunday against Notre Dame.

UNC had won 11 of 12 coming in, with the lone loss coming at Duke two weeks ago — a game in which the Blue Devils notably had a 21-0 advantage in free-throw attempts. The Tar Heels repeatedly got to the line in the rematch, going 15 for 18 at the line in the fourth quarter alone and 20 of 27 for the game.

Harris led that effort, hitting all six of her free throws in the fourth quarter while repeatedly drawing whistles in the paint. Aarnisalo hit two free throws at the 3:51 mark for a 61-60 lead that put the Tar Heels ahead for good.

Ashlon Jackson scored 17 points for Duke. The Blue Devils started 3-6 this year before surging and running off 17 straight wins, including a 15-0 league start, before falling on a late basket last weekend at Clemson.

NO. 22 MINNESOTA 78, ILLINOIS 73

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Sophie Hart scored 17 points, Amaya Battle added 10 of her 16 points in the second half and Minnesota beat Illinois to clinch a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.

Minnesota (22-7, 13-5 Big Ten), which lost 75-61 to No. 18 Michigan State last time out, has won 10 of 11 and will be the No. 4 seed in Big Ten Tournament, which begins Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The Gophers tied the program’s single-season record for conference wins, previously set in the 1982-83 and ’84-85 seasons.

Berry Wallace hit a 3-pointer before Cearah Parchment drew a charge and then scored in the post to make it 70-all with 1:01 left in the game, but Grace Grocholski, Mara Braun and Tori McKinney combined to go 8 of 8 from the free-throw line from there to seal it.

Braun had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists, Finau Tonga also scored 11 points and McKinney added 10.

NO. 23 GEORGIA 71, FLORIDA 58

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Dani Carnegie scored 26 points, Mia Woolfolk had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Georgia defeated Florida in a regular-season finale.

Carnegie scored the first eight points of the game to get the Bulldogs rolling. They led 16-7 with under two minutes left in the quarter before the Gators made their only field goal of the first quarter. Florida attempted only six shots in the first but made seven of 10 free throws. Georgia led 18-9 after one.

Emilija Dakic hit two 3-pointers to get Florida going in the second quarter and the Gators eventually tied it at 23 with four minutes remaining in the half. Carnegie and Riley Theuerkauf then scored five points each in Georgia’s 12-0 run for a 35-23 halftime lead.

A 13-0 run in which Savannah Henderson drained two 3-pointers and Carnegie hit another gave Georgia a 54-30 lead. The Bulldogs led 54-33 heading to the fourth.

Carnegie scored six points and Woolfolk had seven in the fourth quarter and the Bulldogs (22-8, 8-8 SEC) were never threatened.

The Associated Press