GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Madison Booker scored 24 points, Aaliyah Crump added 14 and No. 4 Texas pounded Florida inside on its way to an 88-68 victory Thursday night in front of Shaquille O’Neal.
Playing for the first time in 11 days, the Longhorns outscored the Gators 60-30 in the paint to end a two-game road skid.
Texas (20-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) had its game at Arkansas last weekend postponed because of a winter storm, creating a lengthy midseason break. But the Longhorns showed little, if any, rust against the Gators (13-10, 1-7).
Booker, the reigning SEC player of the year, made 11 of 21 shots to go along with six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block. She scored eight points in the decisive second quarter — helping Texas outscore Florida by 14 in the frame.
Laila Reynolds led the Gators with 18 points. Me’Arah O’Neal, playing in front of her Hall of Fame father, added 17 points. The elder O’Neal wore a purple sweatsuit with “Shaq” emblazoned on the front and sat in a roped-off section of media seats with several friends. He posed for pictures with fans at halftime.
Liv McGill chipped in 15 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for Florida, which led 19-16 after the first quarter but had no answer for the Longhorns’ superior size down low.
NO. 3 SOUTH CAROLINA 81, AUBURN 51
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Joyce Edwards scored 20 points, Tessa Johnson added 13 and South Carolina handled Auburn.
Edwards, the team’s top scorer, made 9 of 14 shots to go along with five rebounds. Johnson chipped in five assists and three rebounds for the Gamecocks (21-2, 7-1 Southeastern Conference), and Maddy McDaniel made all three of her 3-pointers for nine points.
Auburn (13-9, 2-6) shot 30% from the field in its third straight home matchup with a team ranked in the AP Top 25.
The Gamecocks started hot, going on a 14-0 run that took up nearly five minutes of action in the first quarter before Ja’Mia Harris knocked down a 3-pointer for the Tigers.
South Carolina’s size proved to be an issue for the Tigers. The Gamecocks held a 40-22 scoring advantage in the paint.
Harissoum Coulibaly, Auburn’s leading scorer, was held to 10 points on 5-of-16 shooting. She also had five turnovers. Syriah Daniels scored 11 points, and Khady Leye had nine points and seven rebounds.
NO. 6 LSU 92, ARKANSAS 70
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams each scored 17 points and LSU beat Arkansas for its sixth straight Southeastern Conference win.
The Tigers (20-2, 6-2) led by just three points at halftime against the Razorbacks (11-11, 0-7), who have lost all their league games by double-digit margins.
Johnson, Williams and reserve Kate Koval helped LSU pull away after halftime. Koval had 12 points and a season-high 15 rebounds for her sixth-double-double of the season.
Grace Knox and Jada Richard each contributed 12 points for the Tigers, and ZaKiyah Johnson had 11.
Taleyah Jones led the Razorbacks with 23 points. Jenna Lawrence added 12 points, and Bonnie Deas and Maria Anais Rodriguez had 11 each.
NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 84, STANFORD 66
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Laura Ziegler had 22 points and 11 rebounds as Louisville extended its winning streak to 13 games with a victory over Stanford.
Stanford has lost three in a row.
Mackenly Randolph hit a 3-pointer from the corner on the game’s first possession and the Cardinals (20-3, 10-0 ACC) stayed in front the rest of the way. Randolph connected on three 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 14 points.
Louisville’s biggest lead was 27 points at 82-55, with just more than two minutes remaining.
The Cardinals remained tied with No. 20 Duke for first place in the ACC. Duke won 74-58 at Miami on Thursday night. Duke plays at Louisville on Feb. 5.
Courtney Ogden led the Cardinal (15-7, 4-5) with 16 points. Chloe Clardy and Shay Ijiwoye had 15 apiece. Ijiwoye shot 6 for 8 from the floor.
SOUTHERN CAL 81, NO. 8 IOWA 69
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kara Dunn had 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Southern California defeated Iowa, snapping the Hawkeyes’ eight-game winning streak and handing them their first Big Ten loss of the season.
Jazzy Davidson added 21 points and eight assists, and Londynn Jones had 17 points for USC (12-9, 4-6 Big Ten). It was just the Trojans’ fourth win over a ranked opponent this season in eight such games. They had lost two in a row overall and six of seven previously.
Journey Houston had 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Iowa (18-3, 9-1), which last lost against No. 1 UConn on Dec. 20. The Hawkeyes never led against the Trojans.
NO. 9 MICHIGAN 95, INDIANA 67
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Olivia Olson scored a season-high 27 points and Mila Holloway added 17 to help Michigan beat Indiana.
The Wolverines (18-3, 9-1 Big Ten) have won seven of their last eight, including three straight since their only conference loss. They shot 51.5% from the field and outrebounded the Hoosiers 37-25 to earn their first win in Bloomington since February 2014.
Michigan’s relentless defensive pressure caused all sorts of problems for the Hoosiers. The Wolverines, led by Syla Swords’ career-high five steals, converted 23 Indiana turnovers into 34 points.
Shay Ciezki entered the game with a league-leading scoring average of 23.6 points, but fouled out midway through the fourth quarter with 13 points. Maya Makalusky had 17 to lead Indiana (11-11, 0-10), which has lost nine straight and finished its January schedule 0-8.
NO. 10 OKLAHOMA 85, TEXAS A&M 58
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Payton Verhulst scored 16 points and Aaliyah Chavez added 14 to help Oklahoma defeat Texas A&M.
Raegan Beers and Sahara Williams each added 12 points for the Sooners (17-4, 5-3 Southeastern Conference), who made 12 of 23 3-pointers and had assists on 25 of their 30 field goals.
It was Oklahoma’s third straight victory, a streak that started last Thursday with an overtime win over then-No. 2 South Carolina. The Sooners visit No. 4 Texas on Sunday.
Lauren Ware had 15 points and Ny’Ceara Pryor added 12 for Texas A&M (8-9, 1-7). The Aggies have lost five straight, with four of them by at least 25 points to top-10 opponents Vanderbilt, Texas, LSU and Oklahoma.
NO. 11 OHIO STATE 81, WISCONSIN 58
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jaloni Cambridge scored 21 of her 29 points in the second half, Elsa Lemmila had 14 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks, and Ohio State beat Wisconsin.
Ohio State (19-3, 8-2 Big Ten) has won five straight against Wisconsin to lead the series 57-18.
Chance Gray added 10 points for the Buckeyes.
Cambridge scored 13 points in the last four minutes, 18 seconds of the third quarter, which included a 3-pointer that capped a 19-6 run and gave Ohio State a 56-45 lead going into the fourth. Cambridge then made a layup, a jumper and a 3 that pushed the lead to 18 with 8:27 left in the game.
Destiny Howell led Wisconsin (13-9, 5-6) with 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting, 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
NO. 12 TCU 79, KANSAS 77
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Olivia Miles had 20 points and six assists, Donovyn Hunter added 15 points, and TCU never trailed in a win over Kansas.
TCU starters Clara Silva and Marta Suarez fouled out 32 seconds apart on back-to-back offensive fouls with a little more than five minutes to play and Miles fouled out in the closing seconds. Suarez had 13 points and eight rebounds and Silva added nine points for TCU (20-2, 8-1 Big 12).
Kansas, which went into the game shooting 36% (second in the Big 12) from 3-point range, made a season-low two 3s on 12 attempts.
Jaliya Davis, the four-time reigning Big 12 freshman of the week, had 29 points — her ninth 20-point performance in 12 games played this season — and nine rebounds for Kansas (13-9, 3-7). The 6-foot-3 Davis, who made 11 of 19 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line Thursday, is averaging 22.7 points since she returned from a lower-leg injury on New Year’s Day in a 79-72 loss to West Virginia.
S’Mya Nichols added 24 points for the Jayhawks.
NO. 13 MICHIGAN STATE 86, PURDUE 65
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Grace VanSlooten scored 17 points, Kennedy Blair had 15 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals, and Michigan State beat Purdue.
Michigan State took control during a 12-0 run late in the first quarter to build a 27-12 lead. The Spartans also held Purdue to just eight points in the second quarter to extend their lead to 50-23 at the break. The Boilermakers were 2-of-16 shooting in the second quarter.
VanSlooten scored eight points in the third quarter and Michigan State’s lead did not drop below 20 points in the second half.
It was the most points Michigan State has scored in a Big Ten game this season.
Inés Sotelo added 12 points and Jalyn Brown scored 11 for Michigan State (19-2, 8-2 Big Ten). Former Boilermaker Rashunda Jones struggled in her return to West Lafayette after playing two seasons for Purdue. Jones was held to five points on 2-of-12 shooting for the Spartans.
Avery Gordon made 9 of 11 shots for 20 points to lead Purdue (11-10, 3-7). Madison Layden-Zay scored 18 points and made six 3-pointers. Hila Karsh added 10 points.
MISISSIPPI STATE 77, NO. 15 TENNESSEE 62
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kharyssa Richardson scored 21 points and Mississippi State downed Tennessee.
Richardson was 9 of 11 from the floor and scored 16 in the second half. Trayanna Crisp added 15 points to go with five rebounds and three steals. Madison Francis added 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, while Favour Nwaedozi notched 11 points, 14 rebounds and two steals.
It’s the second win of the season for the Bulldogs (16-6, 3-5 SEC) against a ranked opponent. The Volunteers won the earlier meeting between these sides 90-80 on Jan. 8.
It’s the first home loss and conference loss for the Vols (14-4, 6-1 SEC) after entering on a seven-game winning streak and the last remaining team undefeated in SEC play. Their previously slated game on Monday — a contest with No. 17 Ole Miss — was postponed due to weather.
With 2:31 left in the first half, the game was knotted at 26 points apiece. The Bulldogs closed on a 9-0 run with a pair of 3-pointers from Crisp, and continued with an 11-3 run at the start of the second half to build a 14-point lead at the 5:53 mark of the third quarter. The Bulldogs’ lead grew to as much as 20, and never dropped below double digits from that point on.
Talaysia Cooper led with 19 points for the Vols. Mia Pauldo had 13 and four steals, and Janiah Barker added 10 and six rebounds.
NO. 20 DUKE 74, MIAMI 58
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Toby Fournier scored 23 points, Taina Mair added 18 and Duke won on the road against Miami for its 12th straight win.
Fournier also had 11 rebounds for her fifth double double of the season. She shot 10 of 16 from the floor, 1 of 2 from 3-point range, and 2 of 8 from the free throw line before fouling out.
Jordan Wood scored 12 points for Duke.
Ra Shaya Kyle led Miami with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and added nine rebounds before fouling out. Gal Raviv added 16 points.
NO. 24 ALABAMA 68, NO. 23 GEORGIA 53
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Essence Cody scored 16 points and Ta’Mia Scott added 13 for Alabama in a win over Georgia.
Cody, who put up 10 points in the first half, shot 6 for 7 from the field and a perfect 4 for 4 from the free throw line. Karly Weathers scored 11 points, eight rebounds and two steals and blocks each. Jessica Timmons added 10 points and eight rebounds for Alabama (19-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference).
Mia Woolfolk scored 13 points for the Bulldogs (18-4, 4-4) before fouling out. Rylie Theuerkauf added 11. Dani Carnegie, who leads Georgia in scoring with a 19.2 points per game, was held to only six points.
