GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Chloe Kitts finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and was named the tournament’s MVP, Tessa Johnson added 14 points and No. 5 South Carolina knocked off No. 1 Texas 64-45 on Sunday to win its third straight Southeastern Conference Tournament championship and ninth title in the last 11 years under coach Dawn Staley.
Sania Feagin and Joyce Edwards each had 11 points for the Gamecocks, who boldly staked their claim to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
South Carolina (30-3) never trailed and blew the game open with a 19-2 run to start the second quarter to build a 33-16 lead at the break behind a stifling defense. The lead ballooned to 21 early in the fourth quarter and the Gamecocks were never threatened again.
The Gamecocks held All-American Madison Booker to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting to snap Texas’ 15-game win streak. Taylor Jones and Rori Harmon led Longhorns (31-3) with 14 points each.
Staley improved to 5-0 against coach Vic Schaefer in the SEC title games, although the previous four came when Schaefer coached at Mississippi State.
NO. 4 UCLA 72, NO. 2 USC 67
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Lauren Betts scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half Sunday and No. 4 UCLA allowed only four baskets over the final 12 minutes as they rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat No. 2 Southern California 72-67 in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.
It marked the first time the Bruins (30-2) beat their longtime cross-town rival in three games this season. USC won the previous meeting — and the outright regular-season title — nine days earlier at UCLA, and the Bruins made no secret they wanted a rematch.
They still needed an incredible defensive performance to turn the game. The Trojans missed 14 consecutive shots, starting late in the third quarter, and made only four baskets in the fourth as their 48-35 lead withered away.
JuJu Watkins finished with 29 points and six rebounds to lead USC (28-3), which had a nine-game winning streak snapped.
Kiki Rice and Londynn Jones each had 13 points for UCLA. Rice also had eight assists and Betts had five rebounds, four blocks and four steals to win the tourney’s Most Outstanding Player Award.
NO. 3 UCONN 82, VILLANOVA 54
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 21 of her 23 points in the first half and No. 3 UConn held Villanova without a field goal for more than 16 minutes to beat the Wildcats, advancing to the Big East championship game.
Sarah Strong added 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Huskies (30-3), who will be trying for their fifth consecutive Big East crown Monday night.
Bueckers put on a show for the huge crowd that included members of the Dallas Wings front office staff. The Wings have the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft next month. Bueckers scored from all over and helped UConn blow open a tight game toward the end of the first half.
UConn turned a four-point game into a 47-37 lead at the break.
Villanova (18-14), which was led by Maddie Webber’s 15 points, couldn’t get back within single digits the rest of the game.
UConn plays No. 23 Creighton for the championship Monday night.
NO. 11 DUKE 76, NO. 7 NC STATE 62
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Oluchi Okananwa had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 11 Duke rally from a 14-point deficit to beat No. 7 N.C. State for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title.
The win secured the Blue Devils’ first ACC title in a dozen years and their first under coach Kara Lawson.
Okananwa, who came off the bench to match her career high for scoring, was the voted the tournament’s MVP for third-seeded Duke (26-7), which took over after halftime against the tournament’s top seed and regular-season co-champion Wolfpack (26-6).
Ashlon Jackson also scored 22 for Duke.
Aziaha James scored 18 points for N.C. State, which scored the game’s first seven points and took its largest lead at 24-10 on her 3-pointer early in the second quarter.
NO. 8 TCU 64, NO. 17 BAYLOR 59
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tournament MVP Hailey Van Lith had 20 points, including a key bucket with 48.8 seconds left to give TCU a four-point lead, as top-seeded TCU beat No. 2 seed Baylor at the T-Mobile Center to win the program’s first Big 12 Championship.
The Horned Frogs won their first conference tournament title since 2005, when they were members of Conference USA.
TCU made its first appearance in the Big 12 title game, while Baylor leads the conference with 16 appearances and 11 titles (Oklahoma, which is now a member of the SEC, is second with four).
Sedona Prince had 12 points and 14 rebounds for No. 8 TCU (31-3). Madison Conner and Donovyn Hunter each had 11 points for the Horned Frogs.
No. 17 Baylor (27-7) was led by Aaronette Vonleh with 20 points. They also got 13 from Sarah Andrews and 12 from Yaya Felder.
NO. 23 CREIGHTON 73, SETON HALL 44
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Lauren Jensen scored 19 points and No. 23 Creighton cruised past Seton Hall in the semifinals of the Big East Conference Tournament.
The second-seeded Bluejays get a chance to avenge its only two conference losses to UConn — by 11 and 19 points — when they face the No. 3 Huskies in the championship game on Monday.
Morgan Maly added 14 points, hitting a 3-pointer in her 51-straight game, for Creighton (27-5), which had to rally from 12 down to beat Georgetown in the quarterfinals before coasting to its first title game since 2016. Kennedy Townsend had 10 points. Jensen moved into third on the Creighton career scoring list with 2,029.
Faith Masonium scored 16 for the Pirates (22-9) and Jada Eads added 11.
The Bluejays hit 5 of 7 3-pointers in the first quarter, two by Jensen who had 10 points, and raced to a 23-6 lead. The Pirates were 3 of 13 with four turnovers. The Pirates bounced back, holding Creighton to 4 of 13 shooting with six turnovers and cut the deficit to 33-22 at halftime.
Creighton was 7 of 13 behind the arc and 6 of 14 inside.
NO. 25 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 84, ORAL ROBERTS 68
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Paige Meyer scored 26 point, Haleigh Timmer added 21 and Madison Mathiowetz had 20 and No. 25 South Dakota State continued its dominance in the Summit League with a win over Oral Roberts, the Jackrabbits’ third-straight title and 13th NCAA appearance.
The Jackrabbits have won 19 games in a row, 59-straight against league opponents and are 41-5 all-time in the Summit League tourney they have won 12 times since becoming eligible in 2009.
Top-seeded South Dakota State (29-3) won despite leading scorer Brooklyn Meyer (17.5 points a game) being held to 10 points, six in the fourth quarter. However, Meyer hauled down 15 rebounds and Mesa Byom had 13, both career highs. Paige Meyer had nine assists.
Taleyah Jones and Emily Robinson had 17 points apiece for the second-seeded Golden Eagles (24-8), who lost the regular-season matchups by five and 18 points. Jalei Oglesby and Ruthie Udoumoh both added 11. Oral Roberts was trying to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first in a dozen years.
The Associated Press
