No. 10 Oklahoma reaches SEC Tournament semifinals with 69-65 win over No. 12 Kentucky

By Canadian Press on March 7, 2025.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Payton Verhulst added 16 points and No. 10 Oklahoma battled back from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat No. 12 Kentucky 69-65 on Friday and advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals.

Sahara Williams chipped in with 13 points for Oklahoma, which has won nine straight.

The Sooners (25-6) will face two-time defending Southeastern Conference champion and fifth-ranked South Carolina, an 84-63 winner over Vanderbilt, on Saturday.

Georgia Amoore scored 29 points and Clara Strack added 12 points and 16 rebounds to lead Kentucky (22-7).

NO. 1 TEXAS 70, MISSISSIPPI 63

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — All-America forward Madison Booker scored 19 points, and No. 1 Texas held on to beat Mississippi in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Kyla Oldacre scored 12 points and Shay Holle added 11 for Texas (30-2), which stretched its winning streak to 14 games.

The Longhorns, the tournament’s No. 2 seed after losing a coin flip to South Carolina, will play either Florida or No. 9 LSU in Saturday’s semifinals.

Getting there was tougher than expected.

Texas led by 15 early in the third quarter when Ole Miss went more than eight minutes without a field goal, missing 13 straight shots. But the Longhorns could not pull away and Kirsten Deans began to get hot from beyond the arc, helping the Rebels get within two with 4 1/2 minutes left.

Texas outscored Mississippi 10-5 to close the game.

Deans finished with 20 points to lead the Rebels (20-10), and Madison Scott had 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

NO. 2 SOUTHERN CAL 84, INDIANA 79

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — JuJu Watkins scored 31 points, Kiki Iriafen added 21 and each grabbed 10 rebounds in their first Big Ten Tournament games, leading the Trojans victory over the Hoosiers.

The Trojans (27-2) have now won all three games they’ve played in Indiana this season and will take an eight-game winning streak into Saturday’s semifinal contest against either fourth-seeded Maryland or fifth-seeded Michigan.

Yarden Garzon had 23 points to lead the Hoosiers (19-12), making five of her six baskets from 3-point range. She also had eight rebounds and Shay Ciezki added 15 points as Indiana’s two-game winning streak ended.

NO. 4 UCLA 85, NEBRASKA 74

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Lauren Betts finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks and Gabriela Jaquez added a season-high 23 points and nine rebounds as No. 4 UCLA reached the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals with a victory over Nebraska.

Kiki Rice had 14 points and nine assists to help the Bruins (28-2) rebound from last weekend’s loss to crosstown rival Southern California. UCLA will face No. 13 Ohio State, a 60-59 winner over three-time defending tourney champ Iowa, the No. 11 seed.

Nebraska (21-11) played its third game in three days after earning the No. 10 seed. Britt Prince led the Cornhuskers with 24 points and Alex Markowski scored 11.

The Bruins struggled to pull away until breaking a 47-47 tie early in the third quarter with a 13-2 run. They finally sealed it with seven straight points to make it 71-60 with 5:36 to play.

NO. 5 SOUTH CAROLINA 84, VANDERBILT 63

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Chloe Kitts had 25 points and 10 rebounds as the Gamecocks held off a furious second-half rally from the Commodores to win in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.

MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 15 off the bench and Sania Feagin added 13 points for South Carolina (28-3), which has won five straight.

Coach Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks, the Southeastern Conference’s top seed, appeared plenty motivated to win a third straight tournament title. They came out of the gates strong, shooting a blistering 67% from the field in the first half to build a 48-23 lead at the break.

NO. 6 NOTRE DAME 73, CALIFORNIA 64

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo scored 25 points and No. 6 Notre Dame took over down the stretch to beat California in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Olivia Miles added 14 points and six assists for the second-seeded Fighting Irish (26-4), the tournament’s reigning champion. Notre Dame had won the regular-season meeting in a blowout, but trailed by six midway through the third quarter and led by just three with 7 1/2 minutes left in the game.

Lulu Twidale scored 16 points and made four 3-pointers for the seventh-seeded Golden Bears (25-8). Marta Suarez added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

NO. 7 NC STATE 73, GEORGIA TECH 72

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Aziaha James hit two free throws with 7.1 seconds left to help the Wolfpack hold off the Yellow Jackets in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

James scored 16 points for the top-seeded Wolfpack (25-5), who had a tough grind to advance to Saturday’s semifinals. N.C. State trailed by nine in the first quarter and neither team led by more than four in the fourth.

But this one ended unceremoniously for the ninth-seeded Yellow Jackets (22-10), who failed to get a shot off before the horn on the final possession.

NO. 8 TCU 69, COLORADO 62

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Hailey Van Lith made five 3-pointers and scored 24 points, Sedona Prince added 18 points before fouling out, and eighth-ranked TCU held on for a victory over Colorado in the quarterfinals of the women’s Big 12 Tournament.

Donovyn Hunter also scored 13 points for the top-seeded Horned Frogs (29-3), who blew most of a 12-point fourth-quarter lead before holding on to win their eighth straight overall. That sent them into Saturday night’s semifinal against No. 16 West Virginia, which rallied for a 73-69 victory over No. 20 Kansas State earlier in the day.

Jade Masogayo hit her first eight shots and finished with 22 points for the No. 9 seed Buffaloes (20-12), who are left clinging to the NCAA Tournament bubble. Kennedy Sanders added 11 points and Kindyll Wetta had nine.

TCU turned a 36-32 halftime lead into a 52-40 advantage heading into the fourth quarter, but the Buffaloes responded with a 14-5 run. Johanna Teder’s 3-pointer got Colorado within 57-54 with less than five minutes to play.

The Horned Frogs answered by scoring on four consecutive possessions.

NO. 9 LSU 101, FLORIDA 87

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Aneesah Morrow scored 36 points on 15-of-21 shooting while hauling in 14 rebounds as ninth-ranked LSU defeated Florida to reach the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

The senior forward’s 36 points were the most ever by an LSU player in conference tournament history and tied for the ninth-most overall.

Mikaylah Williams chipped in with 16 points and eight assists for the Tigers, who played without leading scorer Flau’jae Johnson, who is out for the tournament with a shin injury.

The Tigers (28-4) didn’t need their star on this night.

Morrow set the tone in the first half with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds, helping the Tigers build a 53-34 halftime lead. Most of Morrow’s points came on feeds to the low post, mid-range jumpers and off of offensive rebounds.

Liv McGill had 16 points and Jeriah Warren had 14 to lead Florida (16-17).

NO. 11 DUKE 61, LOUISVILLE 48

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Oluchi Okananwa came off the bench to score 13 points and No. 11 Duke cruised to a victory over Louisville in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament at First Horizon Coliseum.

The third-seeded Blue Devils (24-7), who have won four in a row, will play No. 2 seed Notre Dame in Saturday’s semifinals.

Okananwa made 4 of 7 shots with a 3-pointer and 4 of 5 free throws for Duke. Reigan Richardson added 12 points and Ashlon Jackson scored 11. ACC rookie of the year Toby Fournier scored 10 and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench.

Reserve Mackenly Randolph scored 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting to lead the sixth-seeded Cardinals (21-10). Olivia Cochran had 11 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double this season.

Six different players had a basket, and the Blue Devils led 15-11 lead after one quarter.

NO. 13 OHIO STATE 60, IOWA 59

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Cotie McMahon converted two free throws with six seconds left to give 13th-ranked and third-seeded Ohio State a win over Iowa to advance to Saturday’s semifinals of the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Buckeyes (24-5) will battle second-seeded and No. 4-ranked UCLA, an 85-74 winner over Nebraska. Ohio State lost at then-No. 1-ranked UCLA during the regular season, 65-52.

McMahon hit the first of two free throws with 3:04 left to give the Buckeyes a five-point lead, but Sydney Affolter knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Hawkeyes in front, 59-58 with 1:18 left.

Ohio State turned the ball over with 48 seconds left, but Kylie Feuerbach missed from behind the arc and Taylor Thierry got the rebound and, after a timeout, McMahon drew the foul and hit both free throws. Affolter got the ball on the left wing and drove the baseline for a contested layup with a second left that did not fall and the Hawkeyes maintained possession and in-bounded the ball with 0.7 seconds left. Hannah Stuelke got a hurried shot off but it did not fall as time expired.

McMahon scored six of Ohio State’s final nine points and finished with 18 points, going 4 of 6 from the free-throw line. Thierry scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and collected five steals. Ajae Petty pulled down 12 rebounds.

Iowa had won the previous three Big Ten Tournament titles. Stuelke, Affolter and Lucy Olsen each scored 14 points to lead the Hawkeyes (22-10) and Ava Heiden added 10 points off the bench.

NO. 14 NORTH CAROLINA 60, NO. 22 FLORIDA ST. 56

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Alyssa Ustby scored 12 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and freshman Lanie Grant made two free throws with 7.3 seconds left to give the Tar Heels a win over the Seminoles in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Reniya Kelly, who missed the previous three games with an injury, hit a jumper with just over a minute remaining to give the Tar Heels the lead and she connected again near the foul line to make it 58-54 with 20.4 seconds left.

Ta’Niya Latson made two free throws for the Seminoles with 11.4 to go but then they had to foul three times before Grant went to the line. The 2024 Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year and early enrollee at UNC, calmly swished the clinchers after a timeout to ice her.

MICHIGAN 98, NO. 15 MARYLAND 71

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jordan Hobbs scored 23 points and Michigan used a 25-0 first-half run and a dominating second half to crush No. 15 Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday.

Freshmen Syla Swords and Olivia Olson added 22 and 20, respectively.

The fifth-seeded Wolverines face league champion and second-ranked USC in the semifinals on Saturday. The Trojans won the first meeting 78-58 on Dec. 29.

Hobbs and Olson both had 10 points in the big run that saw the Wolverines race to a 31-6 lead. After the Terrapins had a 16-0 run to close within one late in the first half, Michigan outscored Maryland 57-34 in the second half.

The Wolverines shot 61%, making 12 of 23 3-pointers, to score the most points of any Maryland opponent this season.

Sarah Te-Biasu scored 25 points for the fourth-seeded Terrapins (23-7), which won the first meeting 85-77. Christina Dalce added 19 points.

NO. 16 WEST VIRGINIA 73, NO. 20 KANSAS ST. 69

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — JJ Quinerly made a critical steal to set up her game-winning basket and scored 24 points to lift No. 16 West Virginia to a 73-69 win over No. 20 Kansas State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Friday.

The Wildcats attempted a sideline inbounds lob into the key when Quinerly soared in to intercept the ball with a minute to go. She then drove into the lane for a floater that put West Virginia on top 71-69 with 44.2 seconds remaining.

Temira Poindexter missed a wide-open 3 from the right sideline before Sydney Shaw iced it with two free throws.

The fourth-seeded Mountaineers face No. 8 TCU, the top seed, in Saturday’s semifinals.

Jordan Harrison scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half for West Virginia (24-6). Shaw added 13 points and Jordan Thomas 11.

NO. 17 BAYLOR 69, IOWA STATE 63

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jada Walker scored 18 points to help 17th-ranked Baylor beat No. 7 seed Iowa State to advance to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.

Baylor led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter as Iowa State went without a field goal for five-plus minutes. But the Cyclones closed the half on a 9-0 run to get within 38-33. Iowa State also ended the first quarter on a 9-0 run to shrink a 14-point deficit.

Walker made a wide open 3-pointer from the corner with 4:20 remaining in the fourth to give Baylor a 63-61 lead. It snapped a string of 13 straight misses from 3-point range. Yaya Felder added a floater on the baseline and Walker sank a jumper from the free-throw line to make it 67-61 with 2:10 left.

Iowa State went scoreless for three minutes before Audi Crooks pulled her team within 67-63 with 1:23 left. Walker sealed it at the line.

Aaronette Vonleh, Bella Fontleroy and reserve Aliyah Matharu each scored 12 points for Baylor (26-6), which also beat Iowa State 67-52 on Feb. 22.

Crooks led Iowa State (22-11) with 32 points on 14-of-18 shooting.

NO. 21 OKLAHOMA STATE 62, TEXAS TECH 59

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Sophomore Stailee Heard scored 24 of her 34 points in the second half to rally No. 21 Oklahoma State to a victory over Texas Tech in a Big 12 Conference Tournament quarterfinal at T-Mobile Center.

The third-seeded Cowgirls (25-5) will play No. 2 seed Baylor in Saturday’s semifinals.

Tenin Magassa had a three-point play and a layup and Heard added two free throws as the Cowgirls scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to take a 46-40 lead. They never trailed again, but the 14th-seeded Lady Raiders (17-17) had a shot to tie it until Jada Wynn missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

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The Associated Press

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