Lucy Olsen scored 28 points and host Iowa had a strong fourth quarter to hand No. 4 Southern California its first loss in Big Ten Conference play, 76-69 on Sunday in Iowa City.
In a game involving wide early swings of momentum, JuJu Watkins ended up with 27 points for the Trojans (19-2, 9-1 Big Ten).
Addison O’Grady’s 13 points, Sydney Affolter’s 11 points and Hannah Stuelke’s 10 points were key for Iowa (15-7, 5-6), which broke free from a 53-all tie and outscored the Trojans 25-19 in the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes prevailed on the same day they retired Caitlin Clark’s No. 22 jersey.
Iowa broke out to a 23-4 lead and USC didn’t reach double digits until nearly 15 minutes passed, but the Trojans were within 25-23 with 1:54 left in the first half. Watkins had two baskets in the last 20 seconds before the break, pushing USC to a 29-28 lead.
No. 2 South Carolina 83, Auburn 66
Reserves Joyce Edwards and MiLaysia Fulwiley notched 18 and 17 points, respectively, as the Gamecocks defeated the visiting Tigers in Columbia, S.C.
Chloe Kitts’ 13 points and nine rebounds and Bree Hall’s 10 points also boosted the Gamecocks (21-1, 9-0 Southeastern Conference). South Carolina shot 57.1 percent from the field and 14-of-16 from the foul line.
DeYona Gaston scored 31 points on 14-for-22 shooting for Auburn (11-11, 2-7), which was charged with 23 turnovers. The Tigers lost their fourth straight road game.
No. 3 Notre Dame 89, Louisville 71
Hannah Hidalgo poured in 34 points and the Fighting Irish put together a big second half to beat the host Cardinals.
Olivia Miles finished with 17 points and Liatu King had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Irish (19-2, 10-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who pulled away from a 39-38 halftime lead. Notre Dame shot 55 percent from the field in the first of two meetings with Louisville, which had a two-game winning streak end.
Louisville (15-7, 8-3) received 17 points from Tajianna Roberts, 14 points from Olivia Cochran and 12 points from Jayda Curry. The Cardinals couldn’t take full advantage of Notre Dame’s 23 turnovers, shooting 35.8 percent from the floor.
No. 6 UConn 101, Butler 59
Paige Bueckers scored 18 points and six Huskies reached double figures as the team reached the 100-point mark for the third time this season in Hartford, Conn.
Ashlynn Shade and Azzi Fudd both scored 13 points, KK Arnold had 12, Sarah Strong provided 11 and Jana El Alfy finished with 10. UConn made 11 of 19 shots from 3-point range, three by Fudd, as the Huskies (21-2, 12-0 Big East) wound up with 27 assists on 40 field goals.
Kilyn McGruff drained five 3s on the way to 17 points for Butler (12-12, 2-9). Riley Makalusky had 10 points off the bench. Butler had 12 3s, but just nine 2-point buckets, and committed 22 turnovers.
Illinois 66, No. 14 Maryland 65
Genesis Bryant made two free throws with six seconds left to lift the Fighting Illini, who trailed with less than a minute to play, over the Terrapins in College Park, Md.
Bryant, who was 6-for-6 on free throws, scored 20 points. Berry Wallace had 14 points and Kendall Bostic added 13 points and 14 rebounds for Illinois (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten).
Kaylene Smikle’s 15 points and Shyanne Sellers’ 14 points led Maryland (17-5, 7-4), which lost for the fourth time in five games. Brynn Shoup-Hill’s 3-pointer at the 45-second mark gave Illinois a 64-63 lead, before Sellers connected with 14 seconds to give the Terrapins a brief advantage.
–Field Level Media
