No. 7 LSU routs Niagara in Cayman Islands Classic with Angel Reese still out
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP) — Aneesah Morrow had 28 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 7 LSU, which once again was playing without Angel Reese, beat Niagara 99-65 in the Cayman Islands Classic on Friday.
Reese didn’t make the trip to the Cayman Islands and missed her third straight game for the defending national champions.
A smoke alarm emptied the gym before the game and delayed the tip by about 40 minutes and the Purple Eagles kept it close in the opening minutes, stealing an LSU inbounds pass and scoring to cut the Tigers’ lead to 7-6.
The Tigers (6-1) used a 21-0 run midway through the first half to pull away and led by as many as 42 at one point in the third.
No. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 101, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 19
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Kamilla Cardoso had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks as South Carolina won its record-tying 45th straight home game over Mississippi Valley State.
This one was never in doubt as the Gamecocks (5-0) led by double digits just five minutes in, by 40 at the half and held the Devilettes (1-5) to the fewest points allowed in coach Dawn Staley’s 16 seasons.
Te-Hina Paopao, an Oregon transfer, returned from missing a game with an ankle injury and shored up South Carolina’s outside shooting with two early 3-pointers to finish with 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Devilettes (1-5) lone highlight came early when they took a 2-0 lead.
No. 3 COLORADO 96, KENTUCKY 53
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — Aaronette Vonleh scored 19 points and No. 3 Colorado picked up another big win in the Paradise Jam tournament with a rout of Kentucky.
Jaylyn Sherrod added 15 points, Kindyll Wetta had 11 points, and Quay Miller and Tameiya Sadler each had 10 points for the Buffaloes (6-0), who shot a season-high 59.7% (37 of 62) in winning their sixth straight by double digits.
Eniya Russell had 14 points, Maddie Scherr added 13 points and Ajae Petty scored 11 points for the Wildcats (2-4), who committed 27 turnovers.
No. 16 KANSAS STATE 77, WESTERN KENTUCKY 61
ESTERO, Fla. (AP) — Serena Sundell scored a season-high 21 points, Ayoka Lee added 16 points and Kansas State beat Western Kentucky in the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Kansas State (5-0) will face either No. 18 North Carolina or Vermont on Saturday.
Sundell reached 20-plus points for the 13th time in her career — and first this season. She was 8 of 13 from the field with six rebounds and four assists for Kansas State, which has its highest ranking in the AP poll since the 2008-09 season.
Acacia Hayes scored 14 of her 29 points in the third quarter for Western Kentucky (5-2).
No. 18 NORTH CAROLINA 54, VERMONT 51
ESTERO, Fla. (AP) — Deja Kelly scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter to rally North Carolina to a win over Vermont in the Gulf Coast Showcase on Friday.
The Tar Heels trailed 45-34 with less that six minutes to play but it wasn’t until a 13-1 run that North Carolina took the lead.
Kayla McPherson made a layup to give her six points in the rally and put North Carolina up 50-49 with 1:47 to play. Kelly followed that up with a jumper before Emma Utterback cut it back to 52-51 with 42 seconds left, ending a 4 1/2-minute drought between baskets for the Catamounts.
The Tar Heels (5-0) ran down the clock and missed a jumper but the ball was given to North Carolina after a video review reversed the call. That led to a foul that sent Kelly to the line with six seconds left. She made the first for a 53-51 lead and then grabbed the rebound after she missed the second.
Utterback had 18 points for the Catamounts (3-2).
ALABAMA 78, No. 20 LOUISVILLE 73
KATY, Texas (AP) — Sarah Ashlee Barker led Alabama with 18 points and Aaliyah Nye scored the go-ahead basket in the final minute in leading the Crimson Tide to a win over Louisville in the Betty Chancellor Classic.
Barker fouled out with 1:27 to go and Louisville (4-1) tied the game with consecutive baskets. After Alabama (6-0) showed some patient ball movement, Nye hit a 3-pointer to snap the tie with 27 seconds left. Alabama finally sealed the win when Louisville’s Nyla Harris was called for a foul while setting a screen and Nye made two free throws with five seconds left for the final score.
No. 23 WASHINGTON STATE 90, MASSACHUSETTS 48
CANCUN, Mexico (AP) — Eleonora Villa led a balanced attack with 15 points and Washington State rolled to a win over Massachusetts in the Cancun Challenge.
The Cougars (7-0) shot 54% (35 of 65), outrebounded UMass, which shot 33%, 42-28 and had 27 assists on 35 baskets.
Bella Murekatete scored 13 points for WSU. Alex Covill added 12 points and Charlisse Leger-Walker and Beyonce Bea both had 11.
Stefanie Kulesza had 20 points and 11 rebounds for UMass (1-6).
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