No. 14 Kentucky stays unbeaten, defeats Arizona State 77-61
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Clara Strack scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Teonni Key had 16 points and 13 rebounds and No. 14 Kentucky defeated Arizona State 77-61 on Tuesday in the Music City Classic to remain unbeaten.
Kentucky nearly had four players with double-doubles as Georgia Amoore added 20 points and nine rebounds and Amelia Hassett had eight points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats (6-0), who shot 42% and scored 13 points off 14 Arizona State turnovers.
Jalyn Brown scored 16 points and Nevaeh Parkinson added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Sun Devils (3-3). Arizona State shot just 30%.
The Sun Devils cut a 19-point deficit to 11 after three quarters but a 6-0 burst with baskets by Key, Amoore and Strack built the lead back to 15 midway through the fourth.
NO. 19 ILLINOIS 75, MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE 55
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Genesis Bryant scored 27 points, Kendall Bostic secured her third double-double this season with 12 points and 11 rebounds and No. 19 Illinois beat Maryland Eastern Shore in the Music City Classic.
Illinois (6-0) moved to 6-0 for the second time under third-year coach Shauna Green.
Illinois scored the opening nine points of the game and took a double-digit lead for good with 2:11 left in the first quarter when Makira Cook made a 3-pointer to begin 13-2 run. UMES scored 13 straight points midway through the second quarter to get as close as 32-22, but Cook answered with a basket to end Illinois’ three-minute drought.
Bryant finished the first half with 14 points and Cook added 13 to help Illinois build a 43-26 lead. The pair combined to make seven of Illinois’ 14 field goals. UMES was 9 of 36 (25%), including 0 of 7 from 3-point range at halftime.
Illinois also got 15 points from Cook and a career-high 11 rebounds from Brynn Shoup-Hill. Bryant, who reached double figures in the first quarter, scored 20-plus for the first time this season.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 75, NO. 21 OREGON 70
LAIE, Hawaii (AP) — Brooklyn Meyer had 19 points and eight rebounds, Paige Meyer added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists and South Dakota State beat No. 21 Oregon in the Hawaii North Shore Showcase.
Haleigh Timmer made a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left to give South Dakota State a 72-66 lead. The Jackrabbits turned it over on their next possession and Amina Muhammad made a fast-break layup to get Oregon within 72-70.
Timmer made 1 of 2 free throws with 24.7 seconds left for a 73-70 lead. After a timeout, Peyton Scott was short on a 3-point attempt and Madison Mathiowetz added two free throws at the other end for a two-possession lead.
The game featured nine ties and nine lead changes.
Timmer finished with 15 points for South Dakota State (4-2). Madysen Vlastuin made all three of her 3-point attempts and scored 11 points.
Deja Kelly scored 19 points and Muhammad had 10 points and eight rebounds for Oregon (6-2), which was coming of a 74-58 loss to Georgia Tech.
NO. 23 ALABAMA 73, CLEMSON 39
NICEVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Zaay Green had 17 points and six assists, Essence Cody added 15 points and nine rebounds, and No. 23 Alabama beat Clemson to claim the Emerald Coast Classic’s Bay Bracket.
Green and Cody combined to make 14 field goals, while Clemson was held to 12-of-47 shooting (26%). The Tigers made just 1 of 10 shots in the fourth quarter.
Alabama was coming off an 83-33 victory over Alabama State on Monday after holding the Hornets to single-digit points in the first (8), third (7) and fourth (6) quarters. The Crimson Tide kept it rolling against Clemson, limiting the Tigers to 14 first-half points.
Alabama scored the opening four points against Clemson and led throughout. Clemson’s longest run was 5-0 to get within 32-19 early in the third quarter.
Aaliyah Nye scored 14 points, and Sarah Ashlee Barker had 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals for Alabama (8-0).
Green scored 12 points in the first half and Cody added nine as Alabama led 29-14 at the break.
Mia Moore was the lone double-digit scorer for Clemson (4-2) with 11 points.
NO. 25 NEBRASKA 84, KANSAS CITY 38
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Callin Hake scored 10 of 16 of her points in the first half when No. 25 Nebraska took early control, Alexis Markowski added a double-double and the Cornhuskers went on to beat Kansas City.
Hake finished with 16 points, hitting 5 of 9 3-point attempts. Markowski had 10 points and 10 rebounds for her 43rd double-double. Alberte Rimdal scored 15 points and had a three 3-pointers. Britt Prince scored 13 points and Amiah Hargrove added 10 points.
Emani Bennett was the only Roo to score in double figures with 11 points.
Nebraska (6-1) shot only 38% but that was still way ahead of Kansas City’s 22%. The Cornhuskers shot better from the arc at 12 of 29 for 41% while the Roos (2-5) hit just 1 of 14 and had 22 turnovers. Nebraska’s bench outscored Kansas City’s 40-8.