Top 25 capsules: South Carolina wins SEC title, hands Mississippi State first loss

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A’ja Wilson helped eighth-ranked South Carolina become the first Southeastern Conference women’s program to win four consecutive tournament titles Sunday, snapping the nation’s longest winning streak at 32 with a 62-51 upset of No. 2 Mississippi State.

Wilson scored 16 points, and the Gamecocks beat Mississippi State yet again with a title on the line. South Carolina beat the Bulldogs last April for the program’s first national championship, and now the Gamecocks (26-6) have their third straight SEC tournament title at Mississippi State’s expense.

Mississippi State (32-1) had not lost since that national title game, coming into the SEC tournament final with the Bulldogs’ first regular season championship and hoping a third try at the tournament title would be the charm.

No. 4 Louisville 74, No. 5 Notre Dame 72

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Asia Durr scored 17 points and Sam Fuehring converted a key three-point play in the final minute, helping Louisville beat Notre Dame for its first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title.

Arica Carter had 16 points and hit four 3-pointers, Fuehring and Myisha Hines-Allen each added 15 points and Durr, the ACC player of the year, hit four free throws in the final seconds for the top-seeded Cardinals (32-2). They won their first conference tournament since 1993 in the Metro.

Jessica Shepard had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the second-seeded Fighting Irish (29-3). They won the tournament the previous four years.

No. 1 UConn 82, Tulane 56

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Katie Lou Samuelson scored 21 points to lead UConn to an 82-56 rout of Tulane in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.

The unbeaten Huskies saw two players leave the game with injuries. Crystal Dangerfield scored 14 points before going down with a right ankle injury in the third quarter. All-American Gabby Williams aggravated a long-standing hip injury and left the game before halftime. Both players returned from the locker room to the bench, but stayed there.

Napheesa Collier added 19 points and Azura Stevens chipped in with 15 points and nine rebounds for Connecticut (30-0), which has won 30 games for the 13th straight season and 23rd overall.

Kolby Morgan had 21 points to lead Tulane, which finishes its season at 14-17.

No. 3 Baylor 94, TCU 48

OKLAHOMA CITY – Kalani Brown scored 28 points and rolled past TCU in a record-setting Big 12 semifinal Sunday for its 27th straight victory.

The 46-point margin was the biggest in a Big 12 Tournament game, topping Iowa State’s 37-point victory over Nebraska in 2000.

Lauren Cox had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Alexis Morris scored a season-high 18 points for Baylor (30-1). Jordan Moore and Amy Okonkwo each scored 12 points for TCU (19-12).

Baylor will play No. 7 Texas in the championship. The Lady Bears won six straight conference tournament titles before losing to West Virginia in the final last year.

No. 7 Texas 68, West Virginia 55

OKLAHOMA CITY – Jatarie White scored 11 points to help Texas beat West Virginia in a Big 12 semifinal.

Ariel Atkins, Joyner Holmes and Alecia Sutton each scored 10 points for the Longhorns (26-5), who have won 11 of 12.

Naomi Davenport scored 17 points and Kristina King added 12 for West Virginia (21-11), which was the defending tournament champion.

Texas will play No. 3 Baylor for the title Monday night. Baylor defeated TCU 94-48 earlier Sunday in the other semifinal.

Baylor beat Texas for the tournament titles in 2015 and 2016. The Lady Bears defeated Texas 81-56 on Jan. 25 and 93-87 on Feb. 19 and will enter the championship game on a 27-game win streak.

No. 13 Ohio State 79, No. 17 Maryland 69

INDIANAPOLIS – Kelsey Mitchell scored 25 points and Ohio State beat Maryland to win the Big Ten women’s basketball tournament.

After trailing 22-17 at the end of the first quarter, Ohio State outscored Maryland 27-9 in the second period to take a 44-31 lead into the half. The Buckeyes started the second quarter with a 16-2 run before the Terrapins finally called timeout in an attempt to slow Ohio State’s momentum. The scoring onslaught gave the tournament’s top seeded Buckeyes the cushion they needed when the Terrapins made a run in the second half.

Maryland ended the third quarter on a 12-2 scoring run and continued to climb back into the game early on in the fourth. The Terrapins pulled within two points with about four minutes left to play in the game but the Buckeyes were too much for Maryland.

Stephanie Mavunga finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, Sierra Calhoun scored 13 and Linnae Harper added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

No. 20 South Florida 80, East Carolina 44

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Maria Jespersen scored 23 points and South Florida routed East Carolina in the American Athletic Conference quarterfinals.

Kitija Laksa added 21 points for the Bulls (25-6). They will face UCF on Monday.

Lashonda Monk had 11 points for East Carolina (16-15).

No. 25 Mercer 68, East Tennessee State 53

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Kahlia Lawrence scored 29 points and Mercer beat East Tennessee State in the Southern Conference championship to earn its first NCAA berth at the Division I level.

The Bears (30-2) reached 30 wins for the first time in school history and ran their record winning streak to 27. Alex Williams added 14 points for Mercer.

Erica Haynes-Overton had 12 points for ETSU (20-11).