Top 25 : Purdue survives Badgers

Katie Gearlds scored 26 points and No. 15 Purdue escaped with an 82-79 overtime win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals on Friday in Indianapolis.

Gearlds shot 8 for 18 from the field and 8 for 8 from the free-throw line.

Erin Lawless had 15 points and FahKara Malone added 13 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals for the Boilermakers (26-5).

Jolene Anderson scored 27 points for Wisconsin (19-12), but made a critical mistake late in overtime.

In the final minute of the extra period, Malone missed the second of two free throws and a jump ball gave Wisconsin, down 80-77, a chance to tie in the closing seconds.

Purdue’s defensive pressure forced Wisconsin out of its comfort zone, and Anderson, instead of going for the tie, made a driving layup with about three seconds left to cut Purdue’s lead to 80-79.

Gearlds was fouled and made two free throws at the other end with 1.2 seconds left to bump Purdue’s lead to 82-79. Wisconsin took the ball out under its basket and never got off a shot to tie.

(1) Duke 79, Virginia 58: At Greensboro, N.C., Abby Waner scored 17 of her 24 points in the first half to lead the Blue Devils (30-0) past the Cavaliers (17-14) in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

(2) Tennessee 81, South Carolina 63: At Duluth, Ga., Sidney Spencer scored 22 points and Alexis Hornbuckle added 17 to lead the Lady Vols (28-2) past the Gamecocks (17-14). Candice Parker added 10 points and 11 rebounds while sitting out much of the second half.

(4) North Carolina 90, Virginia Tech 60: At Greensboro, N.C., Camille Little scored 20 points and the Tar Heels (28-3) began their push for a third straight Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title by routing the Hokies (18-14).

(5) Ohio State 72, Indiana 60: At Indianapolis, three-time Big Ten player of the year Jessica Davenport scored 30 points and forward Star Allen had 15 to help the Buckeyes (27-2) continue their domination of the Hoosiers (18-13) with a victory in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.

(6) Maryland 75, Georgia Tech 59: At Greensboro, N.C., Crystal Langhorne scored 14 of her 18 points in the first half and the Terrapins (27-4) beat the Yellow Jackets (20-11) to advance to the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

(10) Georgia 72, Kentucky 40: At Duluth, Ga., Georgia held Kentucky scoreless for the first 8 minutes and the Bulldogs (25-5) rolled to a victory over the Wildcats (18-13) in the SEC tournament.

(11) LSU 52, Mississippi 46: At Duluth, Ga., Sylvia Fowles posted her 18th straight double-double and the Lady Tigers (25-6) withstood Mississippi’s second-half comeback to top the Rebels (21-10) in the SEC tournament.

(13) Vanderbilt 105, Florida 77: At Duluth, Ga., The Commodores (25-5) were 11 for 15 from 3-point range and shot 66 percent from the field overall as they defeated the Gators (9-22).

Christina Wirth led the Commodores with 19 points while making all five of her 3-pointers.

(22) Michigan State 77, Minnesota 68: At Indianapolis, freshman Allyssa DeHaan had 27 points and eight rebounds to lead the Spartans (23-7) to a victory over the Golden Gophers (16-15) in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.

(24) North Carolina State 76, Florida State 49: At Greensboro, N.C., Gillian Goring had a career-high 22 points and 19 rebounds and the Wolfpack (22-8) dominated the second half to beat the Seminoles (22-9) in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals.

Men

(11) Southern Illinois 71, Drake 59: At St. Louis, Jamaal Tatum and Matt Shaw had 19 points apiece and the Salukis (26-5) won their 12th in a row, a victory over the Bulldogs (17-15) in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.