Women’s Top 25 capsules: A’ja Wilson scores 33, No. 3 South Carolina tops Rutgers 78-68

A’ja Wilson scored a career-high 33 points, Lindsey Spann added 17 and No. 3 South Carolina survived a serious test before beating Rutgers 78-68 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Florida.

Wilson went 15 for 17 from the foul line for the Gamecocks (5-0), who won their 16th consecutive game going back to last season.

Rutgers was within 63-60 midway through the fourth, but South Carolina finished on a 15-8 run. Wilson topped her previous career-best by a point; she had 32 against Maryland on Nov. 13.

Tyler Scaife scored 20 for Rutgers (4-1).

(2) Texas 75, LSU 66: Ariel Atkins scored 17 points and Jatarie White added 14 to lead the Longhorns (4-0) to a win over the Lady Tigers (2-3) in the Las Vegas Shootout.

Atkins, who had four steals, made six of her eight attempts from the field.

Lashann Higgs added 13 points while Brooke McCarty had 11 points for the Longhorns.

Chloe Jackson scored a season-high 23 points and Raigyne Louis added 20 for LSU.

(4) Louisville 115, Murray State 51: Kylee Shook scored a career-high 21 points and fellow reserve Bionca Dunham also had career highs of 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Cardinals (6-0) to a rout of the Racers (1-4) in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Cardinals had a school record for points in the victory and got 76 points from their bench.

Twice previously, the Cardinals had scored 109 points in a game. That last time occurred against Coastal Carolina on Dec. 18, 1996

Abria Gulledge had 18 points to lead the Racers.

(6) Notre Dame 77, East Tennessee State 46: Jessica Shepard scored 15 points to lead four players in double figures, and the Fighting Irish (4-0) moved into the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase with a win over the Bucs (4-2).

Marina Mabrey scored 14 for Notre Dame, which outrebounded the Bucs 60-36.

Notre Dame never trailed, and held ETSU to 18 points in the second half.

Erica Haynes-Overton scored 13 points and Shy Copney scored 12 for the Bucs.

(7) Mississippi State 90, Columbia 54: Victoria Vivians scored 23 points while Teaira McCowan added 21 points and 10 rebounds to help the Bulldogs (5-0) rout the Lions (2-4) in Cancun, Mexico.

Mississippi State only led 22-20 after the first quarter and by eight at the half before blowing the game open in the third.

Camille Zimmerman had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead Columbia.

(9) Ohio State 104, Florida Gulf Coast 62: Kelsey Mitchell scored 34 points and became the NCAA all-time leader for 3-pointers made as the Buckeyes (6-1) routed the Eagles (6-1) in the Play4Kay Shootout in Las Vegas.

Mitchell hit six of her seven 3-pointers in the first half, moving past Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis for most all-time in NCAA history. The Buckeyes guard connected on her fifth one of the game with 6:41 left in the second quarter to move into first on the list. It was the 399th of her career.

The Buckeyes dominated the Eagles from the opening tip. Mitchell hit three 3-pointers as part of a 26-3 run to end the first quarter and Ohio State lead 32-9.

Rosemarie Julien and Taylor Gradinjan scored 15 points each to lead the Eagles.

(11) West Virginia 75, Drexel 42: Teana Muldrow scored 25 points, Kristina King had 10 points and nine rebounds, and the Mountaineers (5-0) beat the Dragons (2-3) to conclude the Paradise Jam, which was relocated to Melbourne, Florida.

Muldrow was 10 of 16 from the floor as the Mountaineers shot 56 percent overall, including 6 of 8 3-pointers. She reached 19 points early in the third as WVU led 44-25.

Chania Ray added 11 points for West Virginia and Katrina Pardee chipped it 10. Ashley Jones had six of the Mountaineers’ 20 assists.

Ray made all three of her 3-pointers in the first half and the Mountaineers had an 18-point lead by halftime. King capped the third quarter with a 3-point play and it was a 33-point advantage early in the fourth.

Kelsi Lidge led Drexel with four 3-pointers and 16 points.

(12) Tennessee 79, Oklahoma State 69: Mercedes Russell scored 25 points, Jaime Nared had a double-double and surpassed 1,000 career points and Lady Vols (5-0) defeated the Cowgirls (5-1) in a battle of unbeaten teams at the Cancun Challenge.

Nared, who scored the last 10 points as the Lady Vols opened up a 24-10 lead, had 21 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the 45th player in Tennessee history to reach 1,000 (1,005). Rennia Davis had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Tennessee led by double figures in every quarter but couldn’t shake the Cowgirls, who got 29 points from graduate transfer Loryn Goodwin and 11 points and 11 rebounds from Kaylee Jensen.

(13) Florida State 101, Sacred Heart 52: Shakayla Thomas had 28 points and eight rebounds, Chatrice White and Ama Degbeon each had a double-double, and the Seminoles (5-0) breezed by the Pioneers (2-3) in Tallahassee, Florida.

Thomas’ 18th career 20-point game helped Florida State to its first 5-0 start since the 2012-13 season.

White finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Degbeon had 11 points and 13 boards. Imani Wright added 20 points for Florida State, which had 24 assists on 38 field goals and outrebounded Sacred Heart 56-35. AJ Alix was three assists shy of the program’s single-game record of 15.

Erin Storck led Sacred Heart with 16 points and four 3-pointers. Adrianne Hagood added 12 points for the Pioneers, who were 15-of-56 shooting.

(14) Stanford 74, Belmont 53: Alanna Smith had 23 points and 11 rebounds and the Cardinal (4-2) beat the Bruins (4-2) in the Play4Kay Showcase.

Smith was 10 of 16 from the field for Stanford.

Alexa Romano made half her 10 shots and scored 11 for Stanford.

(15) Maryland 89, Kennesaw State 35: Blair Watons hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points, Kaila Charles added 18 and the Terps (4-2) rolled to a win over the Lady Owls (1-5) in the Miami Thanksgiving Tournament in Coral Gables, Florida.

The Terps, who play Miami on Sunday, took care of this one quickly. Six different players scored in a 15-0 run in the first quarter that produced a 19-2 lead. Maryland then had an 8-0 burst that turned into a 25-2 run in the second quarter and led 47-15 at the half.

Breanna Hoover had nine points for the Lady Owls, who shot 23 percent.

(17) South Florida 82, Washington State 45: South Florida opened on a 19-0 run, and the Bulls (5-0) rolled past the Cougars (1-4) in the quarterfinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase.

Kitija Laska scored 23 points for USF, which didn’t give up a point until early in the second quarter and led 35-8 at the half. The eight points matched the fewest allowed by the Bulls in a half against a Division I opponent, last done when they topped Georgetown in 2013.

Maria Jespersen scored 15 and Laura Ferreira added 14 for USF.

Louise Brown scored nine points for Washington State. Borislava Hristova scored all eight of Washington State’s first-half points.

USF guard Enna Pehadzic scored seven points in her collegiate debut, after sitting out last season with a right knee injury.

(20) Marquette 87, Montana 68: Natisha Hiedeman made six 3-pointers and scored 21 points, Allazia Blockton had 17 points and the Golden Eagles (2-2) beat the winless Grizzlies (0-5) in the Cancun Challenge.

Marquette closed the first quarter on a 9-2 run for a 12-point lead. Montana was within seven points in the second quarter but 3-pointers by Hiedeman, Isabelle Spingola and Hiedeman made it 38-22. The Golden Eagles led by 20 at the break with 17 points from Hiedeman and Blockton’s 10.

McKenzie Johnston scored 13 points for Montana.

(21) California 87, Manhattan 66: Asha Thomas had nine of California’s 17 3-pointers, both school records, and the Golden Bears (3-1) rolled to a win over the Jaspers (1-3) in the Cal Classic in Berkeley, California.

Thomas had five triples in the first quarter when Cal opened a 26-17 lead and finished with a career-high 29 points. Kianna Smith had four 3s and 17 points to go with 12 assists, all career highs, and CJ West had a career-best 12 points.

Cal’s first three shots were Thomas hitting from long distance but an 8-0 run gave the Jaspers an 11-9 lead. The Golden Bears then scored 12 straight, beginning and ending with Thomas treys.

The Golden Bears finished 17 of 27 behind the arc, Thomas going 9 of 14 and Smith 4 of 5.

Kayla Grimme had 16 points and nine rebounds for Manhattan.

(23) Missouri 73, Coppin State 50: Sophie Cunningham scored 15 points, Cierra Porter added 12 and the Tigers (4-1) rolled to a victory over the Eagles (1-4) in the Cal Classic.

Cunningham was 4 of 7 from the field and made all five of her free-throw attempts. Porter was 5-of-9 shooting and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Jordan Frericks chipped in nine points for Missouri.

Genesis Lucas scored 19 points to lead Coppin State.

Green Bay 61, (24) Arizona State 48: Allie LeClaire scored 18 points, Jessica Lindstrom added 17 and the Phoenix (5-0) rolled to a victory over the Sun Devils (4-2) at the Cancun Challenge.

LeClaire made 8 of 11 from the field, and Lindstrom was 7-of-14 shooting and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Green Bay shot 51 percent from the field and outrebounded the Sun Devils 39-23.

Robbi Ryan and Jamie Ruden came off the bench, combining for 25 points to lead Arizona State, which lost to seventh-ranked Mississippi State 65-57 in a tournament opener on Thursday.