Women’s Top 25 roundup: North Carolina hands N.C. State its first loss

Stephanie Watts scored 20 points to help North Carolina upset No. 7 North Carolina State 64-51 on Sunday in Raleigh, North Carolina, handing the first loss to the nation’s last unbeaten team.

Janelle Bailey added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Tar Heels (14-9, 5-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who knocked off top-ranked Notre Dame last week. This time, they went on the road against a longtime rival in front of a sellout crowd and took over in the third quarter to earn a fourth straight win.

N.C. State (21-1, 8-1) came in leading the ACC and as the only unbeaten team in Division I on the men’s or women’s side.

No. 4 OREGON 102, COLORADO 43: Ruthy Hebard made all 10 of her shots and scored 24 points as Oregon routed Colorado in Eugene.

The Ducks (21-1, 10-0 Pac-12) won their 14th in a row. They scored the first 16 points of the game and led 27-2 after the first quarter.

Hebard had her second perfect shooting game this season, and also had 12 rebounds. Maite Cazorla added 16 points, all in the first half, and Satou Sabally had 15.

Oregon shot 40 of 69 (58 percent).

Mya Hollingshed had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Colorado (10-11, 0-10), which lost its 10th in a row.

No. 5 NOTRE DAME 90, GEORGIA TECH 50: Marina Mabrey scored 20 points to lead four teammates in double figures as Notre Dame had four big runs in a rout of cold-shooting Georgia Tech in South Bend, Indiana.

Mabrey hit seven of 10 shots, including 6 of 7 from beyond the arc, and had a team-high five assists. Jackie Young had 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, Jessica Shepard scored 13 points and Arike Ogunbowale added 12 for the Fighting Irish (21-2, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).

The Irish had runs of 8-0, 10-0 and 24-0 over two quarters to take a 54-13 halftime lead and a 9-0 run on three of Mabrey’s 3-pointers to lead 74-30 heading into the fourth quarter.

Elizabeth Dixon had 12 points for Georgia Tech (13-9, 3-6).

No. 6 MISSISSIPPI STATE 65, ALABAMA 49: Anriel Howard scored 24 points, Teaira McCowan added 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Mississippi State beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Howard made 9 of 12 shots and also had seven rebounds. McCowan posted her 17th double-double of the season.

Mississippi State (21-1, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) controlled the paint, outscoring Alabama by 18 points inside.

The Bulldogs led almost the entire way, shooting 55 percent in the first half while taking a 12-point lead.

Cierra Johnson scored 15 for Alabama (11-11, 3-6).

No. 9 OREGON STATE 71, No. 14 UTAH 63: Destiny Slocum scored 20 points and Oregon State used a strong fourth quarter to beat Utah in Corvallis, Oregon.

Mikayla Pivec and Aleah Goodman each scored 12 points for the Beavers (19-3, 9-1 Pac-12).

Megan Huff had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Sarah Porter added 11 points with three 3-pointers for the Utes (18-3, 7-3), who lost their second straight game to a top 10 team.

No. 10 MARQUETTE 93, DEPAUL 87: Allazia Blockton scored 25 points and added a crucial three-point play as Marquette held off DePaul in Chicago for its 10th straight win.

The Golden Eagles (19-3, 10-0 Big East) led by 13 in the third quarter, but DePaul (15-7, 6-4) chipped away at the deficit and tied the game with 3:42 left in the fourth on a layup by Kelly Campbell. Blockton, the reigning Big East Player of the Year, gave Marquette a three-point lead with her basket and the foul with 2:01 left, and the hosts couldn’t answer.

Marquette used a 10-0 run late in the first quarter to take control, with Amani Wilborn capping the burst by powering in a put-back layup plus the foul. DePaul made only one basket in the final six minutes of the first half and trailed 39-27 at the break.

No. 13 IOWA 81, PENN STATE 61: Megan Gustafson had 30 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for her 20th double-double this season, and 75th of career, and Iowa beat Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Gustafson was named the Big Ten player of the week on Monday for the ninth time this season, tying the conference record for weekly awards in a career with 19. She was 13 of 18 from the field against Penn State.

Makenzie Meyer added 18 points for Iowa (17-5, 8-3 Big Ten), which is off to its best start in conference play since the 2014-15 team made a trip to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Teniya Page scored 17 points and became the sixth player in program history to reach the 2,000-point plateau for Penn State (10-11, 3-7).

No. 16 SOUTH CAROLINA 87, ARKANSAS 79: Freshmen reserves Destanni Henderson and Victaria Saxton had career days, scoring 19 points apiece, and South Carolina took over in the fourth quarter to defeat Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Saxton was perfect, going 7 for 7 from the field and 5 for 5 from the foul line, and grabbed nine rebounds. Henderson was 7 of 11 with two 3-pointers, both in the fourth quarter when she also had a critical 3-point play and scored 12 points. Saxton had 10 points in the fourth quarter when the Gamecocks had their biggest quarter of the season, outscoring Arkansas 35-23.

South Carolina (16-5, 8-1 Southeastern Conference), which has won 12 of 13 overall and 10 straight in the series, was 12 of 21 from the field and 8 of 12 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

Chelsea Dungee had a career-high 32 points, her third straight game with at least 25 points, for the Razorbacks (16-7, 5-4) and Malica Monk had 25, just six in the second half.

MINNESOTA 50, No. 17 RUTGERS 46: Kenisha Bell and Destiny Pitts both scored nine fourth-quarter points and Minnesota held off visiting Rutgers, the Big Ten leader.

Bell finished with 19 points, nine at the free-throw line, Pitts had 14, Brunson 13 and Taiye Bello had 11 points with a career-high 21 rebounds for her ninth double-double this season for the Gophers (15-7, 4-7).

The Scarlet Knights (17-5, 9-2) saw their conference lead cut to a half-game over No. 11 Maryland (8-2), which plays last-place Illinois Monday.

No. 19 KENTUCKY 62, FLORIDA 51: Rhyne Howard scored 16 points and Kentucky took advantage of 24 Florida turnovers to beat the Gators in Lexington, Kentucky.

Taylor Murray scored 13 points, 11 on free throws, and Maci Morris added 10 points and seven assists for the Wildcats, (18-5, 5-4 SEC), who were coming off back-to-back losses to ranked teams. The Wildcats scored 31 points off turnovers and had 16 second-chance points with a 16-7 edge on the offensive glass.

The Gators (5-17, 1-8) got 20 points from Danielle Rainey and 10 points and 14 rebounds from Delicia Washington but lost their fifth straight.

No. 20 TEXAS A&M 72, MISSISSIPPI 60: Chennedy Carter scored 28 points and Texas A&M turned up the defensive pressure in the second half to defeat Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi, for its seventh-straight win.

Shandricka Sessom scored 14 points and Jhileiya Dunlap had 10, on 5-for-5 shooting, as Ole Miss took a 37-30 lead at the half. The Aggies opened the second half with a 13-2 run to take the lead for good. They outscored the Rebels 18-6 with Kayla Wells, who finished with 17 points, scoring 12.

Ciera Johnson added 13 points for the Aggies (18-4, 7-2 Southeastern Conference).

Ole Miss (8-15, 2-7) has lost four straight.

No. 22 MICHIGAN STATE 74, PURDUE 66: Sidney Cooks and Shay Colley scored 20 points apiece and Michigan State scored the last eight points to defeat Purdue in East Lansing, Michigan, after blowing a 15-point, second-half lead.

After Tamara Farquhar’s putback with 57.3 seconds left tied the game at 66, Colley drove down the lane for a difficult layup. The Boilermakers missed three shots and had a critical five-second turnover after that. Cook and Colley both made a pair of free throws.

Jenna Allen became the fifth player in double figures with two late free throws for the Spartans (16-5, 6-5 Big Ten Conference), who have won three straight and are 12-0 at home.

Ae’Rianna Harris had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Purdue (15-9, 6-5), which lost its fourth straight. Karissa McLaughlin added 16 points.

No. 24 FLORIDA STATE 85, WAKE FOREST 61: Kiah Gillespie scored 12 of her 22 points in the first half when Florida State took control and the Seminoles rolled to a win over Wake Forest in Tallahassee, Florida.

Nicki Ekhomu added 17 points and Nausia Woolfolk had 14 as the Seminoles (19-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) put five players in double figures.

Gina Conti tied her career high with 19 points for the Demon Deacons (10-12, 1-8), who had 12 of their 18 turnovers in the first half when they fell behind 44-25.