Top 25 roundup: Francesco Pan leads Georgia Tech past No. 4 N.C. State

Francesca Pan scored 13 of her 30 points in the first six minutes of the third quarter and Georgia Tech built a double-digit lead and withstood a late rally to stun No. 4 North Carolina State 65-61 on Sunday in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Yellow Jackets (17-9, 8-7 ACC), who had lost six of their past eight games, trailed 30-25 at halftime after missing their last six field-goal attempts of the second quarter and being held scoreless for 3:38. But Pan got going in the third quarter, making 6 of 7 field-goal attempts to help Georgia Tech build a 49-38 lead.

N.C. State (22-3, 11-3), which started 22-1, lost at home for the second time in four days following a defeat to No. 9 Louisville on Thursday.

(3) Oregon 93, USC 67: In Los Angeles, Erin Boley scored 25 points, Ruthy Hebard added 22 and Satou Sabally had 18 to help Oregon rout Southern California.

Boley’s points and her seven 3-pointers were both season highs. Hebard and Sabally had 10 rebounds each to help the Ducks dominate the boards, 38-23. Sabrina Ionescu had 13 assists to go with 12 points – her fewest points since 10 against UConn earlier this month.

The Ducks (24-2, 13-1 Pac-12) pulled away to lead by 28 points in the fourth after USC kept it close early in the game.

Endyia Rogers led the Trojans (13-12, 5-9) with 21 points

(5) UConn 67, South Florida 47: In Tampa, Florida, Megan Walker scored 21 points and Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 20 Sunday to help UConn shrug off a slow start to beat South Florida and remain unbeaten in the American Athletic Conference.

The Huskies (21-3, 11-0) trailed by four at halftime, took the lead for good early in the third quarter and broke the game open by beginning the fourth quarter with a 15-2 run and holding USF (15-10, 7-4) to one field goal during a nine-minute stretch.

Aubrey Griffin came off the bench to score eight points, grab seven rebounds and key the Huskies defense with five steals.

In improving to 131-0 all-time against league opponents since formation of the AAC, UConn rebounded from an 18-point loss to top-ranked South Carolina on Monday. The Huskies have never lost to USF, going 30-0 in a series that dates to the 2002-03 season.

(18) Kentucky 73, (6) Mississippi State 62: In Lexington, Kentucky, Rhyne Howard scored 26 points and led a third-quarter surge that sent Kentucky over Mississippi State.

Howard had 11 points to help the Wildcats (19-5, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) outscore the Bulldogs 22-9 in the third period. Amanda Paschal and Howard hit consecutive 3-pointers as Kentucky closed the quarter on an 8-0 run.

Kentucky led 61-41 early in the fourth before Rickea Jackson’s 10 straight points helped MSU (22-4, 10-2) get within 10. Jaida Roper let the Wildcats maintain a safe cushion with six consecutive points down the stretch.

(8) Stanford 69, Colorado 66: In Boulder, Colorado, Kiana Williams hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, then stole the ball from Mya Hollingshed and sank a 40-footer at the buzzer to send eighth-ranked Stanford past Colorado.

Williams, whose 29 points and seven 3-pointers were both career highs, looked as stunned as the Buffaloes and their fans as her teammates swarmed her and celebrated in a pile in front of their bench while the officials went to the monitors to confirm the basket was good.

The Buffaloes (15-10, 4-10 Pac-12) were on the verge of their first win over a Top 25 team since 2016, but they were held without a basket over the final 3:06 after taking a 64-59 lead and they missed four of six free throws in the final 26 seconds with a chance to ice it.

The Cardinal (23-3, 12-2 Pac-12) won its fifth straight game, and just like its 76-68 overtime win against Colorado three weeks ago, last-second heroics were necessary to escape the Buffaloes’ upset bid.

(9) Louisville 82, Notre Dame 49: In Louisville, Kentucky, Dana Evans scored 18 points to lead Louisville to a victory over Notre Dame.

The Cardinals (23-3, 12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) made 7-of-9 shots during one stretch of the second quarter to build a 36-21 lead midway through the period. Louisville played unselfish, dishing out 13 assists on 17 baskets in the half.

Mik Vaughn led the Irish (10-16, 5-9) with 16 points.

(10) Maryland 106, Penn State 69: In University Park, Pennsylvania, Stephanie Jones scored 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds and Maryland clamped down defensively in the second half to roll to a win over Penn State.

The Terrapins, who only led 46-45 at halftime, won their 11th straight while the Nittany Lions lost their 11th straight.

Diamond Miller and Shakira Austin, who had eight rebounds, added 16 points apiece for Maryland (22-4, 13-2 Big Ten Conference),

Kamaria McDaniel led Penn State (7-19, 1-14) with 22 points, her 11th 20-point game of the season,

(12) Arizona 72, Washington State 57: In Tucson, Arizona, Pac-12 scoring leader Aari McDonald scored 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting and Arizona beat Washington State.

McDonald, a junior who came in averaging 20.5 points per game, has scored in double figures in 62 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the nation.

She scored 10 points in the opening quarter, closing the period with a 3-pointer for a 26-13 lead. The lead was still 13 at halftime and 15 after three quarters before an 11-2 run midway through the fourth quarter, including five points form McDonald, put Arizona State ahead by 24, 72-48, with 3:38 to go.

The Wildcats (21-4, 10-4) reached 10 conference wins for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Sam Thomas added 18 points and six assists for Arizona, which swept the season series from the Cougars (11-15, 4-10).

(13) DePaul 97, Xavier 65: In Chicago, Lexi Held scored 26 points and DePaul rolled past Xavier.

Held was only 1 of 7 from 3-point range but 6 of 7 otherwise and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line for the Blue Demons (24-3, 14-1 Big East), who have won five straight.

Donya Morris added 15 points and six assists, Chante Stonewall also scored 15 points with Deja Church adding 13 and Dee Bekelja 11. Kelly Campbell – like fellow senior Stonewall, playing her final game at McGrath-Phillips Arena – had eight assists to go with nine points.

A’riana Gray led the Musketeers (2-23, 1-13) with 20 points and nine rebounds. Carrie Gross added a career-high 17 points and Morgan Sharps had 13.

Duke 66, (14) Florida State 64: In Durham, North Carolina, Haley Gorecki scored 21 points, including two free throws with 3.5 seconds left, and Duke upset Florida State, ending a string of 13 straight losses against Top 25 teams.

Nicki Ekhomu’s long 3-point attempt from the top left went off the front of the rim as time expired.

Gorecki made a tough driving layup with 13.4 seconds to go and Ekhomu did the same at 9.8 seconds. Gorecki, who was 3 of 14 from the field and 14 of 16 from the line, was fouled on a drive.

Leaonna Odom added 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting for Duke (15-10, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), which has won four straight. Ekhomu scored 19 points and Nausia Woolfolk added 14 with 11 rebounds for the Seminoles (20-5, 9-5).

(16) Texas A&M 73, (25) Tennessee 71: In Knoxville, Tennessee, Chennedy Carter scored a season-high 37 points in her first start since returning from an ankle injury as Texas A&M edged slumping Tennessee.

Carter, the Southeastern Conference’s preseason player of the year, had missed seven games after hurting her left ankle, with the Aggies going 4-3 in that span. The 5-foot-7 junior returned to action Thursday and scored 18 points in 22 minutes off the bench in a 74-53 victory over Vanderbilt.

Shambria Washington scored 10 points and N’dea Jones had eight points and 16 rebounds for Texas A&M (20-5, 8-4 SEC). Rae Burrell scored 19 and Rennia Davis had 18 for Tennessee (17-8, 7-5), which lost its fourth straight.

(17) Iowa 97, Wisconsin 71: In Iowa City, Iowa, Kathleen Doyle scored 22 points and Iowa ran its winning streak at home to 34 with a victory over Wisconsin.

McKenna Warnock added 20 points and Monika Czinano 19 on a combined 14-of-19 shooting for the Hawkeyes (21-5, 12-3 Big Ten Conference), who won the first matchup 85-78 last month.

Makenzie Meyer added 13 points for Iowa, which shot 55% (34 of 62) to bounce back from a 93-59 loss at Maryland in a showdown for first place.

Imani Lewis scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Wisconsin (11-15, 3-12).

(19) Northwestern 60, Nebraska 56: In Evanston, Illinois, Veronica Burton scored 21 points and Northwestern scored the last nine points of the game to pull out a win over Nebraska.

Lindsey Pulliam scored the last four points, including the clinching free throws with four seconds left in a fourth quarter of runs.

Jordan Hamilton had 10 points for the Wildcats (22-3, 12-2 Big Ten), who won their fifth straight to remain a half-game behind first-place Maryland.

Leigha Brown scored 14 points for Nebraska (16-10, 6-9).

Ohio State 80, (20) Indiana 76: In Bloomington, Indiana, Madison Greene scored 14 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter and Ohio State rallied to beat Indiana.

Indiana (20-7, 10-5 Big Ten Conference), which was trying to end a 13-game skid against the Buckeyes (16-9, 9-5) dating to 2010, led 36-34 at halftime and upped its lead to 55-49 heading into the final quarter.

The Hoosiers quickly pushed their lead to 10 before Greene and the Buckeyes took control to notch their fifth straight win. Trailing 59-49 with 9:07 remaining in the game, Greene had a layup and two 3-pointers in an 18-7 run that ended with a Janai Crooms layup for a 67-66 Buckeyes’ lead.

After Aleksa Gulbe made 1 of 2 free throws to pull Indiana even, Greene sank two foul shots, Jacy Sheldon nailed a 3-pointer and Braxtin Miller capped the 7-0 spurt with a layup for a 74-67 lead at the 2:07 mark. Ohio State never trailed again.

(22) Arizona State 72, Washington 68: In Tempe, Arizona, Reili Richardson scored 17 points and became Arizona State’s all-time assists leader as the Sun Devils held off Washington.

Richardson’s record-breaking assist came on a layup by Ja’tavia Tapley with just over four minutes left and Jayde Van Hyfte added ASU’s final field goal with 3:28 to go. Amber Melgoza scored the Huskies’ final eight points over the last minute to get Washington within two with 15 seconds left but Iris Mbulito made two free throws with 13 seconds left and a contested Melgoza layup attempt missed the mark.

Richardson, a senior, finished with six assists giving her 539 in her career, one more than Briann January (2006-09), a Sun Devils assistant coach and an 11-year WNBA veteran now with the Phoenix Mercury.

Tapley scored 13 points and Jamie Ruden 12 for ASU (18-8, 8-6), which swept the season series.

Melgoza scored 18 points and Darcy Rees and Missy Peterson 10 each for Washington (12-13, 3-11).

(23) Arkansas 108, Mississippi 64: In Oxford, Mississippi, Alexis Tolefree scored 19 points and Chelsea Dungee scored 18 and Arkansas disposed of Ole Miss to set an SEC single-game scoring record.

The Razorbacks also topped the century mark beating Kentucky 103-85 last week.

Arkansas (20-5, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) began to pull away from Ole Miss (7-18, 0-12) late in the first quarter. Taylor Smith buried a 3-pointer to bring the Rebels within 23-21 with 98 seconds left in the first. But in an 84-second span, Tolefree responded with three free throws, A’Tyanna Gaulden followed with a 3 created off a steal by Amber Ramirez and Tolefree ended the quarter with another 3 for a 32-23 advantage.

The Razorbacks broke it open in the second and outscored Ole Miss 26-14.