Top 25 roundup: Ashley Joens helps Iowa State end 58-game Big 12 win streak of No. 2 Baylor

Sun., March 8, 2020

Associated Press

Ashley Joens scored 15 points, including the decisive free throw with 0.9 seconds left, to help Iowa State stun second-ranked Baylor 57-56 in Ames, Iowa, ending the Lady Bears’ 58-game regular-season Big 12 Conference winning streak.

The Lady Bears (28-2, 17-1 Big 12) last lost a conference regular-season game to Texas on Feb. 6, 2017. The streak was the sixth longest in NCAA history. Their only other loss this season came to South Carolina in November in a Thanksgiving tournament.

Iowa State (18-11, 10-8) took a 56-53 lead on Joens’ layup with 37 seconds left. Juicy Landrum tied the game 14 seconds later with a 3-pointer.

After timeouts by both teams, Joens was fouled with less than a second left by Didi Richards. After the officials reviewed that there was still time on the clock, Joens hit the first of the two free throws.

Ines Nezerwa and Rae Johnson each had 11 points for the Cyclones, who had lost 11 straight games to Baylor.

Richards scored 15 points and Lauren Cox added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Bears.

(1) South Carolina 76, (9) Mississippi State 62: In Greenville, South Carolina, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan had 15 points, Brea Beal added 12 points and 11 rebounds and the top-ranked Gamecocks rolled to their fifth Southeastern Conference Tournament title in six years, blowing out the defending champion and ninth-ranked Bulldogs.

The Gamecocks (32-1) won their 26th straight and should be the No. 1 overall seed – along with the favorite – in the NCAA Tournament.

They proved their superiority once more by running away – the Gamecocks led by 27 in the second half – from the usually powerful Bulldogs (27-6), who suffered their biggest defeat since falling to Tennessee 82-64 in February 2017.

Herbert Harrigan, a senior who considered transferring last spring, was named tournament MVP. She had 44 points in the three games.

Tyasha Harris had 10 points and 10 assists for South Carolina. Freshman Aliyah Boston had 11 rebounds, her 16th game this season with double-figure boards.

Aliyah Matharu led Mississippi State with 17 points. Freshman Rickea Jackson, the team’s leading scorer who had 52 points the past two tournament games, was held to nine points on 4-of-12 shooting.

(5) UConn 79, South Florida 39: In Uncasville, Connecticut, Megan Walker scored 21 points and the Huskies beat the Bulls in an American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal.

Christyn Williams added 15 points and Crystal Dangerfield had 13 for the Huskies (28-3). Connecticut improved to 20-0 all-time in AAC tournament play after finishing 118-0 during the conference’s seven regular seasons.

The Huskies are leaving the conference to return to the Big East next season.

Elena Tsineke had nine points to lead South Florida (19-13), which suffered its second blowout loss to the Huskies in less than a week.

(6) Maryland 82, Ohio State 65: In Indianapolis, Stephanie Jones scored 18 points and Ashley Owusu had 17 points and 11 assists to lead Maryland past Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.

The Terrapins (28-4) won their 17th game in a row, earned the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid and captured their first tourney crown in three years. It’s Maryland’s fourth tournament title in the six years it has been a member of the league.

Dorka Juhasz scored 20 points and Kierstan Bell had 13 to lead sixth-seeded Ohio State (21-12), which ran out of steam after winning three times in the previous three days and had won four straight overall.

(10) North Carolina State 71, (22) Florida State 66: In Greensboro, North Carolina, Aislinn Konig and Elissa Cunane each scored 18 points and the Wolfpack won their first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship in 29 years, beating the Seminoles.

Jakia Brown-Turner added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack (28-4) in a tightly contested game in which neither team led by more than six points.

Kiah Gillespie had 15 points and nine rebounds for Florida State (24-8). Nausia Woolfork and Nicki Ekhomu each had 17 for the Seminoles, who have never won the ACC tourney title.

Konig was chosen the tournament’s most outstanding player.

(18) DePaul 83, Seton Hall 80: In Chicago, Lexi Held scored 22 points, including a clutch corner 3-pointer, four players scored in double figures and the Blue Demons survived a tense final few minutes to beat the Pirates.

Depaul (27-5), the Big East Conference Tournament’s top seed, advances to Monday’s championship game against Marquette.

Chante Stonewall added 18 points, making three from distance, and grabbed seven rebounds for DePaul.

Desiree Elmore led the Pirates (19-12) with 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting, adding 13 rebounds.

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