Smith, Rickards help Florida beat No. 7 Tennessee 84-59

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Kiki Smith scored 25 points, Nina Rickards added 16 and Florida stunned No. 7 Tennessee 84-59 on Thursday night, giving the Gators their fifth victory in 59 meetings between the teams. It was Florida’s biggest win in the series. None of the previous four had been by more than nine points. Zippy Broughton chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Gators (16-6, 6-3 Southeastern Conference), who have become one of college basketball’s biggest surprises following abuse allegations that ended with former coach Cam Newbauer’s resignation in mid-July. Interim coach Kelly Rae Finley has the Gators on the verge of being nationally ranked for the first time since December 2016. Florida won for the sixth time in seven games. Alexus Dye led Tennessee (19-3, 8-2) with 10 points and six rebounds. Rae Burrell added nine points. NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 83, ALABAMA 51 COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Aliyah Boston had 20 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks to lead South Carolina over Alabama. Zia Cooke made her first five shots and finished with 14 points for the Gamecocks (21-1, 9-1 Southeastern Conference). Coupled with Florida’s victory over Tennessee, South Carolina took sole possession of the SEC lead. Brittany Davis led Alabama (11-10, 2-8) with 20 points. NO. 2 STANFORD 76, UCLA 48 LOS ANGELES (AP) – Francesca Belibi tied a career-high with 20 points and had 13 rebounds, and Cameron Brink scored 17 points, leading Stanford past UCLA. Stanford (17-3, 8-0 Pac-12) has won nine consecutive games since its loss to top-ranked South Carolina in December. Lexie Hull scored 11 of her 14 points in the first quarter, including three of her four 3-pointers in that stretch. UCLA guard Charisma Osborne returned to the lineup after missing a game with a right knee injury and scored 12 points. UCLA (9-7, 4-5) lost its third consecutive game after winning four in a row. NO. 3 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 68, FLORIDA STATE 48 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Jakia Brown-Turner scored 13 points and North Carolina State bounced back from a loss this week to beat Florida State. Raina Perez added 11 points and eight assists to help N.C. State (20-3, 11-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) rebound from a loss at No. 20 Notre Dame on Tuesday night. Elissa Cunane had 11 points and six rebounds, and Kai Crutchfield added 10 points. O’Mariah Gordon led Florida State (10-10, 4-6) with 12 points. Morgan Jones had nine points, three rebounds and three blocks. NO. 4 LOUISVILLE 93, CLEMSON 71 CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) – Hailey Van Lith scored 16 of her career-high 34 points in the decisive third quarter as Louisville won its 10th straight over Clemson. The Cardinals (20-2, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) reached the 20-victory mark for the 12th straight season. Delicia Washington finished with a season high 28 points with five 3-pointers for Clemson (7-15, 1-10). Amari Robinson had 18 points. No. 5 INDIANA 80, MINNESOTA 70 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) – Aleksa Gulbe hit four 3-pointers and scored 28 points and Indiana closed the game on a 14-point run in a comeback victory over Minnesota. Grace Berger had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary added 14 for the Hoosiers (15-3, 7-1 Big Ten). Sara Scalia scored 26 points for the Gophers (10-13, 3-8), including shooting 7 for 12 from 3-point range. NO. 14 GEORGIA 71, VANDERBILT 56 ATHENS, Ga. (AP) – Jenna Staiti scored 16 points, Que Morrison added 15 and Georgia beat Vanderbilt. Malury Bates finished with 12 points for Georgia (17-4, 6-3 SEC), which has won five of six. Brinae Alexander scored 13 points and Kaylon Smith added 12 for Vanderbilt (12-11, 3-6). Demi Washington and Jordyn Cambridge each had 10 points.