South Carolina clinches share of SEC crown, beats Tennessee

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Aliyah Boston had 16 points and 12 rebounds to match the Southeastern Conference mark of 19 straight double-doubles and No. 1 South Carolina clinched a share of the league title with a 67-53 victory over No. 12 Tennessee. Boston tied the mark of LSU great Sylvia Fowles accomplished 15 years ago and the Gamecocks (25-1, 13-1 SEC) won their 13th straight to lock up the No. 1 seed in the league tournament in two weeks. Boston, with her Tennessee orange braids, stole the show with her latest dominant performance. She had eight points and eight rebounds at the half, then hit a driving basket for her 10th point. Three minutes later, Boston collected her own miss for the 10th rebound as the crowd of 18,000-plus cheered. Tennessee (21-6, 10-4) was still in it, though, down 44-36 after Rae Burrell’s bucket midway through the third quarter. No. 2 STANFORD 66, OREGON 62 EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Haley Jones scored 18 points and Stanford rallied in the fourth quarter to remain undefeated in the Pac-12 with a victory over Oregon. Jones made a layup while falling to the ground and added a free throw with 36.4 seconds left to put the Cardinal up 63-60. Stanford (23-3, 14-0) hung on for its 15th straight win. Te-Hina Paopao had 23 points, including four 3-pointers, for Oregon (18-9, 10-5). Stanford extended its winning streak over Pac-12 opponents to 29 straight games, including the postseason. The defending national champions have won four straight against Oregon. WASHINGTON STATE 72, No. 8 ARIZONA 67 PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) – Johanna Teder scored 21 points, including seven in the final two minutes, and Washington State beat Arizona. Belle Murekatete contributed 16 points, making 8-of-10 shots, and Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 15 while also leading the Cougars (18-8, 10-5 Pac-12) with six assists. With 2:44 left, Arizona (19-5, 9-5) cut the Cougars nine point lead to just two on a three pointer from Helena Pueyo. But with 1:45 to go Teder knocked down her fifth 3-pointer of the day to put Washington State up five. The crowd erupted as Teder followed that with a layup on the next possession that put ended any chance of a comeback. No. 9 MICHIGAN 71, No. 13 MARYLAND 59 ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) – Naz Hillmon had 29 points and 11 rebounds to help Michigan take over first place in the Big Ten with a 71-59 victory over Maryland. Laila Phelia contributed 11 points, five rebounds and six assists for the Wolverines (21-4, 12-3 Big Ten). It was the Wolverines’ second win over the Terrapins this season, also beating Maryland 69-49 on Jan. 16. The game was tied at 24 at the half and Michigan led 40-39 late in the third quarter before scoring five of the final seven points of the period on a three-point play by Emily Kiser and two free throws by Phelia to go up four. Maryland (20-7, 12-4) got within two early in the fourth before Hillmon’s three-point play started a 10-0 run that put the game away. Maddie Nolan’s layup capped the burst with 6:37 left and made it 55-43. The Terrapins could only get within five the rest of the way. No. 3 LOUISVILLE 70, No. 23 VIRGINIA TECH 56 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Hailey Van Lith scored 20 points to lead Louisville to a victory over Virginia Tech. Coming off a one-point loss Thursday at No. 22 North Carolina, the Cardinals (23-3, 14-2) dominated from the start. They led 13-4 less than five minutes into the contest and never trailed against the Hokies (20-7, 12-4). The Hokies (20-7, 12-4) made just 9-of-24 shots in the first half, with none coming in the final 6:06 ‘” and that was despite Olivia Cochran and Liz Dixon, the Cardinals top two post players, both having two fouls. No. 5 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 95, SYRACUSE 53