Late free throws push No. 24 Tar Heels over No. 3 Cardinals

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) – Kennedy Todd-Williams knocked down the go-ahead free throws with 16.2 seconds left and No. 24 North Carolina survived Louisville’s two final-play missed shots to upset the third-ranked Cardinals 66-65 on Thursday night. Todd-Williams finished with 19 points to lead the Tar Heels (20-5, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), who ended an eight-game skid against the Cardinals in dramatic fashion. After Todd-Williams’ free throws, Louisville called timeout to set up a final play. As the clock dwindled down, Kianna Smith hit the front rim on a 3-point attempt. Chelsie Hall managed to grab the rebound and toss the ball up as she fell to the court. The ball sat on the rim before slowly rolling off as the horn sounded. Deja Kelly had 18 points for UNC, which shot just 38% and made only 5 of 19 3-pointers. Hailey Van Lith scored 17 points to lead Louisville (22-3, 13-2), which had won all eight meetings with UNC since joining the ACC for the 2014-15 season. NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 75, AUBURN 37 COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Aliyah Boston had 10 points and 12 rebounds for her 18th straight double-double, Zia Cooke scored 20 points and South Carolina won its 12th straight with a victory over Auburn. Boston moved within a game of the Southeastern Conference mark of 19 straight games with double-figure points and rebounds that was set in 2006 by LSU great Sylvia Fowles. Boston now has 49 career double-doubles. South Carolina (24-1, 12-1) took a 10-point lead in the first eight minutes, and Auburn (9-15, 1-12) could not catch up. The Gamecocks won their 12th straight in the series. Aicha Coulibaly led Auburn with nine points, half her season’s average, on 4-of-18 shooting. She also had nine rebounds. NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 92, WAKE FOREST 61 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Diamond Johnson scored 16 points, and North Carolina State moved closer to an Atlantic Coast Conference title with a victory over Wake Forest. The Wolfpack (23-3, 14-1) racked up its most points in any quarter this season – 37 in the third – on the way to its fifth straight victory. With No. 3 Louisville losing at No. 24 North Carolina, the Wolfpack is closing in on its first ACC regular-season title since the 1989-90 season. The Wolfpack holds a 1½-game lead with two games to play. Jakia Brown-Turner rolled up 15 points, reserve Camille Hobby posted 14 points, Kayla Jones had 11 points and Elissa Cunane added 10 points for N.C. State. Elise Williams had 14 points and Christina Morra scored 13 for Wake Forest (13-13, 3-12), which lost for the 10th time in its last 11 games. ACC scoring leader Jewel Spear notched 11 points, well below her average of 19.2. NO. 5 INDIANA 69, NORTHWESTERN 58 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) – Aleksa Gulbe scored 20 points and Grace Berger had 11 of her 15 points in the second half to help Indiana pull away for a win over Northwestern. Nicole Cardaño-Hillary scored 17 points, including three 3-pointers, for Indiana (19-4, 11-2 Big Ten). Mackenzie Holmes scored 6 points and had six rebounds in her first game back since Jan. 5 after having surgery on her left knee. Veronica Burton led Northwestern (14-10, 6-7) with 20 points. Lauryn Satterwhite and Jillian Brown each added 14 points. NO. 11 LSU 71, MISSISSIPPI STATE 59 OXFORD, Miss. (AP) – Alexis Morris scored 10 of her 23 points in the 17-3 run to close the game, Khayla Pointer finished with 18 points and LSU beat Mississippi State for its fifth victory in a row. LSU (22-4, 10-3 SEC) moved into a three-way tie with Florida and Tennessee for second in the conference standings, behind No. 1 South Carolina. Jailin Cherry had 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for the Tigers. Autumn Newby and Faustine Aifuwa each scored six points and grabbed 12 rebounds.