BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Angel Reese had 19 points and nine rebounds in her return from a four-game absence, and No. 7 LSU beat No. 9 Virginia Tech 82-64 on Thursday night to give Tigers coach Kim Mulkey her 700th career victory.
Reese’s two-week absence from the team stemmed from what Mulkey has described as “locker room issues.” She has declined to go into detail. But when the game was over, Reese and Mulkey shared a long hug.
Reese and Aneesah Morrow helped LSU (8-1) control the paint and limit the production of Virginia Tech star center Elizabeth Kitley in a rematch of a Final Four game in last season’s NCAA Tournament. LSU went on to win the national title.
Morrow had 19 points, 15 rebounds, two blocks and three steals, and LSU outrebounded Virginia Tech 43-29.
Georgia Amoore scored 25 points for Virginia Tech (5-2). Kitley had 16 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 65, NO. 24 NORTH CAROLINA 58
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Bree Hall scored 15 points and South Carolina rallied for the victory in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Te-Hina Paopao added 14 points for the Gamecocks (6-0), who ended up facing their toughest challenge in an early season slate of high-scoring blowouts — including against two ranked teams. South Carolina came in ranked second nationally in scoring offense at 100.4 points and leading the country with an average victory margin of 51.6 points.
Paopao hit three second-half 3-pointers, while Hall added a huge one from the left wing with 2:08 left that pushed the Gamecocks to their biggest lead at 60-52.
Deja Kelly scored 20 points for the Tar Heels (5-3). Alyssa Ustby added 18 points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 13 BAYLOR 85, SMU 61
DALLAS (AP) — Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had 24 points and 11 rebounds, leading Baylor to the victory.
Bella Fontleroy scored 17 points for the Bears (6-0). Dre’una Edwards had 10 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks, three steals and three assists.
After SMU opened the second half with a basket, Littlepage-Buggs made a layup, Sarah Andrews connected on a 3 and the lead was in double figures the rest of the way.
Tamia Jones had 17 points for the Mustangs (3-4).
SMU was outrebounded 51-28, including 17-5 on the offensive end. Baylor had 17 second-chance points and 36 points in the paint.
ARKANSAS 71, NO. 15 FLORIDA STATE 58
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Taliah Scott scored 24 points, Saylor Poffenbarger had a double-double with a school-record 23 rebounds, and Arkansas raced past Florida State in the ACC-SEC Challenge.
Arkansas reeled off 11 straight points for a 44-28 lead early in the second half.
Samara Spencer scored 15 points for the Razorbacks (7-1) to surpass 1,000 for her career. Poffenbarger had 13 points and Makayia Daniels had 10 in her 130th game, the most ever in the program.
O’Mariah Gordon had 16 points for the Seminoles (6-2), Ta’Niya Latson had 14.
NO. 17 INDIANA 67, MAINE 59
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Mackenzie Holmes scored 22 points in her homecoming game, and Indiana rallied for the win.
Holmes, a native of Gorham, Maine, was 9 of 11 from the field. She also grabbed seven rebounds.
Sydney Parrish had 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for Indiana (6-1), which has won five straight.
Parrish’s three-point play with 4:39 left put Indiana ahead for good at 57-54.
Anne Simon had 34 points, 10 rebounds and five steals for Maine (4-4). Adrianna Smith had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
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