South-Carolina
Bree Hall scores 21 points as No. 1 South Carolina beats Missouri, extends win streak to 65 straight
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Bree Hall scored a career-high 21 points, Te-Hina Paopao added 15 and top-ranked South Carolina pulled away in the second half for a 81-57 victory over short-handed Missouri on Thursday night.
The Gamecocks (15-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) led by just five points midway through the third quarter before the Tigers (9-7, 0-3) finally went cold from the perimeter, allowing coach Dawn Staley’s team to run its regular-season winning streak to 65 games.
South Carolina’s last loss was an overtime setback at Missouri on Dec. 30, 2021.
Hayley Frank and Ashton Judd had 16 points apiece to lead the Tigers.
NO. 6 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 93, VIRGINIA 66
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Freshman Zoe Brooks scored a season-high 19 points and North Carolina State beat Virginia.
Brooks shot 7 of 12 from the floor and had three assists while making her fifth start. The Wolfpack (15-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) also got 17 points from Madison Hayes, 15 points from Aziaha James, 14 points and nine rebounds from Mimi Collins, and 13 points from Lexi Steele.
Camryn Taylor paced Virginia (8-7, 0-4) with 22 points and six rebounds before fouling out, while Kymora Johnson added 14 points.
NO. 7 LSU 87, TEXAS A&M 70
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Angel Reese had 20 points and 18 rebounds, Aneesah Morrow scored 21 points and LSU beat Texas A&M.
Defending national champion LSU (16-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference), which had all five starters score in double figures, hasn’t lost since a season-opening defeat to Colorado.
Mikaylah Williams scored 16 points, Hailey Van Lith had 14 and Flau’Jae Johnson finished with 11.
Endyia Rogers led the Aggies (13-3, 1-2) with 27 points. Aicha Coulibaly added 16 points and Lauren Ware had 13.
NO. 11 VIRGINIA TECH 76, MIAMI 52
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Elizabeth Kitley matched her season high with 31 points, the eighth 30-point game of her career, and Virginia Tech beat Miami for its eighth straight win.
Kitley scored 13 of the Hokies’ 14 first-quarter points and had 23 at the half, when Virginia Tech (13-2, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 40-24. Georgia Amoore had 16 points and six assists for the Hokies.
Shayeann Day-Wilson scored 19 points for the Hurricanes (11-4, 1-3) and Ja’Leah Williams had 10 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 15 LOUISVILLE 74, PITTSBURGH 44
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sydney Taylor scored 13 points, Olivia Cochran and Kiki Jefferson each added 10 and Louisville beat Pittsburgh.
Louisville (14-2, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won its last 22 matchups against the Panthers.
Jala Jordan scored 11 points off the bench for Pitt (6-11, 0-4). Liatu King, Pitt’s leading scorer at 20.3 points per game, finished with six points.
NO. 16 GONZAGA 87, SANTA CLARA 49
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Yvonne Ejim scored 19 points, Eliza Hollingsworth added 18 and No. 16 Gonzaga won its 27th straight home game, beating Santa Clara.
Kayleigh Truong scored 13 points to surpass 1,000 for her career for Gonzaga (15-2, 2-0 West Coast Conference). Brynna Maxwell went 4 of 6 from 3-point range and scored 12 points, passing 1,700 career points with Gonzaga and Utah. The Bulldogs finished 10 of 22 behind the arc.
Tess Heal scored 10 points for the Broncos (13-4, 1-1).
NO. 17 OHIO STATE 90, RUTGERS 55
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Madison Greene scored 16 points and Ohio State handed Rutgers its seventh straight loss.
Celeste Taylor added 12 points for the Buckeyes (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) and Cotie McMahon and Jacy Sheldon each had 11.
Destiny Adams had 18 points for Rutgers (6-12, 0-5) and Mya Petticord scored 10. Chyna Cornwell had 13 rebounds.
NO. 18 NOTRE DAME 98, BOSTON COLLEGE 48
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Freshman Hannah Hidalgo had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Notre Dame rolled past Boston College.
Hidalgo, who entered play leading the Atlantic Coast Conference and fourth in the nation with a 23.9-point scoring average, made 9 of 15 shots for the Fighting Irish (11-3, 2-2). She sank 8 of 11 free throws, adding four assists and four steals.
Maddy Westbeld added 15 points and 15 rebounds for Notre Dame in her second game back from a concussion.
Dontavia Waggoner led the Eagles (9-8, 1-3) with 12 points.
NO. 21 FLORIDA STATE 70, NO. 20 NORTH CAROLINA 62
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Sara Bejedi sank five 3-pointers and scored 23 points, and Florida State beat North Carolina.
Mikayla Timpson had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Seminoles (13-4, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Deja Kelly scored 23 points to lead North Carolina (11-5, 3-1).
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All that separated Connor Doyal from the biggest win of his amateur golfing career was 5 feet of perfectly manicured green on Hole No. 18 at Naples National Golf Club. That plus a super-sized case of the yips.
“My hands were shaking uncontrollably,” said the 26-year-old mid-amateur from Charleston, South Carolina. “But I’ve had some moments like this before, and I think I’ve just learned to let it happen and not fight it. I knew it wasn’t going to be the best stroke of my life, but in the moment, I just had to trust myself to make the putt.”
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Just as he had for much of the third and final round of the 30th annual Terra Cotta Invitational, Doyal delivered, dropping in the putt to win the event by one stroke over 17-year-old junior golfer Dawson Lew of Toronto, Canada.
Connor Doyal, a 26-year-old mid-amateur golfer from Charleston, S.C., celebrates with the trophy after winning the 30th annual Terra Cotta Invitational on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
Doyal, who entered the day two shots behind co-leaders Giuseppe Puebla of Royal Palm Beach and University of Florida senior Parker Bell, shot 5-under 67 to finish 12-under, two shots off the low-scoring record for the 54-hole tournament.
“Honestly, I just hit the ball fantastic start to finish,” Doyal said. “I hit a ton of greens and then the putter started heating up. I woke up feeling good this morning, and I knew I had it in me.
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“Coming down the stretch, I had to battle. I’m just glad it’s over. I mean, the heart rate is still extremely high right now.”
Doyal had seven birdies in his final round, the best of which came on the par-4 No. 14. He used his six-iron to blast his second shot 220 yards to within inches of the cup, setting up a short putt that gave him a one-shot lead over Bell.
Doyal followed with a birdie on No. 15 to up his lead to two strokes, but made things interesting by shorting a putt on No. 17 for bogey.
Playing in a group just ahead of Doyel, Lew missed a 35-foot try for birdie on the par-5 No. 18 a smidge left to finish at 11-under after a final round 68.
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Clinging to that one-shot lead on No. 18, an admittedly amped-up Doyal nearly overshot the green on his third shot from about 80 yards out, the ball settling on the back fringe. He followed with a deft chip, setting up his tournament-winning putt.
“It was a little bit nervy there, but I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Doyal said. “I’m always going to be able to look back at that up and down on 18 and be like I have what it takes when the pressure is on.”
Widely regarded as one of the best amateur events for junior golfers in the country, the Terra Cotta’s field included nearly the entirety of the top 25 in the Rolex American Junior Golf rankings. That included Luke Colton of Frisco, Texas, who was gunning for an unprecedented third consecutive Terra Cotta championship. The 18-year-old Vanderbilt commit came up short in his quest, finishing 3-under and in a tie for 21st place.
“I started off pretty bad, just kind of had a weird first day,” said Colton, who opened with a 2-over 74. “Nothing was going my way. But I was pretty happy with the way I ended it.”
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Colton said the Terra Cotta is one of his favorite events of the season.
“You’ve got a great field and obviously an amazing course,” he said. “I think that’s why everybody wants to come and play at this tournament.”
Another top junior was a late and unreported entry to the Terra Cotta. Charlie Woods, son of golfing great Tiger Woods, got off to a rough start with an opening round 79, but shot a 3-under 69 in the final round to finish in a tie for 42nd place with a 3-over 219.
Among the five Naples-area competitors, former Gulf Coast High School standout and current University of Florida golfer Noah Kent had the best showing. The 20-year-old finished with a 2-over 218 for the tournament, placing him in a tie for 34th. The other local entrants were Spencer Ives (220), Brian Bassett (222), Jack Ryan Donovan (224), and Kaden Latrielle (229).
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Contact Sports Reporter Dan DeLuca at ddeluca@usatodayco.com. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Connor Doyal wins Florida amateur event, Charlie Woods ties for 42nd
Columbia, Mo. — The South Carolina softball team (25-21, 4-13) dropped the second game of its series at Missouri (24-23, 7-10) 5-0 Saturday night (Apr. 18).
Kai Byars led the Gamecocks with a pair of doubles on the night. It was her second multi-hit game of the season and her first game with multiple extra base hits.
The Tigers scored a run in the third inning without the aid of a hit. They would extend the lead and add four more in the fourth.
Carolina’s best opportunity for a run came in third. Byars doubled to lead off the inning and Shae Anderson followed with a bunt single. A double play on a potential sacrifice fly ended the rally.
Emma Friedel (8-4) took the loss, allowing one run on no hits in 3 1-3 innings. She struck out six and walked three.
The rubber game of the series will be tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET.
Audi Crooks on being in the transfer portal
USAT’s Sam Cardona-Norberg catches up with college basketball star Audi Crooks, who is still looking for her next team.
Sports Seriously
Jordan Lee entered the transfer portal after a breakout season at Texas and the junior guard isn’t going too far. She’s staying in the Southeastern Conference.
Lee announced on Instagram Friday that she’s transferring to South Carolina to play for Dawn Staley after spending the first two years of her collegiate career at Texas under Vic Schaefer. Lee captioned her Instagram post, which featured a video montage of her visit to Columbia, South Carolina, “Feeling cocky.”
Lee was one of four players from Texas to enter the transfer portal after the Longhorns’ second consecutive trip to the Final Four ended in a devastating loss to UCLA. She was named to the All-Region team in the Fort Worth 3 bracket in this year’s NCAA Tournament following her Sweet 16 and Elite Eight performance, where she recorded 22 points, six assists, three rebounds and four steals while also providing strong defense.
After being limited to five starts her freshman year, Lee slid into the starting lineup last season and started a career-high 38 games. She also averaged career highs in points (13.2), assists (2.5), rebounds (2.5), steals (1.5), field-goal percentage (42%) and free-throw percentage (75%), while shooting 34% from 3-point range.
Texas’ Aaliyah Crump, Justice Carlton and Aaliyah Moore also entered the transfer portal. On Friday, Crump announced she’s transferring to Duke, citing her connection with head coach Kara Lawson.
“For me, choosing Duke University goes far beyond one sentence. The moment I connected with Kara Lawson and her coaching staff, I knew I was exactly where I belonged,” said Crump, who averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game her freshman season at Texas.
Crump continued: “Their dedication and vision for the program is truly special, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of it. The connection Coach Lawson and I have built is one of a kind, and I fully trust in her plan for the success of this program. I can’t wait to be coached by genuine people who support my growth not only as a basketball player, but as a person as well.”
Three-time All-American Madison Booker and junior starting forward Breya Cunningham are expected to return to Texas.
Contributing: Mitchell Northam
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
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