South-Carolina
Top-ranked South Carolina runs winning streak to 20 games with 76-54 victory over Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Ashlyn Watkins had 14 points and 15 rebounds, reserve MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 15 points and No. 1 South Carolina overcame a slow start to beat Auburn 76-54 on Thursday night.
In a matchup between the top offense and the top defense in the Southeastern Conference, the Gamecocks broke through in the second half, going on a 13-2 run late in the third quarter to put away the Tigers.
Kamilla Cardoso added 13 points and six rebounds for South Carolina (20-0, 8-0), which outrebounded Auburn 48-35.
Auburn’s Honesty Scott-Grayson matched her career high with 31 points for the Tigers (14-7, 3-5).
South Carolina has won its first 20 games in back-to-back seasons. The Gamecocks’ lone loss last season came in the Final Four to Iowa.
NO. 5 N.C. STATE 63, NO. 24 NORTH CAROLINA 59
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Aziaha James scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter and North Carolina State’s defense locked down late to hold off rival North Carolina.
Saniya Rivers had 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Wolfpack (19-2, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). N.C. State’s defense held the Tar Heels without a point on their final seven possessions.
Deja Kelly scored 21 points to lead the Tar Heels (15-7, 7-3), who were within range when freshman Reniya Kelly knocked down a clean look at a 3-pointer to bring UNC to within 62-59 at the 3:45 mark.
NO. 8 OHIO STATE 87, WISCONSIN 49
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jacy Sheldon scored 17 points, Cotie McMahon had 15 and Eboni Walker 11 as Ohio State won its eighth straight game.
The Buckeyes (18-3, 9-1 Big Ten) shot 50% (33 for 66) from the field, their best performance in nine games, and went 13 for 16 from the line.
Ohio State led by five points at the break and scored a program record-tying 39 points in the third quarter that extended its lead to a game-high 24 points late in the fourth.
Serah Williams led Wisconsin (10-10, 3-7) with 16 points and 11 rebounds in her seventh straight game with a double-double.
NO. 14 NOTRE DAME 85, GEORGIA TECH 48
ATLANTA (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo beat her own freshman school record with 35 points to lead Notre Dame past Georgia Tech.
Hidlago eclipsed her record of 34 points set five days earlier with 15-for-25 shooting and added eight assists and six steals in her fourth 30-point game this season.
Kylee Watson scored a season-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and had nine rebounds for the Fighting Irish (16-4, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Kara Dunn scored 17 points for the Yellow Jackets (13-9, 4-6), who had their worst shooting game of the season at 25.4% (18 of 71), including 17.6% from 3-point range (6 of 34). Georgia Tech has lost five of its last six games, including four against ranked teams.
NO. 16 LOUISVILLE 81, NO. 21 SYRACUSE 69
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kiki Jefferson scored 21 points and Nyla Harris had 18 points and 14 rebounds for Louisville in a game in which Syracuse’s Dyaisha Fair move into fifth place on the all-time scoring list.
Jefferson made 6 of 12 shots and 9 of 11 free throws for the Cardinals (19-3, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Harris, a sophomore, matched her career high in points and a personal best in rebounds in her third career double-double.
Fair scored 28 points on 10-for-23 shooting for the Orange (17-4, 7-3) and passed Florida International’s Jerica Coley (3,107 points from 2011-14) on the scoring list with 3,129 points. Up next is Baylor’s Brittney Griner, who scored 3,283 from 2010-13. Washington’s Kelsey Plum is the all-time leader with 3,527 points from 2014-17. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, currently second, needs 104 points to pass Plum for the top spot.
Georgia Woolley had 15 points and Alaina Rice 14 for Syracuse.
NO. 17 VIRGINIA TECH 76, VIRGINIA 63
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Elizabeth Kitley had a season-high 33 points and 18 rebounds, Georgia Amoore had 20 points and 14 assists and Virginia Tech beat Virginia for its fifth straight victory in the series.
Virginia Tech (17-4, 8-2 ACC) has won four consecutive games overall for the most wins in the first 10 ACC contests in program history. Matilda Ekh added 13 points for Virginia Tech.
Kymora Johnson scored 22 points and Paris Clark had 18 points and eight rebounds for Virginia (10-11, 2-8).
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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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