WICHITA, Kan. — Landry Shamet scored 18 points in just 22 minutes to lead No. 9 Wichita State past Houston 81-63 on Thursday night.
Wichita State (12-2, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) made nine of its first 11 3-point shots and led by as many as 25 in the first half. Starting guards Shamet and Conner Frankamp (15 points) were a combined 12 of 15 from the field.
Shaquille Morris scored 14 points for the Shockers while Markis McDuffie added 11.
Rob Gray led Houston (12-3, 2-1 American) with 13 points, six below his season average. He was 6 of 14 from the field. Corey Davis scored 12 points for the Cougars, and Wes Van Beck had 11.
The Shockers finished 12 of 27 from the 3-point line while Houston was 4 of 15.
Wichita State led 53-32 at halftime, going 10 of 16 from the 3-point line to build that lead. The Shockers had 14 assists and five turnovers in the first half.
IN-STATE
UAB 75, Florida Atlantic 44
BOCA RATON — Chris Cokley scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Zack Bryant added 11 points with five assists, and UAB beat Florida Atlantic 75-44 on Thursday night for the Owls' fifth straight loss.
The Blazers (10-5, 1-1 Conference USA) never trailed and shot 54 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc (7 of 14) while holding Florida Atlantic to 29.5 percent and 13 percent from 3 (3 of 23).
The Owls scored 23 points in the second half, the fewest second-half points the Blazers have allowed since holding Chattanooga to 26 points on Nov. 13.
Nate Darling hit back-to-back 3-pointers in UAB's opening 10-4 run and the Blazers led 32-21 at halftime on Jalen Perry's layup.
Nick Norton and Darling each hit 3s and UAB opened the second half with a 10-2 run and led by 30 points after a 17-3 run with 4:20 left to play.
Ronald Delph grabbed 10 rebounds and he and Justin Massey each scored eight points for the Owls (6-8, 0-2).
WOMEN'S
No. 11 Florida St. women jump out early, rout Clemson 69-47
CLEMSON, S.C. — Nausia Woolfolk scored a career-high 18 points and No. 11 Florida State beat Clemson for the 17th straight time in a 69-47 rout on Thursday night.
The Seminoles (14-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) have won four straight since their 87-72 loss at No. 8 Texas on Dec. 17.
Woolfolk scored 10 points in the first half as Florida State built a 31-16 lead and never trailed. Woolfolk was 5-of-7 shooting and made three 3-pointers. Savannah Wilkinson made a career-best four 3s and finished with 14 points for Florida State. Senior forward Shakayla Thomas chipped in 11 points and surpassed Tia Paschal (1989-93) for third place on the Seminole all-time scoring list with 1,667 points.
Alexis Carter scored 16 points to lead Clemson (10-5, 0-2), which has lost three of its last four games. Ivy Atkism added 12 points.
No. 3 Louisville 66, No. 17 Duke 60
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Asia Durr had 22 points and came back from a first-half leg injury to grab a key rebound late that helped No. 3 Louisville survive a fourth-quarter rally by No. 17 Duke for a 66-60 victory on Thursday night.
Louisville (17-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) appeared in control with a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter. But the Cardinals made just 7 of 26 shots in the second half, allowing Duke to and get within 63-60 on Haley Gorecki's 3-pointer with 2:54 remaining.
Duke missed its final three shots, and Louisville's Sam Fuehring made two free throws with 22 seconds left before Durr added the final one six seconds later to extend the Cardinals' best start in school history.
Durr made 8 of 14 shots but left the game for several minutes in the second quarter with the injury. The junior guard returned to score the final three of a 17-point half that paced the Cardinals' 57-percent shooting and helped them withstand the Blue Devils' charge.
No. 4 South Carolina 88, Ole Miss, 62
OXFORD, Miss. — A'ja Wilson had 25 points and 15 rebounds, Alexis Jennings and Doniyah Cliney had 14 points apiece and No. 4 South Carolina beat Mississippi 88-62 on Thursday night.
The Gamecocks (13-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) had an answer for every Rebel rally and eventually pulled away in the fourth quarter. South Carolina shot 38 percent, including 8-for-27 from 3-point range. They outscored Ole Miss (10-5, 0-2) 40-22 in the paint.
Madinah Muhammad scored 29 points to lead the Rebels. Alissa Alston scored 11 and Shelby Gibson had 10.
No. 7 Lady Vols 70, Auburn 59
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jaime Nared scored 19 points, Evina Westbrook made a tiebreaking basket with 1:43 left and No. 7 Tennessee outlasted Auburn 70-59 Thursday to remain unbeaten and snap the Tigers' seven-game winning streak.
Tennessee (14-0, 2-0 SEC) withstood a season-high 28 turnovers and continued its best start since winning its first 18 games in 2005-06, a season that ended with a 31-5 record and an NCAA regional final appearance. This marks the Lady Vols' fifth 14-0 start in school history.
The Lady Vols went on a decisive 10-0 run with the game on the line and outscored Auburn 19-4 down the stretch. In a game that featured 12 ties and 16 lead changes, neither team ever was ahead by more than five points until the game's final minute.
Westbrook scored 18 points, but also had nine turnovers for Tennessee. Nared had 11 rebounds to go along with her 19 points. Mercedes Russell added 10 points.
Daisa Alexander scored 16 points off the bench for Auburn (10-3, 1-1). Janiah McKay and Tiffany Lewis had 10 points each.
No. 10 Ohio State 91, Minnesota 75
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Stephanie Mavunga scored 25 points and Kelsey Mitchell added 21 to help No. 10 Ohio State rout Minnesota 91-75 on Thursday night.
Mavunga was sensational in hitting 11 of her 15 shots from the floor and grabbing five rebounds before leaving the game with 7:49 left. The Buckeyes played tight, aggressive defense in limiting a Golden Gophers team that had been averaging nearly 87 points a game but shot just 39 percent from the floor. Minnesota turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 18 Ohio State points.
Ohio State (13-2, 2-0 Big Ten) won its seventh in a row, including all six games in the month of December.
Minnesota (12-4, 1-2) lost its second in a row, having dropped a conference matchup with Nebraska on Dec. 31.
Destiny Pitts paced Minnesota with 28 points, including seven 3-pointers, but she didn't get in a rhythm until the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter.
No. 13 Maryland 80, No. 18 Iowa 64
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Kaila Charles had 12 of her 24 points in the first quarter, Blair Watson had nine of her 13 in the fourth quarter and No. 13 Maryland took control early to defeat No. 18 Iowa in a Big Ten showdown on Thursday night.
The win is Maryland's 12th straight and ended Iowa's seven game winning streak.
Charles had six points in an early 14-3 run that gave the Terrapins (14-2, 3-0) the lead for good and four more in a late 10-0 run that helped them build a 31-17 advantage after the first quarter. Maryland shot 62 percent (13 of 21) in the first 10 minutes while Iowa was 6 of 18.
Any hope of a late charge by the Hawkeyes (14-2, 2-1) was dashed by Watson, who drilled all three of her 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Charles also had 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season and Maryland only had one turnover at the half and three after three quarters before finishing with seven.
No. 19 Texas A&M 74, Kentucky 70
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Khaalia Hillsman scored 20 points and Danni Williams added 19 as No. 19 Texas A&M held off Kentucky's late surge for a 74-70 victory on Thursday night.
The Aggies (12-4, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) rebounded from a 61-59 loss to No. 4 South Carolina in Sunday's conference opener.
Hillsman scored six points and Williams added five during a 15-7 stretch that spanned the third and fourth quarters for a 66-57 lead with 7:32 to play. Maci Morris scored six points and Makenzie Cann made a 3-pointer as Kentucky used a 13-6 spurt to pull to 72-70 with 10 seconds left, but Anriel Howard made a pair of free throws for the Aggies to seal it.
Hillsman was 6 of 8 from the field and made all eight of her free throws. Williams was 7-of-12 shooting and matched a career-best with five 3-pointers. Howard finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds, her 11th straight game with at least 10 boards.
Morris scored 22 points to lead the Wildcats (8-8, 0-2). Cann had 14 points, and Alyssa Rice added 10 points and eight rebounds.