Olivia Olson scored 18 points, including eight straight to open the fourth quarter, as the No. 23 Michigan Wolverines survived a 60-54 scare from the Northwestern Wildcats in the Big Ten opener for each team in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Northwestern (4-4, 0-1 Big Ten) led throughout the third quarter and took a four-point lead into the fourth, but Olson capped her 8-0 burst with a 3-pointer, and Syla Swords also nailed a trey to put the Wolverines (8-1, 1-0) ahead 50-44. Michigan has won eight straight games since opening the season with a six-point loss to then-No. 1 South Carolina.
Caileigh Walsh’s 3-pointer put the Wildcats back in front 53-52 with 3:36 to go. Michigan responded by scoring eight of the game’s last nine points, six by Jordan Hobbs. Hobbs finished with 16 points and teammate Mila Holloway had 10.
Kyla Jones led Northwestern with 14 points and Walsh notched 10 before fouling out.
No. 4 Texas 93, James Madison 62
Madison Booker, Jordan Lee and Rori Harmon dominated the first half as the Longhorns clobbered the host Dukes in Harrisonburg, Va.
Booker scored 21 points, Lee added 20 and Harmon 19 by combining on 25-of-33 shooting. They had 49 of their points in the first half as Texas (7-1) piled up a 58-29 halftime lead.
The Longhorns, who entered seventh in the nation in scoring at 90 points per game, shot 54 percent for the game to 40 percent for the Dukes.
Roshala Scott led James Madison (7-3) with 22 points and Peyton McDaniel and Ashanti Barnes had 12 apiece. McDaniel added eight rebounds for the Dukes, who had 24 turnovers.
No. 10 Notre Dame 93, Syracuse 62
The Fighting Irish pulled away from a seven-point halftime lead to demolish the host Orange in the ACC opener for both schools.
The trio of Sonia Citron, Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles led Notre Dame’s win with double-doubles. Citron had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Hidalgo racked up 24 and 10, respectively, and Miles shone with 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Hidalgo, third in Division I in scoring (24.6 ppg), netted nine points and Citron had eight in the third quarter, as Notre Dame (7-2, 1-0 ACC) outscored Syracuse (4-6, 0-1) 29-13 to pull away.
Keira Scott posted 16 points and Sophie Burrows tacked on 13 for the Orange, who shot only 32.5 percent. The Irish shot 50 percent and thrived despite 20 turnovers.
No. 16 North Carolina 72, Coppin State 46
The Tar Heels built a comfortable halftime lead and used its bench players freely in devouring the Eagles in Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina (9-1) entered second-best in the nation in scoring defense at 49.1 points per game and excelled again, holding Coppin State to 27.3 percent shooting.
Meanwhile, the Tar Heels shot 44.4 percent while having 12 players enter the scoring column, led by Maria Gakdeng’s 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Reniya Kelly scored six of her eight points in the first quarter as North Carolina took a 23-13 lead. The Tar Heels grew the lead to 46-27 by intermission.
Tiffany Hammond and Angel Jones scored 12 points apiece for Coppin State (6-5), and Laila Lawrence added 10 points with 10 rebounds.
No. 18 Ole Miss 85, Tennessee State 38
The Rebels had more points by halftime than the Lady Tigers scored in the game after jumping out to a 14-2 lead in the first quarter and 44-19 by intermission.
Kennedy Todd-Williams led Ole Miss (6-3) with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Sira Thienou added 12 and six, respectively. The Rebels shot 46 percent for the game.
Ole Miss began the day seventh in the nation in scoring defense at 49.8 points allowed per game, and it punished Tennessee State to the tune of 23.6 percent shooting and 22 forced turnovers.
XaiOnna Whitfield led the Lady Tigers (4-6) with 10 points.
No. 20 Iowa State 82, Central Michigan 56
Audi Crooks scored 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting and added 10 rebounds as the Cyclones slammed the Chippewas in Ames, Iowa.
Emily Ryan netted 10 of her 12 points in the first quarter and Crooks scored nine in the period as Iowa State (8-2) jumped out to a 31-13 lead and enjoyed a cushion of at least 18 points the rest of the way. Addy Brown added 18 points for the Cyclones, who shot 52.5 percent and rolled despite having 20 turnovers.
Jayda Mosley led Central Michigan (3-6) with 11 points and Madi Morson and Ayanna-Sarai Darrington added 10 apiece. The Chippewas shot only 33.3 percent from the floor and had 26 turnovers.
No. 24 Michigan State 89, DePaul 61
The unbeaten Spartans put four scorers in double figures as they systematically disposed of the Blue Demons in East Lansing, Mich.
Jaddan Simmons finished with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Julia Ayrault stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals for Michigan State (9-0). Emma Shumate and Jocelyn Tate had 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Jorie Allen put up 15 points, 11 boards, seven assists and three steals and Grace Carstensen also notched 15 points for DePaul (3-7), which shot just 28.8 percent despite hitting 9 of 18 of its 3-point attempts.
The Spartans led by seven after one quarter and 17 at halftime before coasting through the second half.
No. 25 Nebraska 84, Minnesota 65
Strong first quarters by Callin Hake and Amiah Hargrove sent the Cornhuskers on their way to pinning the first loss on the Golden Gophers in the Big Ten Conference opener for each team.
Hake scored eight of her 11 points in the first period and Hargrove eight of her 10 as Nebraska (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten) seized a 27-11 lead and never looked back. Hargrove scored eight of the Cornhuskers’ 10 straight points to end the quarter.
Alberte Rimdal led the winners with 12 points and Alexis Markowski added 11 with nine rebounds.
Mallory Heyer collected 12 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota (10-1, 0-1). Tori McKinney scored 11 points and Grace Crocholski and Alexsia Rose 10 apiece, but the Golden Gophers hit just 35.2 percent of their shots.
–Field Level Media