SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – Rui Hachimura scored 23 points as No. 2 Gonzaga beat Pepperdine 92-64 on Thursday night, keeping the door open to a possible No. 1 ranking next week.
Zach Norvell Jr. added 21 and Brandon Clarke had 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks for Gonzaga (26-2, 13-0), which won its 17th consecutive game, longest streak in the nation.
Darnell Dunn scored 16 and Jade Smith had 13 for Pepperdine (12-16, 5-9), which lost to the Zags for the 36th consecutive time dating to 2002.
Gonzaga shot 63 percent while holding Pepperdine to 39 percent to coast to victory. The Zags jumped out to a 21-11 lead midway through the first, using a pressure defense to disrupt the Waves.
Hachmiura sank consecutive baskets as Gonzaga built a 28-15 lead. Norvell scored 10 consecutive Gonzaga points as the Bulldogs took a 41-26 lead.
Hachmiura’s 3-pointer at the buzzer lifted Gonzaga to a 53-33 lead at halftime. He had 21 points in the first, Norvell had 17, and Gonzaga shot 65.6 percent.
Gonzaga opened the second half with a 15-2 run to go up 68-35.
Pepperdine went on a 21-3 run to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 71-56.
But the Zags replied with a 12-2 run to push the lead back to 25 at 83-58 with five minutes left.
• No. 7 Michigan 69, Minnesota 60
MINNEAPOLIS – Jordan Poole scored 22 points to lead a long-range shooting spree by seventh-ranked Michigan and the Wolverines beat Minnesota 69-60 on Thursday to set up a weekend matchup against rival Michigan State for first place in the Big Ten.
Jon Teske had 17 points and seven rebounds and Ignas Brazdeikis added 10 points for the Wolverines (24-3, 13-3). They are tied with the Spartans at the top of the conference, with Purdue a half-game behind.
Michigan went 13 for 28 from behind the 3-point line, matching a season best for makes in Big Ten play, with Poole going 5 for 10 and Teske 3 of 6.
Jordan Murphy (18 points, 15 rebounds) and Daniel Oturu (18 points, 12 rebounds) gave the Gophers (17-10, 7-9) plenty of production in the paint, but they missed nine of 10 attempts from 3-point range. The Wolverines have won 13 of the last 14 games in the series, including nine of 10 since Richard Pitino took over as coach of the Gophers.
These well-balanced Wolverines, who had nine points and nine rebounds from Charles Matthews and 12 assists from Zavier Simpson, needed a buzzer-beating jumper by Matthews to stave off a late surge by the Gophers for a 59-57 victory at home on Jan. 22. Michigan made only 3 of 22 from behind the arc in that game.
This time, the Wolverines trailed for only 31 seconds. They used an 11-0 run over a 5:17 stretch early in the first half to take charge, and the Gophers were no match for their stifling half-court defense. Amir Coffey missed his first 10 shots from the floor for Minnesota and finished 2 for 15 for six points.
Some of Coffey’s attempts to get the Gophers going were forced off-balance heaves, but his first open look was an air-balled 3-pointer. In a sign of how poorly the night was going for the Gophers on offense and how much the Wolverines were in sync, Dupree McBrayer made a slick pass from the perimeter to the baseline for Eric Curry on a late-first-half possession. As soon as Curry brought the ball down to waist level in his advance to the basket, Isaiah Livers stuffed his layup attempt cold to preserve a 24-14 lead.
Oturu had a double-double by halftime, beating the buzzer with his putback to bring the Gophers to 28-18, but that was their lowest score of any half all season. The Wolverines built a lead as large as 21 points in the second half, sinking 3-pointer after 3-pointer whenever the Gophers were on the verge of a run.
• No. 8 Maryland 71, Minnesota 69
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Kaila Charles made a buzzer-beating layup to cap a furious comeback by No. 8 Maryland, which never led until that final basket sealed a 71-69 victory over Minnesota on Thursday night.
The Terrapins (24-3, 13-3 Big Ten) trailed 54-38 in the third quarter, by 11 with 8:59 remaining and 67-60 with 1:58 to go before closing with an 11-2 run against the stunned Golden Gophers.
Charles finished with a season-high 29 points, including the game-tying layup with 6.6 seconds left. After Minnesota got the ball past midcourt and called a timeout, Shakira Austin deflected the inbounds pass to Charles, who drove the length of the floor for the game-winning basket.
Destiny Pitts scored 24 and Kenisha Bell added 23 for the Golden Gophers (19-8, 8-8).
• No. 4 Louisville 71, Virginia 49
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Dana Evans scored 13 points and Louisville used a 16-0 run spanning halftime to take command and beat Virginia.
Asia Durr added 12 points and Sam Fuehring 11 for the Cardinals (24-2, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who bounced back from a loss to No. 14 Miami on Sunday.
Jocelyn Willoughby had 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead Virginia (10-16, 4-9) and Lisa Jablonowski had 13. The Cavaliers led 28-25 at halftime, but the Cardinals scored the first 12 points after halftime to open a 37-28 lead. They wound up outscoring the Cavaliers 46-21 in the second half.
Virginia was seeking its first victory against a ranked team since it beat No. 4 Florida State 60-51 on Feb. 16, 2017.
• No. 5 Notre Dame 89, Duke 61
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Arike Ogunbowale scored 25 points to become Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer as the Fighting Irish routed Duke.
Ogunbowale hit 11 of 19 shots as she passed South Bend native Skyler Diggins-Smith’s 2,357 points scored from 2009-13 for coach Muffet McGraw. Ogunbowale now has 2,371.
Her jumper, after a steal, over Duke’s Haley Gorecki at the free-throw line with 8:49 remaining in the second quarter swished through the basket and took her past Diggins-Smith, who was in Dallas awaiting the birth of her first child.
Miela Goodchild scored 26 points with the help of a freshman school-record eight 3-pointers to lead the Blue Devils (11-14, 3-10 ACC), who lost their third straight.
• No. 6 Mississippi State 80, Mississippi 66
OXFORD, Miss. – Anriel Howard scored 21 points, Jordan Danberry added 20 and Teaira McCowan scored 15 in Mississippi State’s win over Mississippi.
It was a much tighter game than Mississippi State might have anticipated, but a dominant third quarter helped the Bulldogs pick up their 10th straight victory over their in-state rival.
Ole Miss (9-18, 3-10 Southeastern Conference) kept things close throughout the first half, trailing 37-29 at the break. Mississippi State (24-2, 12-1) outscored the Rebels 26-14 in the third quarter to pull away.
Crystal Allen led Ole Miss with a 29 points.
• No. 9 North Carolina State 80, Wake Forest 46
RALEIGH, N.C. – Aislinn Konig scored 14 points and handed out six assists to help North Carolina State breeze to an easy win over Wake Forest.
Kiara Leslie and Kayla Jones added 14 points apiece and Kai Crutchfield contributed 12 as the Wolfpack held Wake Forest to 27 percent shooting from the field and rushed out to a 47-20 halftime lead. N.C. State (23-3, 10-3 ACC) improved to 38-5 against the Deacons in games held in Raleigh.
Alex Raca scored 15 points and Alex Sharp added 10 to lead Wake Forest (10-16, 1-12), which suffered its sixth consecutive defeat and has lost 12 of its last 13.
• Indiana 75, No. 10 Iowa 73
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Bendu Yeaney scored with 3.8 seconds left and blocked a potential game-winning shot to lift Indiana to an upset of Iowa.
With the game tied at 73, she drove for go-ahead basket. Tania Davis tried a 3 at the buzzer that Yeaney blocked to snap a four-game skid for the Hoosiers (18-10, 7-9 Big Ten).
Iowa (21-6, 12-4) fell a game behind conference leader Maryland with two games left in the regular season.
Megan Gustafson scored 26 points to lead Iowa.
• No. 15 Gonzaga 74, Santa Clara 61
SPOKANE, Wash. – Zykera Rice scored 15 points and Laura Stockton added 13 while moving into third place on No. 15 Gonzaga’s career assist list and the Bulldogs defeated Santa Clara 74-61 on Thursday night.
Jenn Wirth added 12 for the Bulldogs (24-3, 13-2 West Coast Conference), who bounced back after their second two-point loss to BYU this season. Stockton had seven assists, giving her 446 and moving her ahead of Amy Simpson.
Naomi Jimenez gave Santa Clara a 20-19 lead with the first points of the second quarter, but Leeanne Wirth had consecutive baskets for the Zags. Lexie Pritchard pulled the Broncos even with a 3-pointer, but Chandler Smith answered with a 3-pointer for Gonzaga to start an 11-0 run. Jen Wirth had a 3-point play and the last basket of the run. Gonzaga led 38-27 at the half.
A 12-2 run in the third quarter put the Bulldogs in control.
Rice had nine rebounds and Jenn Wirth eight as GU, which won the first meeting 78-61, had a 41-31 advantage on the boards.
Ashlyn Herlihy had 13 points for the Broncos (11-15, 4-11) and Tia Hay added 12.
• No. 16 Kentucky 65, No. 13 South Carolina 57
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Freshman Rhyne Howard and senior Taylor Murray scored 17 points apiece and Kentucky ended a nine-game losing streak against South Carolina, beating the Gamecocks for their first win in Columbia since 2012.
Marci Morris, another senior, added 12 points for the Wildcats (22-5, 9-4 Southeastern Conference), making all three of her baskets and scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter after missing her first eight shots.
Alexis Jennings and Destanni Henderson had 12 points apiece for the Gamecocks (19-7, 11-2), who played the second half without leading scorer Te’a Cooper because of a sprained ankle.
• Virginia Tech 73, No. 14 Miami 65
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Taylor Emery scored 24 points and Aisha Sheppard added 17, including the go-ahead 3-pointer, and Virginia Tech upset Miami, ending a string of 15 straight losses to the Hurricanes.
Trinity Baptiste added 16 points for Hokies (17-9, 4-9 ACC), who beat a Hurricanes squad that was coming off a victory over then-No. 2 Louisville.
Beatrice Mompremier scored 18 points with 15 rebounds for Miami (22-6, 10-3).
It was Virginia Tech’s first win over a ranked opponent since 2016.
• No. 18 Syracuse 82, Pittsburgh 50
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Emily Engstler scored 13 of her career-high 17 points in the first half and Syracuse coasted to a win over Pittsburgh.
Another reserve, Kiara Lewis, had 14 points as the Syracuse bench poured in 57 points. Tiana Mangakahia had 10 points and 12 assists, her sixth points/assists double-double of the season for the Orange (20-6, 9-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi also had 10 points and eight rebounds.
Danielle Garven scored 23 points for Pitt (10-18, 1-13).
• No. 21 Texas A&M 79, Tennessee 62
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Kayla Wells scored a career-high 29 points, Chennedy Carter had 28 and Texas A&M defeated Tennessee.
Wells was 10-of-15 shooting, including 5 of 8 from the arc. Carter, the Southeastern Conference’s leading scoring coming in at 22.1 per game, was just three shy of her season high despite missing all six of her 3-point attempts. Carter set a school record with her 33rd consecutive game in double figures, passing Danielle Adams (2010-11). Shambria Washington added 11 points and seven assists while N’dea Jones had 10 rebounds.
The Aggies (20-6, 9-4), led by five at halftime before outscoring the Lady Vols 27-12 in the third quarter, shooting 69 percent with Wells scoring 13 points and Carter 10. The lead reached 23 with 4:28 left in the game.
Evina Westbrook led Tennessee (17-9, 6-7) with 17 points.
• No. 23 South Dakota 73, Denver 58
VERMILLION, S.D. – Ciara Duffy scored 16 points and Monica Arens 12, with both sinking four 3-pointers, and South Dakota avenged its only Summit League loss this season with a victory over Denver.
Hannah Sjerven added 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Coyotes (23-3, 12-1), who have won 11 straight games since losing at Denver 104-99 on Jan. 3. The Coyotes shot 49 percent, made 10 of 23 from the arc for 43.5 percent and outscored the Pioneers 20-9 off turnovers.
Samantha Romanowski scored 12 points, Madison Nelson 12 and Lauren Loven 10 for Denver (14-12, 7-6).
South Dakota faces South Dakota State on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Frost Arena in Brookings.
