LAS VEGAS (AP) — No. 1 and defending champion LSU loses season opener, falling to No. 20 Colorado 92-78 on Monday night in the Hall of Fame Series.
It’s the first time that the No. 1 team and defending champions lost their opener since the 1995-96 season when UConn fell to Louisiana Tech according to ESPN.
Frida Formann scored 27 points and Aaronette Vonleh added 24 to lead Colorado. Jaylyn Sherrod had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Buffaloes. Mikaylah Williams led LSU with 17 points, Angel Reese had 15 points and 12 rebounds, Sa’Myah Smith scored 16 points and noted Louisville transfer Hailey Van Lith and had 14 points.
Colorado, which made the Sweet 16 last season for the first time since 2003, led most of the way in the convincing, statement-making victory. The Buffaloes, who shot 53%, led by as many as 22 points.
No. 3 IOWA 102, FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 46
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark had 28 points and 10 assists and Hannah Stuelke added 22 points as Iowa opened the season with a win over Fairleigh Dickinson.
Clark, the reigning national player of the year who was a unanimous Associated Press preseason All-American this season, started her senior season by hitting 11 of 17 shots. She has scored in double figures in 91 consecutive games. It was the 44th career double-double for Clark, who added seven rebounds while playing just 24 minutes.
Stuelke, the Big Ten’s Sixth Player of the Year last season as a freshman, was 9 of 10 from the field and added nine rebounds in the first start of her career.
No. 6 SOUTH CAROLINA 100, No. 10 NOTRE DAME 71
PARIS (AP) — Kamilla Cardoso had 20 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks as South Carolina opened in style with a victory over Notre Dame in the NCAA’s first women’s game in Paris.
Cardoso is a 6-foot-7 senior who came off the bench behind WNBA No. 1 draft pick Aliyah Boston the past two seasons. Now, she has the middle all to herself and was dominant for South Carolina (1-0), hitting nine of 14 shots for her 17th career double-double.
The Gamecocks used a 24-6 run in the second quarter to break away from the Fighting Irish (0-1) and improve to 14-2 in openers under coach Dawn Staley.
Hannah Hidalgo, a five-star freshman ranked as the fifth-best college prospect by ESPN.com, led Notre Dame with 31 points.
No. 5 UTAH 104, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 45
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Alissa Pili scored 26 points and Utah beat Mississippi Valley State.
Gianna Kneepkins finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Utes. Lani White added 15 points. Issy Palmer chipped in 10 points and seven assists.
Jaylia Reed led Mississippi Valley State with 11 points. Leah Turner added 10 points.
Pili gave the Utes an early spark with her efficient shooting. The Devilettes struggled to keep the junior forward from dominating in the paint. Pili went 7 for 7 from the field and 10 for 12 from the free throw line — all in the first half.
No. 21 USC 83, No. 7 OHIO STATE 74
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Freshman JuJu Watkins scored 32 points in her college debut, lifting Southern California over Ohio State in the season opener for both teams.
Watkins, one of the nation’s highest regarded incoming freshmen, finished 11 of 18 from the floor with six rebounds and five assists.
Rayah Marshall had 18 points and 17 rebounds for the Trojans while McKenzie Forbes scored 11 points.
Jacy Sheldon led the Buckeyes with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting, and Taylor Thierry scored 16.
No. 8 VIRGINIA TECH 94, HIGH POINT 55
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Elizabeth Kitley had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead Virginia Tech to a season-opening victory over High Point.
Kitley connected on 12 of 17 from the floor for the Hokies, who made 14 of their first 16 shots and never trailed. Picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference in the league’s preseason poll, the defending league champion used a 15-2 first-quarter run in which four players scored to pull away.
Georgia Amoore added 14 points and nine assists for Virginia Tech, which unveiled its Final Four banner in the rafters of Cassell Coliseum before the game in commemoration of the program’s first Final Four appearance last March. The players also were presented with Final Four rings.
Lauren Bevis, the preseason Big South Player of the Year, and Nakyah Terrell led the Panthers with 15 points each. High Point shot just 31% (18 of 58).
No. 12 MISSISSIPPI 91, QUEENS UNIVERSITY 44
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Snudda Collins scored 17 points, Madison Scott had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Mississippi beat Queens University.
Ole Miss entered a season ranked for the first time since 1995, with the hopes of making a third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels advanced to the Sweet 16 last season after an upset of No. 1 seeded Stanford.
Ole Miss pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Queens 28-3. The Rebels scored the opening nine points of the quarter and added a 6-0 run before Queens made its first basket of the second half with 5:31 left. Ole Miss closed the frame with a 13-0 burst.
Alexandria Johnson and Nicole Gwynn each scored 11 points for Queens.
No. 17 LOUISVILLE 77, CINCINNATI 59
CINCINNATI (AP) — Transfers Sydney Taylor scored 16 points and Jayda Curry had 13 to help Louisville beat Cincinnati.
The Cardinals, the only team to reach the Elite Eight in the last five NCAA tournaments, were playing their first game without star Hailey Van Lith, who transferred to defending national champion LSU.
Louisville led 36-22 by halftime after holding Cincinnati to just seven points in the second quarter and grew the lead to as many as 20 at 77-57 in the final minute.
Jillian Hayes scored 20 to lead Cincinnati. The Bearcats played 13 players, nine of whom scored.
No. 18 FLORIDA STATE 99, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 63
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — O’Mariah Gordon scored 21 points, Makayla Timpson added 18 points and Florida State began the season with a victory over Charleston Southern.
FSU has won 29 of its last 30 season openers and is 42-10 all-time in season-opening games. The Seminoles lead Charleston Southern 4-0 all-time, including an 83-32 victory in the last meeting during the 2021 season.
Amaya Bonner had 15 points, Alexis Tucker scored 14 and Sara Bejedi added 10 for Florida State. Gordon finished in double-figure scoring for the 18th time in her career.
Florida State scored 11 unanswered points in the first quarter to build a 29-13 lead. Bonner scored five straight points to begin a 10-0 run in the second quarter to make it 44-17. The Seminoles extended their lead to 43 points after opening the third on a 12-2 run to make it 70-27.
Alba Garcia led Charleston Southern with 19 points.
The Seminoles host No. 11 Tennessee on Thursday. Charleston Southern faces another Power Five program on Friday against Clemson.
No. 24 WASHINGTON STATE 78, CAL POLY 61
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Bella Murekatete scored 18 points, Beyonce Bea had 11 points, nine rebounds and five blocks and Washington State beat Cal Poly.
Washington State trailed 34-31 at halftime after Ania McNicholas closed the half with back-to-back 3-pointers for Cal Poly. The Mustangs’ last lead of the game was 41-40 with 6:16 remaining in the third quarter before the Cougars scored 14 straight points to build a double-digit lead.
Cal Poly scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, but Murekatete answered with a three-point play and the Cougars led by at least eight points the rest of the way.
Natalia Ackerman scored 12 points for Cal Poly.
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