COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Aliyah Boston had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Zia Cooke added 18 points to lift No. 1 South Carolina to an 81-56 victory over No. 17 Maryland on Friday night.
Shortly after the Indiana Fever won the WNBA draft lottery — with Boston expected to be the No. 1 pick — the South Carolina star led her team to a fairly routine victory in its first real test of the season. The defending champions held off a gritty Maryland team that was playing without its own potential lottery pick. Diamond Miller was out with a right knee injury.
Abby Meyers scored 21 points to lead Maryland (1-1), but aside from her ability to score from the midrange and beyond the arc, the undersized Terrapins had a tough time offensively. Perhaps no stat summed up this game better than the Gamecocks’ 11-0 advantage in blocked shots.
No. 11 INDIANA 93, UMASS LOWELL 37
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Mackenzie Holmes scored 17 points, Sara Scalia added 15 points and Indiana beat UMass Lowell for the fourth largest margin of victory in program history.
Indiana pulled away in the second quarter as UMass Lowell went nine-plus minutes without a field goal. The Hoosiers went on a 23-3 run during the drought and led 49-17 at halftime.
Lilly Meister had 10 points for Indiana (2-0), which plays No. 5 Tennessee on Monday. The Hoosiers finished with 34 points off 20 turnovers.
Jaini Edmonds and Ella Ner each scored nine points for UMass Lowell (0-2).
No. 13 VIRGINIA TECH 67, BUCKNELL 41
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Elizabeth Kitley scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Virginia Tech pulled away from Bucknell.
Cayla King, who had 33 points with a school-record nine 3-pointers on opening night, and Kitley combined for eight points as the Hokies closed the half with a 9-2 run to open a 31-23 lead. Kitley had 12 points, but Virginia Tech (2-0) only shot 36%.
Bucknell stayed close by shooting 48% but only shot 35% in the second half.
Virginia Tech scored 23 points off 20 turnovers and had a 16-4 advantage in offensive rebounds. Georgia Amoore added 11 points. King scored eight.
Cecelia Collins led the Bison (0-2) with 13 points.
No. 15 OKLAHOMA 97, SMU 74
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Madi Williams had 25 points, five rebounds and four assists and Oklahoma made 14 3-pointers in a victory over SMU.
Williams was 10 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 3 from distance, to reach 20-plus points for the 31st time in her career. Williams was one of six Sooners with at least two made 3-pointers.
Aubrey Joens scored 13 points, Skylar Vann had 12 points and seven rebounds, and Nevaeh Tot had 12 points and seven assists for Oklahoma (2-0), which shot 52.3% overall.
Chantae Embry scored 20 points and Jasmine Smith added 19 points for SMU (1-1).
VILLANOVA 69, No. 24 PRINCETON 59
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — Maddy Siegrist scored five of her 32 points after reentering the game with four fouls and Villanova closed on a 12-0 run to upend Princeton.
Siegrist was 12-of-17 shooting with three 3-pointers to pick up her 18th 30-point game and had 13 rebounds for her 39th double-double.
The Wildcats (2-0) were down 56-55 when Siegrist returned with 4:45 to go. Julia Cunningham’s 3-pointer with four minutes to play had Princeton on top 59-57 but that was it.
Villanova made 3 of 4 shots in the run plus 6 of 7 free throws while Princeton missed its last seven shots.
Cunningham had four 3-pointers and 18 points for Princeton (1-1).
No. 25 MICHIGAN 91, St. FRANCIS (Pa.) 36
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Emily Kiser scored 25 points, Laila Phelia added 21 points and Michigan beat St. Francis (Pa.).
Michigan scored the opening 12 points of the game and led 49-12 at halftime after forcing 20 turnovers and holding St. Francis to 5-of-21 shooting. The Wolverines finished the game with 19 steals, helping to score 46 points off turnovers.
Cameron Williams had 12 points and eight rebounds for Michigan (2-0), which hosts Western Michigan on Wednesday.
Kiser was 11 of 14 from the field and she had a team-high four steals. Phelia only missed one of her 10 shots as Michigan shot 50.7%.
St. Francis (0-2) was held to 32.4% shooting. Adison Novosel had a team-high nine points.
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