HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Ashlon Jackson scored a career-high 30 points and No. 13 Duke defeated No. 9 Kansas State, 73-62 on Monday, in the semifinals of the Ball Dawgs Classic.
The Blue Devils (6-1) overcame an early 11-point deficit behind Jackson’s shooting to advance to Wednesday’s championship game against No. 8 Oklahoma, an 85-62 winner against DePaul.
Jackson, who has scored in double figures in all six of Duke’s games, shot 12 of 19 (63.1%) from the floor, including 6 of 9 (66.7%) from 3-point range.
Reigan Richardson added 16 points for the Blue Devils.
Kansas State (5-1) was led by Ayoka Lee, who had 16 points. Serena Sundell scored 15 and Kennedy Taylor came off the bench to add 11 for the Wildcats.
NO. 2 UCONN 71, OREGON STATE 52
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting and No. 2 UConn never trailed as the Huskies beat Oregon State at the Baha Mar Women’s Championship.
Sarah Strong, the 2024 Naismith High School Player of the Year, had 13 points, eight rebounds, six steals and two blocks for UConn (5-0). Jana El Alfy had 12 points.
Allie Ziebell scored seven of UConn’s 20 second-quarter points and the Huskies took a 42-19 lead into halftime.
AJ Marotte led the Beavers (1-5) with 17 points and Kelsey Rees scored 10.
NO. 7 LSU 68, WASHINGTON 67
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Kailyn Gilbert scooped in a layup with 1.6 seconds remaining and then stole the ball on the last play of the game to give No. 7 LSU a win over Washington in the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship first round.
Flau’Jae Johnson had to save the ball from going into the backcourt during a scramble that ended in Gilbert’s go-ahead basket. Gilbert corralled the loose ball over a diving Washington player, sliced through the defense and tossed up a shot that hung on the back of the rim before falling through. Gilbert’s ensuing steal sealed it.
Aneesah Morrow had her 80th career double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Tigers (7-0). Johnson also had 19 points and Sa’Myah Smith added 16 with a career-high 15 rebounds.
Sayvia Sellers had a career-high 24 points for the Huskies (6-2). Ellie Ladine had 14 points and nine rebounds.
NO. 8 OKLAHOMA 85, DePaul 62
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Payton Verhulst had 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and No. 8 Oklahoma defeated DePaul in the second semifinal of the Ball Dawgs Classic.
The Sooners (6-0) led wire-to-wire as they continued their dominant start to the season. Oklahoma has won all six games by at least 23 points and has outscored the opposition by an average of 37.5 points per game.
Raegan Beers shot a perfect 6 of 6 from the floor and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for Oklahoma. Liz Scott added 14 points, while Skylar Vann chipped in 11.
Jorie Allen and Meg Newman both scored 15 points to lead DePaul (2-4). Charlece Ohiaeri added 12.
NO. 16 NORTH CAROLINA 69, INDIANA 39
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Trayanna Crisp came off the bench to hit five 3-pointers and score 15 points to spark No. 16 North Carolina to a win over Indiana in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Crisp, a junior transfer from Arizona State, had 12 points in the first half as the Tar Heels eased out to a 32-26 lead.
In the third quarter North Carolina outscored the Hoosiers 22-7, hitting 8 of 16 shots, three from behind the arc, while outrebounding Indiana 12-3 and forcing six turnovers.
The Tar Heels scored the first seven points in the second half and had two more 6-0 runs for a 54-33 lead. With a Crisp 3 to close the third quarter and the first nine points of the fourth quarter, the lead ballooned to 63-33.
Indya Nivar also had 15 points for the Tar Heels (6-1), who held Indiana to 13 points in the second half. Alyssa Ustby had nine points with 13 rebounds and five assists.
Yarden Garzon had 10 points to lead the Hoosiers (4-3), who started the season ranked. Indiana topped No. 24 Stanford before heading to the tournament and beat No. 18 Baylor in Sunday’s semifinals.
NO. 18 MISSISSIPPI 92, BOSTON COLLEGE 55
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Kennedy Todd-Williams scored 17 points, Starr Jacobs had a double-double and No. 18 Mississippi rolled to a win over Boston College in the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship.
Ole Miss used a 15-2 run to take a 15-3 lead in the first quarter and were up 20-8 at the end as the Eagles shot 2 for 12. The Rebels built on their lead from there.
Sira Thienou had 16 points for Ole Miss (4-1), KK Deans had 15 and Jacobs 12 with 11 rebounds.
Dontavia Waggoner led the Eagles (6-2) with 13 points and Andrea Daley added 10.
The Rebels play No. 2 UConn on Wednesday.
A 9-0 run in the second quarter pushed the Ole Miss lead to 35-16. Boston College scored seven straight to get back within a dozen, but the Rebels scored six points in the last 10 seconds to go into the half on top 41-23.
NO. 20 NC STATE 77, SOUTHERN 47
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Zoe Brooks scored 17 points and No. 20 NC State used a dominating fourth quarter to open the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship with a win over Southern.
The Wolfpack (4-2) had their hands full with the Jaguars (0-7), taking a 29-26 lead at the half as Brooks hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
Lorena Awou and Madison Hayes combined for eight points as NC State closed the third quarter with an 8-2 run to lead 45-38.
The teams swapped baskets in the first minute of the fourth quarter before Brooks, Zamareya Jones and Awou combined for 14 points and Aziaha James hit a 3-pointer to cap a 17-0 run. The drought was just two seconds short of five minutes for Southern, which missed five shots and had three turnovers.
The Wolfpack followed with a 12-0 run and outscored the Jaguars, who shot 3 of 12 in the quarter, 32-9.
Jones added 13 points and James 12 for NC State, which faces No. 7 LSU for the title on Wednesday.
GEORGIA TECH 74, NO. 21 OREGON 58
LAIE, Hawaii (AP) — Ariadna Termis scored eight of her 13 points as Georgia Tech pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat No. 21 Oregon at the Hawaii North Shore Showcase.
Zoesha Smith added 12 points with two blocks and two steals and Ines Noguera finished with 11 points, seven assists and three steals for Georgia Tech. Tonie Morgan had 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Kara Dunn grabbed 12 rebounds and Kayla Blackshear 10 for the Yellow Jackets, who outrebounded Oregon 53-31, including 23-8 on the offensive glass.
The Yellow Jackets are off to their best start since they won their first six games of the 2017-18 season.
NO. 23 ALABAMA 83, ALABAMA STATE 33
NICEVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Aaliyah Nye scored 15 points and No. 23 Alabama coasted to a win over Alabama State at the Emerald Coast Classic.
Sarah Ashlee Barker and Karly Weathers both added 12 points for the Crimson Tide (7-0). Zaay Green had 11. Barker, Weathers and Green combined to go 12 of 16 from the field as Alabama shot 51% and made 23 of 34 free throws.
Cordasia Harris had eight points for the Hornets (2-3), who shot 27.5% and had 28 turnovers while being outrebounded by 17.
Alabama entered ranked 17th in scoring offense through the first two weeks of the season, averaging 87.3 points per game.
Barker opened the scoring and contributed another layup before her 3-pointer made it 14-0. The Tide led 26-8 after one quarter. Alabama also had a 13-2 run in the second quarter and Weathers had a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lead 46-20 at halftime.
Alabama plays Clemson on Tuesday.
