COLUMBIA (AP) – A’ja Wilson scored a career-high 26 points and top-ranked South Carolina rode a 28-6 first-half run to rout the LSU Tigers 86-62 on Thursday night.
Twelve steals and 18 fast-break points from freshman of the year candidate Wilson broke open a close game as the Gamecocks (23-1, 11-0) unleashed their galaxy of stars.
Wilson had 14 first-half points, including the first 3-pointer of her career, as she and Khadijah Sessions led the assault. Sessions had 12 and Tiffany Mitchell had 11.
The Gamecocks took out their frustrations of a 25-point loss to Connecticut on LSU by shooting 52.5 percent in the rout.
LSU (14-10, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) had won four straight and seven of nine coming into the game but had no answer for USC’s barrage.
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) – Shawnta Dyer had a season-high 20 points, Miraya Moore scored 15 and No. 9 Louisville cruised to an 81-49 win over Clemson on Thursday night.
Sara Hammond added 12 points and Myisha Hines-Allen 10 to help the Cardinals (21-3, 9-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) win for the fourth time in five games.
Louisville used a quick start and a 19-2 run that straddled both halves to go to 4-0 all-time against the Tigers.
Nikki Dixon and Shelbie Davenport scored 10 points apiece to lead Clemson (9-16, 1-11), which couldn’t handle Louisville’s ACC-leading defense and lost its 11th straight. The Tigers have lost 72 of their past 73 games against ranked opponents.
The Cardinals opened with a 21-5 burst and turned things up again with its big run after the Tigers cut the lead to 10 points late in the opening period.
