Auburn and Missouri advance in SEC women's tournament

AUBURN 77

VANDERBILT 67

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - Unique Thompson and Daisa Alexander powered a 17-2 fourth-quarter run and Auburn beat Vanderbilt 77-67 in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament on Wednesday.

Thompson was 9-of-12 shooting and finished with 21 points and nine rebounds and Alexander scored 19 and had nine assists. Erin Howard added 15 points, including a career-high five 3-pointers, for Auburn (11-17). The No. 13 seed Tigers play No. 5 seed and 25th-ranked Arkansas in the second round Thursday.

Thompson and Alexander, who combined for 25 second-half points, each scored six - and Howard hit a 3 - as Auburn held the Commodores scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes in the decisive run. Vanderbilt (14-16) missed just three shots during that stretch but committed seven turnovers which the Tigers converted into 11 points.

Auburn finished with 31 points off 25 Commodores turnovers.

Koi Love scored a career-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting for Vanderbilt. The freshman added seven rebounds and a season-high tying seven assists.

MISSOURI 64

MISSISSIPPI 53

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - Aijha Blackwell scored 16 points and Missouri beat Mississippi 64-53 in the Southeastern Conference tournament Wednesday.

The No. 11 seed Tigers play sixth-seeded Tennessee in the second round Thursday. The Lady Vols won the only regular-season matchup between the teams 77-66.

Amber Smith hit a 3-pointer and Nadia Green made 1 of 2 free throws and then a layup to make it 34-24 at the end of the second quarter. Missouri (9-21) scored 14 of the first 16 second-half points to make it 48-26 when Haley Troup hit a 3-pointer.

Mimi Reid had 15 points, five rebounds, seven assists and a career-high four steals for the 14th-seeded Rebels (7-23). Ole Miss has lost 17 in row, tied with Evansville for the second-longest active streak.

Reid made a layup to pull the Rebels within four with 2:22 left in the first half but they missed their next 11 field-goal attempts before Jayla Alexander hit a jumper with 4:57 left in the third. Missouri made 9 of 10 from the field during that span.

ACC TOURNAMENT

WAKE FOREST 83

NORTH CAROLINA 73

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Ivana Raca tied her career-high with 27 points and grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds, Alex Sharp scored 16 of her 19 points in the second half, and Wake Forest beat North Carolina 83-73 in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Wednesday.

Sharp added 10 rebounds to move past Tracy Connor into third in program history with 907 career rebounds. Christina Morra had a career-high 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds and Gina Conti scored 10 points for Wake Forest (15-15).

The No. 13 seed Demon Deacons play fifth-seeded Virginia Tech in the second round Thursday. The Hokies won the only regular-season matchup between the teams 73-62.

Conti hit a 3-pointer and Morra sandwiched a jumper and a layup around a 3 by Sharp to give Wake Forest a 71-58 lead with 7:26 to play. Shayla Bennett hit a 3-pointer for the Tar Heels but Raca answered with a layup to spark an 8-0 run that pushed the lead to 18 points midway through the fourth.

Bennett tied her career-high with 26 points and added seven assists for No. 12 seed North Carolina.

Wake Forest outrebounded the Tar Heels 47-22, including 20-5 on the offensive glass, and outscored North Carolina 32-4 in second-chance points.

PITT 67

NOTRE DAME 65

GREENSBORO, S.C. (AP) - Dayshanette Harris hit the go-ahead jumper with 2.7 seconds to play and stole Notre Dame's ensuing inbound pass as Pittsburgh beat the Fighting Irish 67-65 Wednesday for its second-ever victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Pitt (5-25) snapped a 12-game skid in the series, dating to Feb. 3, 2009, and likely put an end to a string of 24 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances by the Fighting Irish. The Panthers, who had lost nine straight games overall, won for just the second time since beating Mississippi 58-50 on Nov. 30.

Harris finished with 20 points and a career-high 10 rebounds - the freshman's first double-double. Gabbie Green hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range and had 14 points and Amber Brown and Ismini Prapa scored 12 apiece. Prapa, who went into the game averaging 1.5 points per game, made 4 of 4 from the field and set career highs for points, 3-pointers made (four) and assists (three).

Notre Dame tried to trap Harris but she tip-toed along the right sideline to slip past the double team and then pulled up for a short tie-breaking jumper. The Fighting Irish called a timeout, moving to the ball to the front court, but Harris anticipated the inbound pass and her steal sealed the win.

The No. 15 seed Panthers play seventh-seeded Georgia Tech in the second round Thursday.

Katlyn Gilbert led Notre Dame (13-18) with 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting. The rest of the team shot just 31% (15 of 48).

BIG 12 TOURNAMENT

WISCONSIN 71

ILLINOIS 55

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Abby Laszewski had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Imani Lewis added 14 points and nine boards, and Wisconsin beat Illinois 71-55 in the Big Ten Conference tournament Wednesday.

No. 12 seed Wisconsin (12-18), which snapped a seven-game skid, plays fifth-seeded Rutgers in the second round Thursday.

Sydney Hilliard scored 11 points and Niya Beverly added 10 and six assists for the Badgers. Wisconsin, which entered 10th in the conference at 13.5 assists per game, had a season-high 22 assists on 27 field goals.

Beverly hit back-to-back 3-pointers 36 seconds apart to give Wisconsin a 17-11 lead a minute into the second quarter. Cierra Rice hit a 3 and Brandi Beasley made a short jumper to pull the Illini within a point but five different Wisconsin players scored in an 11-0 run to make it 28-16 with four minutes to go before halftime. Illinois twice trimmed its deficit to eight points in the fourth quarter but Laszewski answered with four consecutive points each time.

Ali Andrews had 15 points and freshman Kennedi Myles had her eighth double-double of the season for the No. 13 seed Illini (11-19). Myles finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.