Maryland women outrun Arkansas

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Katie Benzan scored a career-high 28 points, drained eight 3-pointers, led five Terrapins into double-figure scoring and No. 12 Maryland roared past No. 14 Arkansas 115-96 on Sunday night for its highest-scoring defeat of a ranked opponent.

Chloe Bibby added 23 points and 12 rebounds, hitting 5 of 7 shots from distance, Diamond Miller scored 19 with 10 rebounds, freshman Angel Reese scored 16 and Ashley Owusu 12.

The Terrapins (2-1), stung by a loss to No. 24 Missouri State Saturday night, came out fired up. Benzan hit a 3 and Bibby two more, sparking a 19-4 run early in the first quarter to take control.

Maryland doubled down with a 41-point third quarter, a program record.

Makayla Daniels scored 21 to lead the Razorbacks (3-1), who trailed by 20 at the half and got as close as 15 only inside the final two minutes. Chelsea Dungee added 18 points, Destiny Slocum 16 and Marquesha Davis 15.

Benzan was 10-for-18 shooting, 8 of 14 from distance and Maryland was 16 of 31 from beyond the arc.

Maryland's previous high score against a ranked opponent was 104 at No. 14 Virginia in 1989.

No. 1 South Carolina 79, Gonzaga 72

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Destanni Henderson scored a career-high 23 points and Zia Cooke added 16 to help No. 1 South Carolina top 21st-ranked Gonzaga 79-72 on Sunday in the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic.

It was the second straight game that the Gamecocks faced a tough challenge from their opponent.

After Jill Townsend's 3-pointer for Gonzaga gave the Bulldogs a 62-60 lead with six minutes to play, South Carolina (3-0) got the lead back up to eight in the final 90 seconds. The Bulldogs hit nine 3-pointers, including one by Cierra Walker with 54 seconds to play to cut it to 74-70.

Jenn Wirth scored 16 points, two shy of her career high, to lead Gonzaga (0-1).

No. 5 Louisville 101, Eastern Kentucky 58

LOUISVLLE, Ky. -- Hailey Van Lith scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Louisville to a victory in its home opener over Eastern Kentucky.

The Cardinals (2-0) used a 16-2 run to start the second quarter, take a 35-14 lead with 5:17 left in the half and put the game away. They would lead by as much as 40-16 in the half.

Senior guard Dana Evans also scored 20.

Amerah Steele's 11 points led the Colonels (0-2),

No. 6 Mississippi State 88, Jackson State 58

STARKSVILLE, Miss. -- Preseason All-SEC player Rickea Jackson was one of four Mississippi State players to score in double figures as the Bulldogs opened up the Nikki McCray-Penson era with a victory over Jackson State.

The Bulldogs played the Tigers in a game that was scheduled late in the week unexpectedly. They were slated to play in the Women's Hall of Fame Challenge in Connecticut before participant UConn shut down team activities for two weeks due to COVID-19 concerns.

No. 7 Arizona 76, Northern Arizona 63

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Cate Reese scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Aari McDonald added 18 points and Arizona opened its season with a victory over Northern Arizona.

McDonald, a preseason AP All-America selection, scored in double figures for a 67th straight game, which is the nation's longest active streak. She made just 6 of 17 of her shots but finished with eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals.

Northern Arizona (1-1) was playing its second game after beating UNLV 79-75 in the opener. The Lumberjacks jumped out to a 13-8 lead midway through the first quarter but Arizona recovered to take an 18-15 lead by the end of the period and didn't trail again.

No. 8 N.C. State 108, N.C. Central 70

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Elissa Cunane's 17 points led six players in double figures for North Carolina State in a rout of North Carolina Central.

The Wolfpack (2-0) shot 68.3% from the field in a final tune-up before a game at top-ranked South Carolina. Cunane made all six of her shots.

Jakia Brown-Turner, Raina Perez and Kayla Jones all scored 15 points, Jada Boyd added 11 and Kai Crutchfield had 10.

Necole Hope's 17 points led N.C. Central (1-1).

No. 11 Kentucky 70, Belmont 50

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Dre'una Edwards scored a career-high 27 points, matched her career best with 15 rebounds and Kentucky pulled away for a win over Belmont.

Edwards, the Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year at Utah two seasons ago, was 11-of-19 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers and had three steals and an assist.

It was Edwards' turn to step up as the Wildcats (2-0) played their second-straight game without All-American Rhyne Howard and starting forward Tatyana Wyatt.

Madison Treece led Belmont (0-1) with 14 points.

No. 20 Ohio State 82, Duquesne 47

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jacy Sheldon scored 20 points, Dorka Juhasz had a double-double and Ohio State overwhelmed Duquesnen the season opener for both teams.

Though Duquesne entered with a veteran team that includes four graduate students and two seniors, they were outmatched by an Ohio State squad that brought back all five starters and six of its top seven scorers from a year ago.

The Buckeyes broke it open in the second quarter when they outscored the Dukes 19-7 and held Duquesne to 2-of-15 shooting from the field, including 0 for 8 from beyond the 3-point arc.

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