Syracuse’s Dyaisha Fair scored 27 points against Notre Dame on Sunday.
AP file photo
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Dyaisha Fair scored 27 points and hit three huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, leading Syracuse to an 86-81 victory over No. 13 Notre Dame in a thrilling ACC opener on Sunday.
Syracuse’s Alyssa Latham added 21 points and 12 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.
Fair’s 3-pointer gave Syracuse a 71-67 lead with 3:41 remaining in the fourth quarter. The clutch bucket came after the Orange had forced six turnovers and allowed only five shot attempts by Notre Dame in the first 5-plus minutes of the period.
Leading 73-71, Fair hit another 3-pointer to put the Orange up by five near the 2-minute mark and her third triple of the quarter gave Syracuse a 79-71 lead with 1:17 remaining.
After Notre Dame managed just four points in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter, Hannah Hidalgo scored the last 12 for the Irish but they were never closer than five points in the final minute.
Hidalgo, a freshman, led Notre Dame with a season-high 32 points. She has averaged 31.5 points in Notre Dame’s two losses. She added six assists and seven steals on Sunday. Maddy Westbeld had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Anna DeWolfe scored 15 for Notre Dame (9-2).
Georgia Woolley had 10 points for Syracuse (11-1).
There were 52 turnovers in the game — 28 by Syracuse.
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 39-5 and had won the last four meetings.
It was Notre Dame’s first loss since a season-opening setback against South Carolina in Paris.
Syracuse scored the first seven points of the game and that would be the biggest lead for either team until late in the final quarter. The score was tied at 19 after one quarter and Syracuse led 42-38 at halftime. Notre Dame forced eight turnovers in the third quarter and outscored Syracuse 27-19 to take a 65-61 lead heading to the fourth.
Both teams return to action on Thursday. Notre Dame will visit Pittsburgh and Syracuse goes to No. 24 North Carolina.
NO. 3 NC STATE 72, VIRGINIA 61
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Mimi Collins scored 25 points and Saniya Rivers had 10 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists as No. 3 North Carolina State pulled away after halftime and beat Virginia.
River Baldwin added 14 points and 12 rebound for the Wolfpack (13-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who trailed 32-31 at halftime, but scored 12 of the first 13 points in the third period. They outscored Virginia 23-8 in the quarter, showing the same focus as in their previous game 11 days ago, when their 51 second-half points were more than Old Dominion managed in an 87-50 loss.
Camryn Taylor led Virginia (8-4, 0-1) with 14 points and 15 rebounds despite sitting for long stretches of the second half in foul trouble. Kymora Johnson also scored 14, but missed 17 of 22 shots. The Cavaliers started the night sixth nationally with an average of 47.6 rebounds, but were no match for the Wolfpack, who built a 56-44 rebounding edge and won the points in the paint battle 32-16.
The game turned quickly after halftime. Virginia missed its first three field goal tries and had four turnovers in the first 2:45, prompting a timeout. But the 7-0 start for the Wolfpack turned into a 12-1 run and 43-33 lead that grew steadily.
Virginia shot 27.8% (10 for 36) in each half.
NO. 9 STANFORD 98, MORGAN STATE 38
STANFORD, Calif. — Cameron Brink had 18 points, five rebounds and six blocked shots to lead No. 9 Stanford to a in over Morgan State.
Elena Bosgana had 14 points and six rebounds, and Hannah Jump added 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting as Stanford (11-1) won its seventh straight home game.
Laila Fair led Morgan State (4-9) with eight points and eight rebounds.
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer won her 1,198th career game, moving five wins away from the all-time record for career victories in college basketball (men’s or women’s) held by former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“We had six people in double figures, everyone got to play and no one got hurt,” VanDerveer said. “That’s a good night.”
Stanford took control of the game early, outscoring Morgan State 29-15 in the first quarter.
The Cardinal allowed just six Morgan State points in the second quarter and held the Bears to 27.8% shooting from the field in the first half. Brink was a big part of Stanford’s success in the first half, scoring 16 points, blocking five shots and grabbing four rebounds.
At halftime, Stanford led 51-21.
The Cardinal continued to dominate in the second half. Stanford won the third quarter by a wide margin, outscoring the Bears 24-6.
Stanford’s defense forced 20 turnovers, which led to 33 points, and held Morgan State to 26.1% shooting from the field for the game.
VanDerveer said there has been a point of emphasis the this season to play at a faster pace.
“I thought we ran the floor really well,” VanDerveer said. “We really want to play up-tempo.”
With a 48-point lead going into the fourth quarter, Stanford used the final 10 minutes to play some of its younger players. Freshman forward Nunu Agara scored seven of her 14 points in the fourth quarter as VanDerveer sat the Cardinal’s core rotation players.
“Just being to able experience this early so I could get used to it, and it’s been really fun to play in general,” Agara said.
Redshirt sophomore Jzaniya Harriel played 17 minutes, scored 13 points and dished out five assists. She is another player who VanDerveer is looking at to be another piece in her rotation when conference play starts.
“I think I’m trying to play to the best of my ability so that (Tara) can gain more confidence in me to play,” Harriel said. “I think I knocked some shots down, passed the ball and that was the focus for me today.”
The Cardinal closed their nonconference schedule with a 12-1 record. Their only loss came on the road against Gonzaga on Dec. 3.
NO. 14 VIRGINIA TECH 91, PITTSBURGH 41
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Georgia Amoore scored 20 points, Olivia Summiel had a double-double and Virginia Tech coasted to a win over Pitt in an Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
Matilda Ekh scored 16 points for the Hokies (10-2), Cayla King and Carleigh Wenzel had 11 points and Elizabeth Kitley and Summiel scored 10. Summiel, who was 4-for-4 shooting, had 11 rebounds.
Liatu King scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the Panthers (6-8), but her teammates shot just 8 of 41 (19.5%). Pitt was outrebounded 40-28 and had 18 turnovers that were turned into 24 points.
NO. 15 UCONN 95, NO. 18 MARQUETTE 64
HARTFORD, Conn. — Paige Bueckers scored 25 points, Aaliyah Edwards had 19 points and 12 rebounds and UConn ended Marquette’s best start ever with a dominating win.
The Huskies (10-3, 2-0 Big East) closed the first quarter with a 13-0 run and then outscored the Golden Eagles (12-1, 1-1) 54-26 in the middle two quarters.
KK Arnold had 13 points for UConn and Ashlynn Shade added 12.
Jordan King had 16 points for Marquette, Liza Karlen added 13, Mackenzie Hare 12 and Skylar Forbes 10.
NO. 16 INDIANA 77, ILLINOIS 71
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Mackenzie Holmes scored 30 points, Yarden Garzon was clutch in the closing seconds and Indiana ran its winning streak to 10 with a win over Illinois.
Chloe Moore-McNeil scored 19 points for Indiana (11-1, 2-0 Big Ten Conference) and Garzon had 12. Holmes gave the Hoosiers a 30-point scorer for the third straight game, a first in program history.
Makira Cook scored 24 points for the Illini (6-6, 0-2), with 13 in the fourth quarter. Kendall Bostic had 18 and 11 rebounds and Genesis Bryant added 12 points.
NO. 19 LOUISVILLE 77, MIAMI 72
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Jayda Curry scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, Nyla Harris had 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Louisville beat Miami in a sloppy and disjointed Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.
Merissah Russell scored 11 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter for Louisville (12-2).
Lemyah Hylton led Miami (10-2) with 12 points and Jaleah Williams scored eight of her 11 in the fourth quarter. Shayeann Day-Wilson, Lashae Dwyer and Jasmyne Roberts added 10 points apiece.
NO. 22 FLORDIA STATE 73, WAKE FOREST 61
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ta’Niya Latson scored 30 points, half of them in the fourth quarter, and Florida State used a late surge to break away from Wake Forest.
Latson was joined in double figures for the game by O’Mariah Gordon with 12 points and Makayla Timpson with 11. Timpson grabbed 12 rebounds to complete her fourth double-double of the season. She also had three steals and blocked three shots for the Seminoles (10-3, 2-0 ACC).
Malaya Cowles scored 16 points and Alexandria Scruggs had 10 points and eight rebounds for Wake Forest (4-9, 0-1).
NO. 24 NORTH CAROLINA 82, CLEMSON 76
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Lexi Donarski made six 3-pointers and scored 23, Alyssa Ustby finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds and North Carolina began Atlantic Coast Conference play with a victory over Clemson.
The Tar Heels (9-4) beat the Tigers for an eighth straight time. Ustby made 8 of 10 shots and 5 of 7 free throws, notching her sixth double-double of the season. Deja Kelly pitched in with 15 points and eight assists.
Amari Robinson led Clemson (8-6, 1-1) with 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Dayshanette Harris had 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. Ruby Whitehorn had 14 points.