College basketball
January 10, 2003
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Alana Beard made two free throws with .8 of a second left to play, capping a stunning 41-point performance that lifted top-ranked Duke to a 60-59 victory Thursday night over Virginia.
The Blue Devils (14-0) maintained the best start in school history only because of their best player, who had 27 of her team's 37 second-half points.
Virginia (5-8) led almost throughout and seemed to have the victory secure when Beard missed in the final seconds. But as the ball caromed toward midcourt, Beard gave chase and so did Virginia's Karen Jaeger, who was whistled for a foul.
Beard made both shots despite the jeering noise of angry fans, and the Cavaliers didn't get off a shot.
NO. 2 LSU 54, AUBURN 45: Seimone Augustus had 15 of her 19 points in the second half for the visiting Tigers (13-0) in the SEC opener for both. Augustus, the team's leading scorer at 13.9 per game, had only four on 1-for-3 shooting in the first half. But she took over in the second half, hitting 6 of 10 shots, including a jumper that put LSU ahead for good with seven minutes left.
NO. 6 STANFORD 62, OREGON ST. 51: Chelsea Trotter had seven of her career-high 17 points late in the game and the visiting Cardinal won its 24th straight Pac-10 game.
NO. 7 PURDUE 59, WISCONSIN 53: Shereka Wright had 26 points and the visiting Boilermakers avoided consecutive road losses to open the Big Ten season. Wright and Erika Valek made shots from the wing on consecutive possessions, and Wright sank a pair of key free throws with 43.1 seconds left.
NO. 9 MINNESOTA 77, ILLINOIS 62: Janel McCarville tied her career high with 23 points, and Lindsay Whalen added 21 and a career-high 12 rebounds for the host Golden Gophers. McCarville had 15 of her points in the second half for the Golden Gophers (13-1), who regrouped after losing their first game of the season on Monday.
NO. 10 UNC 86, WAKE 56: Leah Metcalf and La'Tangela Atkinson each scored 14 and the host Tar Heels won their 10th straight. UNC (13-1) took a 25-6 lead midway through the first half. Wake Forest (10-3) missed 19 of its first 21 shots.
NO. 11 ARKANSAS 78, MEMPHIS 64: Dana Cherry scored 23 and India Lewis added 18 as the Razorbacks won at Memphis for the first time in seven tries. In the second half, Memphis trimmed the lead to 63-50, but the Tigers were unable to get any closer, in part because of poor free-throw shooting.
NO. 12 LA. TECH 83, SAN JOSE ST. 38: Amber Obaze scored 18 and the host Techsters ended the Spartans' regular-season WAC winning streak at eight. The victory was the seventh in a row for the Techsters (9-2).
NO. 13 S. CAROLINA 83, NO. 14 MISS. ST. 79: Koretha Johnson hit the winning layup with 26 seconds left and Jocelyn Penn led the host Gamecocks back from an 18-point deficit in a wild start to the SEC season. The Gamecocks (13-1) were down 61-50 with 10:32 to go. Penn, the nation's leading scorer at 28.2 a game, had eight at the time and was on the bench with four fouls. But Penn scored 16 the rest of the way to send Mississippi State (11-3) off with a disheartening loss.
NO. 17 PENN STATE 86, IOWA 52: Kelly Mazzante had 26 of her 33 points in the second half, and Tanisha Wright finished with 27 points for the host Nittany Lions. Penn State (12-3) opened the second half with a 27-6 run.
NO. 18 ARIZ. 86, WASH. ST. 65: Dee-Dee Wheeler scored 20 points, and Aimee Grzyb added 18 as visiting Arizona handed the Cougars their 36th straight defeat.
NO. 23 OHIO ST. 70, MICH. ST. 65: Courtney Coleman scored 22 to lead the host Buckeyes to their eighth straight victory. Michigan State (7-6) got as close as 48-46 with 10:56 to play, but Ohio State (11-2) went on an 18-7 run.
TEXAS A&M: Senior Kim Moore, the Big 12's second-leading rebounder, left the team for personal reasons.
MISS. 74, FLORIDA 72: Tywanna Inmon scored 19 and Ashley Johnson added 13 for the host Rebels in the SEC opener for both.
The Rebels (11-2) snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Gators (8-5). Tamia Williams led Florida with 16 points, including four 3-pointers.
Bernice Mosby had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Sarah Lowe added 14 points for the Gators.
Both teams shot poorly in the first half, though Mississippi took a 35-22 lead before holding on in the second half.
UCF 55, JACKSONVILLE 47: Sophomore Ali Roberts had 12 points and the visiting Knights snapped a three-game losing streak.