No. 9 Iowa beats Wisconsin 81-52 to clinch No. 2 seed in Big Ten

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Leger-Walker, No. 2 UCLA finish perfect Big Ten run with 73-50 win over USC

The Associated Press

Mon, March 2, 2026 at 12:19 AM UTC·
15 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charlisse Leger-Walker matched her season high with 20 points and No. 2 UCLA routed Southern California 73-50 on Sunday to complete the first undefeated Big Ten women’s regular season in 11 years.

The Bruins (28-1, 18-0) equaled Maryland’s feat from 2014-15, when the Terrapins also went 18-0. UCLA won the league title outright when it beat Wisconsin last weekend. The Bruins haven’t lost since Nov. 26, when they were beaten by then-No. 4 Texas, 76-65.

Earlier Sunday, the Bruins were projected as one of the four No. 1 seeds for the women’s NCAA Tournament in a second early reveal by the selection committee. Undefeated UConn was the No. 1 overall seed, edging UCLA and South Carolina.

Gabriela Jaquez had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Gianna Kneepkens also scored 14 points. Lauren Betts finished with five points on 2-of-10 shooting, 15 rebounds and five assists for the Bruins.

Freshman star Jazzy Davidson scored 12 points and Kennedy Smith added 11 for the Trojans (17-12, 9-9), who have lost three in a row and are 7-9 in their last 16. They got swept by the Bruins, losing 80-46 on Jan. 3.

NO. 1 UCONN 85, ST. JOHN'S 49

NEW YORK (AP) — Azzi Fudd scored 14 points and Allie Ziebell added 13 to help UConn rout St. John’s at Madison Square Garden for its 47th consecutive victory.

The Huskies matched the fifth-longest winning streak in women’s Division I history, equaling UConn’s run from 2013-15.

UConn (31-0, 20-0 Big East) wrapped up another undefeated regular season and now is preparing to make a run at another Big East tournament crown. The Huskies have an average victory margin of nearly 38 points, which is the third-largest margin in Division I history — trailing only two other Huskies teams.

The 2014-15 squad won by 40.6 points and the 2015-16 team had a 39.7-point average margin.

This was the first time the St. John’s women have played a standalone game at the famed Midtown Manhattan arena. The Red Storm have been part of doubleheaders with their men’s team, and they also competed in the Maggie Dixon Classic for a few years.

NO. 3 SOUTH CAROLINA 60, NO. 16 KENTUCKY 56

LEXINGTON, Ky (AP) — Madina Okot had 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead South Carolina to a win over Kentucky.

The Gamecocks (29-2, 15-1 Southeastern Conference) took a 54-43 lead with 8:28 left in the game, but only got baskets from Okot and Tessa Johnson the rest of the game as the Wildcats (21-9, 8-8 Southeastern Conference) mounted a late rally.

Clara Strack had 24 points and nine rebounds, scoring eight points down the stretch, to lead the rally. The Wildcats had the ball down two at 58-56, but Teonni Key missed a layup and a tie-up on the rebound gave South Carolina the ball. Okot put in a layup for the final basket.

Johnson had 12 points and Raven Johnson added 11 for the Gamecocks.

Strack was 11 of 19 for the game, but the rest of the Wildcats shot 13 of 44.

South Carolina led 33-27 at the half, but a quick 10-4 run by Kentucky sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Asia Boone tied the game at 37.

Okot quickly put the Gamecocks ahead with consecutive layups and they took a 54-43 lead and held on for the win.

NO. 4 TEXAS 72, ALABAMA 65

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Madison Booker had 21 points and nine rebounds, Jordan Lee and Kyla Oldacre each scored 11 and the Texas women beat Alabama.

Booker surpassed 1,800 career points, becoming the seventh player in program history to pass that mark.

Lee started the game with a fast break layup to put Texas (28-3, 13-3 Southeastern Conference) ahead and the Longhorns never trailed.

Texas scored 13 fewer points than its season average, but the SEC’s top defense played to its reputation.

The Longhorns forced 19 Crimson Tide turnovers, blocked five shots and recorded seven steals.

Alabama (21-9, 7-9) struggled significantly on offense in the first half — its 20 points at halftime was its lowest total of the season.

Jessica Timmons had 24 points in the final home game of her Alabama career.

NO. 5 VANDERBILT 87, TENNESSEE 77

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mikayla Blakes scored 34 points to lead Vanderbilt to a victory over Tennessee.

Blakes scored eight points in a 12-2 run late in the third quarter for the Commodores (27-3, 13-3 Southeastern Conference). Aubrey Galvan added 24 points and Sacha Washington had 16 points and eight rebounds.

The Volunteers (16-12, 8-8), who lost their sixth straight game, were led by Talaysia Cooper’s 23 points. Janiah Barker added 17 points and eight rebounds, Nya Robertson had 12 points and Zee Spearman 10.

Cooper scored 11 points in the second quarter — 14 in the opening half — to help Tennessee to a 43-37 lead at the break. Barker led the way with 15 points. Galvan had 12 and Blakes 11 for the Commodores.

While Tennessee, which is playing the toughest schedule in the country, came into the game unranked, Blakes has a streak of five consecutive games against ranked teams scoring 30 or more points. The win over the Vols was Vandy’s 13th SEC victory, the most in program history.

NO. 6 LSU 72, MISSISSIPPI STATE 63

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Mikayiah Williams had 28 points and 15 rebounds and LSU closed the third quarter with a big run to beat Mississippi State in the regular-season finale for both teams.

LSU (26-4, 12-4 Southeastern Conference) has a double-bye in the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina, while Mississippi State (18-12, 5-11) will play Florida on Wednesday in the first round.

LSU closed the quarter with 16-7 run after Mississippi State had a 13-0 run to take a 41-38 lead.

Williams was 10 of 17 from the field, making 2 of 3 3-pointers. She also had four assists. MiLaysia Fulwiley had 16 points, and Jada Richard added 12.

NO. 7 OKLAHOMA 84, MISSOURI 78

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Raegen Beers had 23 points and nine rebounds, Aaliyah Chavez scored 18 and Oklahoma beat Missouri.

Payton Verhulst added 16 points and a season-best 12 rebounds for the Sooners (23-6, 11-5 Southeastern Conference), who have won 28 straight games against unranked opponents dating to last season. Sahara Williams had 13 points and nine boards.

Shannon Dowell scored a season-best 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Missouri (16-15, 4-12), which has lost six in a row. Grace Slaughter added 15 points.

Oklahoma shot 42.1% from the field but outrebounded Missouri 54-35 and converted 20 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points.

Chloe Sotel hit a 3-pointer with 6:26 remaining in the third quarter to cut Missouri’s deficit to 46-43, but Oklahoma responded with a 14-0 run over the next four minutes to pull away.

NO. 9 IOWA 81, WISCONSIN 52

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Ava Heiden had 16 points and 14 rebounds, Chadazi Wright added 14 points and Iowa secured the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament with a victory over Wisconsin in the regular-season finale.

Playing without injured leading rebounder and No. 2 scorer Hannah Stuelke, Iowa (24-5, 15-3) led 33-29 at the half and had a 26-9 edge in the third quarter.

Stuelke was out with an upper-body injury sustained in a win over Illinois on Thursday night. Stuelke is listed as day-to-day and hopeful to play in the conference tournament.

Taylor Stremlow had 12 points and Layla Hayes and Teagan Mallegni each had 10 for Iowa. The Hawkeyes have won six straight after dropped three in a row.

NOTRE DAME 65, NO. 10 LOUISVILLE 62

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo scored 30 points and Notre Dame rallied for a victory over Louisville.

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