Five ranked teams were in action Thursday at the UVI Sports and Fitness Center as almost 2,000 people watched Virgin Islander Aliyah Boston and No.5 South Carolina take on No. 17 Indiana in the day’s final game.
Boston was greeted enthusiastically when she was introduced at the start of the game, and scored 10 points on five of six shooting, but foul trouble kept her off the court, limiting her to 14 minutes court time as she eventually fouled out with 3:50 to go in the fourth quarter.
Boston’s layup with seven and a half minutes left ignited an 11-2 run with Mikiah Hebert Harrigan tying the game at 42 with just under five minutes in the half. Brea Beals’ euro-step finish on the next possession gave South Carolina its first lead of the second half.
South Carolina went into the fourth quarter with a 51-47 lead, but six straight Indania points put the Hoosiers back in front with just under seven and a half minutes left in the game. Aleska Gulbe’s layup with four and a half minutes remaining grew the lead to five and Jaylenn Penn’s lay-up with just under three minutes left made it a nine-point difference.
The Hoosiers outscored the Gamecocks 24-6 in the final period of play.
Brenna Wise was the Paradise Jam Player of the game with 16 points on 4-5 shooting from three and Herbert-Harrigan had 13 in the loss.
Louisville 76, UTA 57
In the first game of the day UT- Arlington gave No. 8 Louisville all it could handle before failing 76-67.
The Mavericks led at the end of the first quarter, 21-20 but Louisville went on a 8-0 run in the second quarter that helped them gain a 43-36 halftime edge.
Louisville hit back-to-back three-pointers gave Louisville a 16 point lead with six and a half minutes to go in the game.
UTA fought back and made things interesting late as they got within five points with just a minute and a half left.
The Paradise Jam Player of the Game was Jones with 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting to go along with seven assists and Chastin put up 22 points in the loss.
Oregon 89, Oklahoma State 72
Oregon jumped all over Oklahoma State and was up 10-0 with less than two minutes into the game.
At the end of the first quarter the Ducks were up 34-13. They never looked back, controlling the game and winning 89-72.
The Paradise Jam Player of the Game was Ruthy Hebard with 30 points and 18 rebounds while Natasha Mack put up 26 points and hauled in 13 rebounds.
Baylor 89, Washington State 66
Baylor also jumped out to a 10-0 lead but it took them a little longer, 3:33 seconds and it took another minute before Washington State got their first points.
Baylor coasted the rest of the way, leading by 20 at halftime and winning 89-66.
Queen Egbo was the Paradise Jam Player of the Game with 16 points and 6 rebounds while Chanelle Molina had a game-high 25 points in the loss.
