PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Top-seeded Rhode Island College got off to a great start to beat the University of Southern Maine 59-37 Thursday night in the Little East women’s basketball semifinal.

The Anchorwomen (21-5) grabbed a 24-6 lead in the first quarter to eliminate the fourth-seeded Huskies (8-15).

Anglina Nardolillo had 17 points to pace Rhode Island College, Jeniyah Jones added 13.

Jackie Luckhardt had nine points for Southern Maine.

ENDICOTT 65, UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND 53: The third-seeded Gulls (17-10) took the lead for good on a Sarah Dempsey jumper with 6:05 to play in the second quarter and closed the half on a 13-5 run as they knocked off the second-seeded Nor’easters (18-9) in a Commonwealth Coast semifinal at Biddeford.

Dempsey finished with 18 points to lead three players in double figures for Endicott, Tara Laugeni chipped in with 15 points and Emily St. Thomas added 13.

Kaylee Beyor had 12 points for UNE, and Allie Goodmand and Katrina Krenzer had 11 points apiece.

(1) SOUTH CAROLINA 89. TEXAS A&M 48: Aliyah Boston had 18 points and 10 rebounds in three quarters as visiting South Carolina (26-1, 14-1) beat Texas A&M (14-13, 4-11) to clinch the Southeastern Conference regular-season title.

Boston set an SEC record with her 20th consecutive double-double, passing former LSU star Sylvia Fowles.

(4) LOUISVILLE 66, PITTSBURGH 55: Emily Engstler had 17 points and 15 rebounds, and visiting Louisville (24-3, 15-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) overcame a slow start to beat Pittsburgh (11-17, 2-15).

Hailey Van Lith scored 13 points for the Cardinals, who have won two straight since losing last week at then-No. 24 North Carolina.

Liatu King led the Panthers with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

(6) MICHIGAN 62, MICHIGAN STATE 51: Naz Hillmon had 28 points and eight rebounds in her final home game, lifting Michigan (22-4, 13-3 Big Ten) over Michigan State (14-13, 8-8).

The Wolverines pulled away with a 10-0 run to open the fourth quarter.

(8) LSU 58, ALABAMA 50: Khayla Pointer had 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and host LSU (24-4, 12-3 SEC) clinched at least a share of second place in the Southeastern Conference by beating Alabama (14-12, 5-10).

Faustine Aifua scored 12 points for the Lady Tigers, who led for all but the opening 1:19 and by as many as 14 points en route to their seventh straight victory.

(14) NOTRE DAME 77, CLEMSON 56: Sonia Citron scored 23 points, and had career highs with 13 rebounds, eight assists and four steals, to lead host Notre Dame (21-6, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) over Clemson (9-10, 3-14).

VANDERBILT 63, (15) FLORIDA 59: Sacha Washington scored a career-high 16 points to go with 11 rebounds, Jordyn Cambridge had 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and six steals, and host Vanderbilt (13-16, 4-11 SEC) beat Florida (20-8, 10-5) to snap a six-game losing streak.

(16) TENNESSEE 86, MISSISSIPPI STATE 64: Tamari Key tied her career high with 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked six shots to lead host Tennessee (22-6, 11-4 Southeastern Conference) over Mississippi State (15-12, 6-9).

Tess Darby added a career-high 17 points for the Lady Vols, who were up 30-27 at halftime before scoring 30 points in the third quarter. Alexus Dye scored 13 points, pushing her past 1,000 for her career at Troy and Tennessee.

(17) OHIO STATE 78, PENN STATE 55: Taylor Mikesell scored 19 points, Tanaya Beacham added 18 points and Ohio State (21-5, 13-4) beat visiting Penn State (11-16, 5-12) to clinch a top-four seed in the Big Ten Conference tournament.

(18) NORTH CAROLINA 68, VIRGINIA 57: Deja Kelly scored 16 points, Alyssa Ustby added 15, and visiting North Carolina (22-5, 12-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Virginia (5-21, 2-16) for its fifth straight win.

(21) IOWA 87, RUTGERS 78: Caitlin Clark scored 16 of her 32 points in the fourth quarter as visiting Iowa (19-7, 13-4 Big Ten Conference) held off Rutgers (9-19, 2-14).

The Hawkeyes had a 15-point lead late in the second quarter, were up 39-27 at the half and took a 62-54 lead into the fourth quarter but couldn’t put away the Scarlet Knights.

FLORIDA STATE 65, (22) GEORGIA TECH 63: Morgan Jones scored 21 points, including the go-ahead basket in overtime, and Florida State (15-12, 9-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) ended a five-game losing streak to visiting Georgia Tech (19-9, 10-7).

(23) VIRGINIA TECH 70, MIAMI 63: Elizabeth Kitley had 18 points and 12 rebounds for her 13th double-double and host Virginia Tech (21-7, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) topped Miami (16-11, 9-8), which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Aisha Sheppard, honored before the game after becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer, added 16 points for the Hokies, giving her 1,808.

(24) FLORIDA GULF COAST 69, LIBERTY 61: Kierstan Bell scored 23 points in her return to action and Tishara Morehouse scored 20 to power visiting Florida Gulf Coast (25-2, 14-1 Atlantic Sun Conference) over the Flames (25-3, 13-2).

(25) GEORGIA 63, ARKANSAS 62: Reigan Richardson came off the bench to score 10 of her 15 points in the second half, Jenna Staiti had a pivotal three-point play and visiting Georgia (19-8, 8-7 Southeastern Conference) edged (16-12, 6-9).

UCONN: Paige Bueckers, who has been out since Dec. 5 with a knee injury, was cleared by the medical staff to play Friday night against St. John’s.

Bueckers, the national player of the year as a freshman, was injured on Dec. 5 in the final minutes of a victory over Notre Dame. Diagnosed with an anterior tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear, she underwent surgery on Dec. 13.

She was averaging 21.2 points through six games. The Huskies played 19 games without her, going 15-4, clinching the Big East regular-season title on Wednesday.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

CREIGHTON: Freshman Ryan Nembhard will miss the rest of the season after injuring his right wrist during the win at St. John’s, the school announced.

Nembhard was hurt when he collided with St. John’s Posh Alexander during the Bluejays’ 81-78 win Wednesday night. Nembhard will require surgery.

NEBRASKA: Coach Fred Hoiberg will return for a fourth season but has agreed to a pay cut and a reduced buyout if he’s fired after next season, Athletic Director Trev Alberts said.

Hoiberg is 21-65 overall and 6-49 in the Big Ten, with the next game at home against No. 25 Iowa on Friday. The Huskers (7-20, 1-15) have had three straight 20-loss seasons.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

SOUTHERN MAINE 7, UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND 3: Rachel Shanks had a hat trick as the Huskies they outscored the Nor’easters 4-0 in the fourth quarter to win a mutual opener at Biddeford.

Emily Cloutier added a pair of goals for Southern Maine, with Evelyn Hinkley and Jennifer Darasz also scoring.

Ann Chapman, Barrie Geurtin and Anna Stowell scored for UNE.

CeCe Racine stopped 14 shots for the Huskie and Madison Bruzzese recorded nine saves.

FOOTBALL

NORTH CAROLINA STATE: North Carolina State has reached a new contract agreement with Coach Dave Doeren that runs through 2026 and pays $5 million per year.

The school announced the deal Thursday, as well as new deals for all 10 assistant coaches. It follows the Wolfpack’s 9-3 season, marking the fourth time in five seasons the program won at least eight games.

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