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No. 3 South Carolina holds off No. 16 Kentucky 60-56

LEXINGTON, Ky (AP) — Madina Okot had 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead No. 3 South Carolina to a 60-56 win over No. 16 Kentucky on Sunday.

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.

Boone was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 11 points.

Up next

South Carolina: Friday in SEC tournament as top seed.

Kentucky: TBD in SEC tournament.

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Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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