Indiana forward Mackenzie Holmes, right, and Ohio State forward Tanaya Beacham go for a rebound in the second half of the Hoosiers’ 70-62 win in the Big Ten semifinals on Saturday in Indianapolis. Michael Conroy/Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Nicole Cardano-Hillary led a balanced attack with 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and No. 14 Indiana moved within a game of making Big Ten Conference history with a 70-62 win over No. 13 Ohio State in the semifinals on Saturday.
If the fifth-seeded Hoosiers can beat Iowa in Sunday’s championship game they will become the first team to win four games to win the tournament.
Indiana was a five-seed in 2002 when it won the title, but there were fewer teams in the league, and the Hoosiers haven’t been back to the title game since.
Ali Patberg scored 15 points for the Hoosiers (22-7). Mackenzie Holmes, a former Gorham High star, had 12, Chloe Moore-McNeil 11 and Grace Berger 10. Berger had six rebounds and seven assists and Cardano-Hillary had five assists as Indiana had 20 helpers on 24 baskets.
Jacy Sheldon scored 22 points for top-seeded Ohio State (23-6), league co-champion with Iowa, and Taylor Mikesell and Braxtin Miller had 12 apiece.
(1) SOUTH CAROLINA 61, MISSISSIPPI 51: Aliyah Boston posted her 23rd consecutive double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Gamecocks (29-1) beat the Rebels (23-8) in the Southeastern Conference semifinals in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Gamecocks won their 17th straight to reach their seventh tournament championship game in eight seasons.
(3) N.C. STATE 70, (21) VIRGINIA TECH 55: Elissa Cunane had 20 points and 13 rebounds and the Wolfpack (28-3) used a strong second half to pull away from the Cavaliers (23-9) in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Jada Boyd added 16 points and Raina Perez had nine points for NC State, which is seeking its third straight ACC tournament title.
(7) UCONN 84, GEORGETOWN 38: Paige Bueckers came off the bench and scored 16 points in her third game back from knee surgery and the Huskies (23-5) routed the Hoyas (10-19) in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Bueckers, who suffered a tibia plateau fracture and torn meniscus in her left knee on Dec. 5, played 18 minutes. She shot 6 of 9 overall, and was 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Christyn Williams added 15 points, Aaliyah Edwards had 14 and Azzi Fudd scored 11.
(8) IOWA STATE 74, WEST VIRGINIA 57: Emily Ryan scored a career-high 29 points and the Cyclones (25-5, 14-4 Big 12) clinched the second seed in the Big 12 tournament with a victory over the Mountaineers (14-14, 7-11) in Morgantown, West Virginia.
(9) TEXAS 65, OKLAHOMA STATE 50: Senior Lauren Ebo scored a career-best 17 points and Rori Harmon added 13 along and four steals to help the Longhorns (23-6, 13-5 Big 12) extend their winning streak to eight games with a victory against the Cowboys (8-19, 3-15) in Austin, Texas.
(14) IOWA 83, NEBRASKA 66: Caitlin Clark scored 41 points, becoming more efficient in the second half, and the Hawkeyes (22-7) pulled away from the Cornhuskers (24-8) in Indianapolis in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament.
KANSAS 73, (19) OKLAHOMA 67: Aniya Thomas shot 8 of 11 from the field and scored 10 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter, Taiyanna Jackson added 17 points and Kansas (20-8, 11-7 Big 12) gave up a 13-point second-half lead before using a late run to beat the Sooners (23-7, 12-6) in Norman, Oklahoma in the regular-season finale for both teams.
MIAMI 57, (20) NOTRE DAME 54: Kelsey Marshall scored 18 points and the Hurricanes (20-11) pulled off their second straight upset in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, defeating the Irish (22-7) in Greensboro, North Carolina to advance to the championship game for the first time.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
(2) ARIZONA 89, CALIFORNIA 61: Oumar Ballo scored 16 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 13 and the Wildcats (28-3, 18-2 Pac-12) became the first Pac-12 team to win 18 conference games with a victory over the Golden Bears (12-19, 5-15) in Tucson, Arizona.
The Wildcats shook off a sluggish first half to beat Stanford on Thursday but dominated the conference’s other Bay Area team early with a 19-2 run en route to a 17-point lead midway through the first half.
(3) BAYLOR 75, IOWA STATE 68: James Akinjo scored 20 points and the Bears (26-5, 14-4 Big 12) clinched a share of the Big 12 title with a win over the Cyclones (20-11, 7-11) in Waco, Texas.
Akinjo put the Bears ahead to stay with a 3-pointer with 3:37 left, followed seconds later by a driving reverse layup. They had fallen behind after building a 25-point lead in the game’s first 12 minutes.
(5) AUBURN 82, SOUTH CAROLINA 71: Jabari Smith scored 21 points, K.D. Johnson had 18 and the Tigers (27-4, 15-3 SEC) won the Southeastern Conference title with a victory over the Gamecocks (18-12, 9-9) in Auburn, Alabama.
The Tigers secured the No. 1 seed for next week’s league tournament in Tampa, Florida, after entering the day one game up on No. 7 Kentucky, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 14 Arkansas.
(6) KANSAS 70, (21) TEXAS 63: David McCormack had 22 points and 10 rebounds, throwing down the clinching dunk after Kansas broke Texas’ full-court press in overtime, and the Jayhawks (25-6, 14-4 Big 12) beat the Longhorns (21-10, 10-8) in Lawrence, Kansas, to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 tournament.
Jalen Wilson had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Christian Braun had 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Jayhawks wrapped up a share of the regular-season conference title.
(7) KENTUCKY 71, FLORIDA 63: Oscar Tshiebwe had 27 points and 15 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season, and the Wildcats (25-6, 14-4 SEC) beat the Gators (19-12, 9-9) in Gainesville, Florida, to secure the No. 3 seed in next week’s Southeastern Conference tournament.
(8) PURDUE 69, INDIANA 67: Eric Hunter Jr. scored 17 points and Sasha Stefanovic added 15 to help the Boilermakers (25-6, 14-6 Big Ten) rally past the Hoosiers (18-12, 9-11) in West Lafayette, Indiana.
(11) VILLANOVA 78, BUTLER 59: Justin Moore scored 16 points, Jermaine Samuels added 15 and the Wildcats (23-7, 16-4 Big East) broke away early to beat the Bulldogs (13-18, 6-14) in their regular-season finale, in Indianapolis.
OKLAHOMA STATE 52, (12) TEXAS TECH 51: Bryce Thompson made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 19.4 seconds left and the Cowboys (15-15, 8-10 Big 12) beat Texas Tech (23-8, 12-6) in Stillwater, Oklahoma, eliminating the Red Raiders from the Big 12 title race.
(13) TENNESSEE 78, (14) ARKANSAS 74: Freshman guard Zakai Zeigler, whose family was left homeless by a fire in New York City last weekend, made two key free throws in the final seconds to help the Volunteers (23-7, 14-4 SEC) hold off the Razorbacks (24-7, 13-5) in Knoxville, Tennessee.
(18) UCONN 75, DePAUL 68: Adama Sanogo scored 26 points as the Huskies (22-8, 13-6 Big East) beat the Blue Demons (15-15, 6-14) in Storrs, Connecticut, in the regular-season finale for both teams.
LSU 80, (25) ALABAMA 77: Tari Eason scored 20 points and had a key block that led to his go-ahead dunk with 38 seconds left in overtime, and the Tigers (21-10, 9-9 SEC) scored the final six points to beat the Crimson Tide (19-12, 9-9) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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