Booker leads No. 1 Texas past No. 9 LSU

greenville, s.c. >> Madison Booker scored 25 points, and No. 1 Texas held on to beat ninth-ranked LSU 56-49 on Saturday to advance to the Southeastern Conference Tournament champi The Longhorns will face fifth-ranked South Carolina.

LSU (28-5), already playing without star Flau’Jae Johnson due to a shin injury, lost their other star player Aneesah Morrow to a left ankle injury in the third quarter. She returned to the bench in the fourth quarter with a boot on her foot.

No. 2 Southern Cal 82, Michigan 70>> Kiki Iriafen scored 17 of her 25 points in the second half, JuJu Watkins added 20 points and each pulled down 11 rebounds to send No. 2 Southern California past fifth-seeded Michigan 82-70 and into the Big Ten championship game. The Trojans will face No. 4 UCLA in the final on Sunday. USC won its ninth straight. Syla Swords finished with 26 points to lead the Wolverines. USC trailed 31-29 at halftime but turned the game when Iriafen scored eight straight points late in the third quarter to give the Trojans a 50-48 lead..

No. 3 UConn 71, St. John’s 40>> Paige Bueckers had 20 points to lead No. 3 UConn to a 71-40 win over St. John’s in the quarterfinals of the Big East women’s basketball tournament

Sarah Strong had 10 points ad 14 rebounds while Azzi Fudd finished with 11 points as the Huskies won their 13th consecutive Big East tournament game and recorded their 34th win in a row in a conference tournament.

No. 4 UCLA 75, No. 13 Ohio State 46>> Londynn Jones made six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 22 points, leading No. 4 UCLA to a 75-46 rout of No. 13 Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.

The victory sets up a third showdown between the league’s regular-season champ, No. 2 Southern California, and the runner-up Bruins on Sunday.

Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez each scored 12 points in limited action. Jaloni Cambridge scored 10 points to lead the Buckeyes.

No. 5 South Carolina 93, No. 10 Oklahoma 75>> Joyce Edwards scored 21 points, and No. 5 South Carolina advanced to the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game with a 93-75 win over 10th-ranked Oklahoma.

MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 19 points to provide a huge boost off the bench for South Carolina (29-3), and Sania Feagin added 14.

No. 11 Duke 61, No. 6 Notre Dame 56>> Oluchi Okananwa had 14 points off the bench and Ashlon Jackson scored 12 to help No. 11 Duke beat No. 6 Notre Dame 61-56 in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

Hannah Hidalgo had 14 of her 23 points in the first half and Olivia Miles had 10 points for second-seeded Notre Dame.

No. 7 NC State 66, No. 14 North Carolina 55>> Aziaha James scored 19 points and No. 7 N.C. State jumped out to a big lead to beat No. 14 North Carolina 66-55.

Madison Hayes and reserve Lorena Awou each had 10 points as the Wolfpack avenged a one-point regular-season road loss.

N.C. State faces either No. 11 Duke or No. 6 Notre Dame in Sunday’s final. Indya Nivar had 13 points and Maria Gakdeng had 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina, which shot 27.9% from the field.

No. 8 TCU 71, No. 16 West Virginia 65>> Hailey Van Lith had 19 points, six rebounds and eight assists, Sedona Prince added 18 points with 16 rebounds, and No. 8 TCU held off No. 16 West Virginia 71-65 to reach the Big 12 Tournament championship for the first time in school history.

The top-seeded Horned Frogs will play No. 21 Oklahoma State or No. 17 Baylor on Sunday. Madison Conner added 16 points and Agnes Emma-Nnopu returned from an injury to score nine for TCU.

JJ Quinerly had 20 points, Sydney Shaw and Kylee Blacksten scored 11 apiece, and Jordan Harrison had 10 points before fouling out for the fourth-seeded Mountaineers.

No. 17 baylor 84, No. 21 Oklahoma State 74, OT>> Aaronette Vonleh scored a career-high 37 points and No. 17 Baylor had three different players hit 3-pointers in overtime to lead the Bears into the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship game with an 84-74 win over No. 21 Oklahoma State.

In a semifinal in which neither team led by more than nine points in regulation, the Bears were 5-of-8 shooting in overtime and Jade Walker hit four free throws in the last 30 seconds.

Walker had 12 points and Sarah Andrews had 11 points and both had 3s in overtime, along with Waiata Jennings.

The second-seeded Bears (17-6) were 3 of 4 on 3s in OT and 6 of 19 for the game.

No. 23 Creighton 72, Georgetown 70>> Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly combined for 42 points, and Kiani Lockett’s two clutch free throws capped No. 23 Creighton’s 72-70 come-from-behind victory over Georgetown in a Big East Tournament quarterfinal.

Creighton trailed 52-40 early in the third quarter but took a 70-68 advantage with 1:17 to play after Jensen and Mallory Brake made consecutive layups. It was the Bluejays’ first lead since it was 36-34 with 3:19 left in the second quarter.

Lockett made the go-ahead free throws with four seconds left. Second-seeded Creighton (25-5) will face the Xavier-Seton Hall winner in a semifinal.

No. 25 South Dakota State 83, North Dakota 55>> Brooklyn Meyer had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Haleigh Timmer also had a double-double and No. 25 South Dakota State advanced to the Summit League championship game for the 14th time in 17 seasons with an 83-55 win over North Dakota.

Paige Meyer had 17 points for the Jackrabbits, the two-time defending champs who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed for the fifth-straight season. Timmer had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

— The Associated Press