No. 5 South Carolina wins third straight SEC title, beats No. 1 Texas 64-45

GREENVILLE, S.C. >> Chloe Kitts finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and was named the tournament’s MVP, Tessa Johnson added 14 points and No. 5 South Carolina knocked off No. 1 Texas 64-45 on Sunday to win its third straight Southeastern Conference Tournament championship and ninth title in the last 11 years under coach Dawn Staley.

Sania Feagin and Joyce Edwards each had 11 points for the Gamecocks, who boldly staked their claim to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

South Carolina (30-3) never trailed and blew the game open with a 19-2 run to start the second quarter.

NO. 4 UCLA 72, NO. 2 USC 67>> Lauren Betts scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half Sunday and No. 4 UCLA allowed only four baskets over the final 12 minutes as they rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat No. 2 Southern California 72-67 in the Big Ten Tournament championship game in Indianapolis.

NO. 3 UCONN 82, VILLANOVA 54>> Paige Bueckers scored 21 of her 23 points in the first half and No. 3 UConn held Villanova without a field goal for more than 16 minutes to beat the Wildcats in Uncasville, Conn., advancing to the Big East championship game.

NO. 11 DUKE 76, NO. 7 NC STATE 62>> Oluchi Okananwa had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 11 Duke rally from a 14-point deficit to beat No. 7 N.C. State for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title. The win secured the Blue Devils’ first ACC title in a dozen years.

NO. 8 TCU 64, NO. 17 BAYLOR 59>> Tournament MVP Hailey Van Lith had 20 points, including a key bucket with 48.8 seconds left to give TCU a four-point lead, as top-seeded TCU beat No. 2 seed Baylor in Kansas City, Mo. to win the program’s first Big 12 Championship.

NO. 23 CREIGHTON 73, SETON HALL 44>> Lauren Jensen scored 19 points and No. 23 Creighton cruised past Seton Hall in the semifinals of the Big East Conference Tournament in Uncasville, Conn.

NO. 25 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 84, ORAL ROBERTS 68>> Paige Meyer scored 26 points, Haleigh Timmer added 21 and Madison Mathiowetz had 20 and No. 25 South Dakota State continued its dominance in the Summit League with a home win over Oral Roberts, the Jackrabbits’ third-straight title and 13th NCAA appearance.

MONTANA STATE 92, NORTHERN COLORADO 60>> Northern Colorado lost its second round Big Sky tournament game to Montana State. Bears Junior guard London Gamble led all scorers with 20 points.

Northern Colorado 76, Weber State 52>> Isaiah Hawthorne scored 29 points for Northern Colorado to lead the Bears to advance out of the second round of the Big Sky Tournament. Brock Wisne scored 12 points and Jaron Rillie scored 11 in the win.