Edwards leads No. 2 South Carolina past No. 18 Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.>> Joyce Edwards scored 18 points to lead No. 2 South Carolina to its 15th straight victory, 70-63 over No. 18 Tennessee on Monday.

MiLaysia Fulwiley added 11 points and Te-Hina Paopao, Chloe Kitts and Raven Johnson all had 10 for the Gamecocks (20-1, 8-0 SEC).

The Lady Vols (15-5, 3-5) had coach Kim Caldwell back on the sideline after she missed last week’s loss at Texas following the birth of her son. Tennessee, which has lost three in a row, was led by Ruby Whitehorn with 12 points. Talaysia Cooper added 11.

The Gamecocks put together an 18-1 run to take a 35-26 halftime lead.

No. 2 Duke holds off NC State 74-64

DURHAM, N.C.>> Star freshman Cooper Flagg scored 23 of his 28 points after halftime to help Duke hold off North Carolina State 74-64.

Fellow rookie Kon Knueppel had 19 points for the Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0 ACC), who have won 14 straight games. And they had to fight the entire way to get there.

That’s because the Wolfpack (9-11, 2-7) played loose and fearlessly to build a 13-point first-half lead and then stay within reach of Duke every time the Blue Devils tried to push free in the final 10 minutes.

Dontrez Styles scored 18 points for N.C. State, which shot just 32% after halftime.