COLUMBIA, Mo. >> MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 17 points to lead South Carolina’s balanced offense, and the second-ranked Gamecocks used a big run in the third and fourth quarters to pull away for an 83-52 victory over Missouri in their SEC opener Thursday night.

Te-Hina Paopao and Ashlyn Watkins added 11 points apiece, and Tessa Johnson had 10, helping the Gamecocks (13-1, 1-0) beat the Tigers (11-5, 0-1) for the fourth straight time and win their eighth straight overall since a loss to UCLA on Nov. 24.

No. 6 LSU 98, Arkansas 64>> Flau’Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow each finished with a double-double and No. 6 LSU routed Arkansas 98-64 in the SEC opener for both teams.

Johnson had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Morrow added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kailyn Gilbert scored 16 points and Mikaylah Williams had 14 for unbeaten LSU.

No. 8 Maryland 78, Rutgers 61>> Shyanne Sellers scored 22 points and Allie Kubek added 17 to help No. 8 Maryland stay unbeaten with a 78-61 victory over Rutgers.

Kaylene Smikle scored 13 points for the Terrapins (13-0, 3-0 Big Ten), who led by 18 at halftime and weren’t threatened after that. De

No. 13 Georgia Tech 85, Syracuse 68>> Dani Carnegie scored 28 points and Zoesha Smith recorded a double-double and 13th ranked Georgia Tech beat Syracuse 85-68.

Carnegie finished 11-for-18 shooting — including 6 for 8 from 3-point range — and Smith scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

No. 14 Duke 86, Boston College 59>> Ashlon Jackson, Taina Mair and Reigan Richardson scored 14 points apiece to help No. 14 Duke beat Boston College 86-59.

Oluchi Okananwa added 12 points and Toby Fournier 11 for Duke (11-3, 2-0 ACC). Jackson, Mair and Jadyn Donovan — who finished with 10 rebounds and six points — each had three of the Blue Devils’ 14 steals.

No. 15 Tennessee 91, Texas A&M 78>> Jewel Spear hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points and No. 15 Tennessee used a strong first half to beat Texas A&M 91-78 in a Southeastern Conference opener.

The Lady Vols hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 22-15 lead and took command with a 14-0 run in the middle of the second quarter to make it 48-26 at halftime.

No. 16 Kentucky 91, Mississippi State 69>> Dazia Lawrence scored 28 points, Georgia Amoore added 24 and No. 16 Kentucky opened the Southeastern Conference season with a school-record 18 3-pointers and a 91-69 win over Mississippi State.

The Wildcats (12-1, 1-0) went 18 of 33 (54.5%) behind the arc with Lawrence hitting 7 of 11 and Amoore making 7 of 10. Amelia Hassett added three 3s and finished with 14 points.

No. 19 Alabama 79, Florida 69>> Zaay Green had 27 points and six assists to help No. 19 Alabama beat Florida 79-69 for its 13th straight home victory.

Alabama (14-1), which won an SEC opener for the first time since the 2021-22 season, is off to its best start in program history, having only lost to now-No. 20 California.

Alabama was without leading scorer Sarah Ashlee Barker for most of the game after she suffered an injury with eight minutes to go in the second quarter.

CLEMSON 69, No. 20 California 58>> Loyal McQueen scored 18 points, Mia Moore added 14 and Clemson defeated No. 20 California 69-58 on Thursday night.

The Tigers had the 15th lead change in the midst of a 7-0 run in the third quarter with Anya Poole’s three-point play making it 47-42. Moore then scored the first seven points of a 12-0 run to close the quarter for a 61-46 lead entering the fourth.

No. 25 Ole Miss 85, Auburn 58>>KK Deans scored 20 points and made four 3-pointers, Kennedy Todd-Williams scored 11 of her 19 points at the free-throw line and No. 25 Mississippi beat Auburn 85-58 to begin SEC play.

Ole Miss built a double-digit lead a little more than six minutes into the game during a 12-0 run. The Rebels led 26-10 at the end of the first quarter and 45-20 at the break after Auburn went scoreless for the final four minutes of the first half.