Auburn spoiled Diamond Johnson’s debut at Norfolk State, pulling away in the third quarter and pulling away for a 67-39 win Saturday at Alabama.
Johnson, a former guard for Rutgers and North Carolina State who starred as a ninth- and 10th-grader at Phoebus High, started for NSU and scored 15 points. She was one of several transfers who were released to play the rest of the season due to a recent ruling by a West Virginia judge.
NSU (7-4) erased an 8-0 deficit to briefly go ahead in the second quarter, and the Tigers (9-2) led just 26-20 at halftime before outscoring the Spartans 27-7 in the third quarter, finishing with Increase 23-2. By then, Johnson was 3-for-18 from the field, though she finished 6-of-23 and added six rebounds and four steals.
During the first quarter, Johnson scored her 1,000th college point by running a floater down the lane.
JaMya Mingo-Young scored 16 for Auburn, knocking down all 12 of her free throws. Kira Wheeler scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for NSU, which shot 27.6% (16 of 58).
Christopher Newport 94, Stevenson 58: The Captains, who finished third in Division III, improved to 10-0 with a win over the Mustangs (3-5) in Owings Mills, Md.
Stevenson shot 56.4% but had more turnovers (41) than field goal attempts (39) against the Captain Chaos pressure defense.
CNU tied an all-time D-III record with its 36th straight win. Amherst won 36 straight from February 2015 to February 2018. CNU’s streak began in January 2019 at St. Mary’s in Maryland.
Bill Broderick improved to 265-43 as CNU’s coach, tying Caroline Hunter for the most wins in captain’s history.
Thirteen captains registered. McKenna Snively led them with 16 points, hitting 4 of 7 3-pointers for a team that lost 14 of 31. Hannah Calloway scored 11 points.
George Washington 46, Hampton 40: The Pirates (0-8) were unable to end the drought that befell them despite Camryn Hill scoring 14 points, and fell to the Revolutionaries (6-5) in Washington.
GW took the lead, 5-0 at home, in the final 19 1/2 minutes after being tied 24-24 at halftime, but HU was within striking distance.
GW’s Asjah Innis scored just two points in 30 minutes. But she scored all 12 points for GW in the fourth quarter, when HU scored 10 points.
Wofford 71, Virginia 70: Rachel Rose had a big shot and finished with 21 points for the Terriers (7-4), who beat the Cavaliers (7-3) at John Paul Jones Arena.
Paris Clark and Olivia McGhee each scored 14 points, and Camryn Taylor added 13 points for Ufa. The Cavaliers took the lead for the final time in a seesaw fourth quarter when Alexia Smith converted a layup off a Clark pass with 27 seconds left.
Wofford overcame deficits 36-25 and 52-44.
No. 1 South Carolina 99, Presbyterian 29: Freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 18 points in her second career start for the host Gamecocks, who improved to 10-0 for the third straight season. The Gamecocks led 36-15 after the first quarter and steadily built the lead. Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins had double-doubles, among seven South Carolina players in double figures.
Tilda Sjoqvist led the Blue Haws (8-4) with 15 points.
No. 3 NC State 66, South Florida 54: River Baldwin scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Isaiah James, a Princess Anne High School graduate, added 16 points, and the Wolfpack (11-0) beat the Bulls (7-4) in Tampa.
NCSU’s next game is Wednesday night at Old Dominion.
No. 4 Iowa 104, Cleveland State 75: Kaitlyn Clark scored 38 points and reached ninth on the all-time scoring list in the men’s and women’s Night Cup doubleheader at Wells Fargo Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
Hannah Stolke contributed 17 points for the Hawkeyes (11-1) and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The loss snapped Cleveland State’s nine-game winning streak. Michaela Perdue led the Vikings (9-2) with 24 points.
Clark raised her total to 3,079 points, surpassing former Iowa State star Ashley Jones (3,060) to take ninth place.
No. 10 Baylor 75, No. 24 Miami 57: Sarah Andrews scored 18 points, and Baylor handed Miami its first loss, winning the Hall of Fame Series in San Antonio.
Baylor forced 15 turnovers and led for all but 1 minute, 34 seconds. Jada Walker, a former Henrico High and Kentucky player, added 14 points for the Bears (9-0).
Cheyenne Day Wilson scored 12 points to lead Miami (8-1).
No. 17 Yukon 88, Louisville 62: Aubrey Griffin scored a season-high 25 points and Aaliyah Edwards added 22 points on 19-of-23 shooting for the Huskies (7-3) against the Cardinals (10-2) in Hartford, Conn. Paige Bueckers hit four 3-pointers and scored 20 points for the Huskies, setting a career-high with five blocks.
James Madison transfer Kiki Jefferson scored 20 points for the Cardinals, who outscored 40-20 in the second half.
Late Friday
No. 9 Stanford 81, Portland 51: Cameron Brink scored 23 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks for the Cardinal (9-1), who pulled away in the third quarter at home. Amy Shearer scored 12 points for Portland (6-6).
Daymond Johnson made a strong debut for Norfolk State, scoring 15 points in a tough matchup against Auburn. Despite his impressive performance, Auburn was able to pull away for the win. Johnson’s strong start is a positive sign for the Norfolk State team, and fans are likely excited to see what he can accomplish as the season progresses. The game was a hard-fought battle, and Johnson’s contributions were a bright spot for Norfolk State in the face of a tough opponent.