Beard’s Free Throws Bail Out Duke

Alana Beard scored 29 points, including two free throws with 8.5 seconds left, as No. 5 Duke defeated Georgia Tech, 86-83, on Thursday night at Durham, N.C.

Georgia Tech had the last possession, but was not able to get off a shot against Duke’s press.

Duke, 15-1 overall and 3-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, led, 65-53, but Georgia Tech cut it to 76-75 on Niesha Butler’s three-point basket with 3:30 to play.

The Blue Devils then scored on five of their last six possessions to finish off the Blue Jackets (10-5, 2-3).

No. 2 Tennessee 99, South Carolina 45--Semeka Randall scored a career-high 28 points--22 in the first half--as the Volunteers (15-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) never were challenged in a victory over the Gamecocks (6-9, 2-1) at Knoxville, Tenn.

No. 4 Georgia 72, No. 10 Florida 59--Kelly Miller scored a season-high 28 points and the Bulldogs (14-2, 2-0 SEC) finished the game with a 15-0 run to defeat the Gators (13-2, 2-1) at Athens, Ga.

No. 8 Louisiana Tech 75, North Texas 63--Takeisha Lewis sparked a 19-0 first-half run as the Lady Techsters (13-4, 4-0 Sun Belt) defeated the Eagles (10-5, 2-2) at Denton, Texas.

No. 9 Louisiana State 61, Arkansas 54--Marie Ferdinand scored 21 points and the Tigers (11-4, 2-1 SEC) came from eight points behind at halftime to defeat the Razorbacks (9-6, 0-3) at Baton Rouge, La.

Michigan 71, No. 13 Penn State 62--LeeAnn Bies scored 20 of her 21 points in the first half as the Wolverines (9-6, 2-3 Big Ten) upset the Nittany Lions (11-5, 3-2) at Ann Arbor, Mich.

No. 15 Southwest Missouri State 81, Southern Illinois 70--Jackie Stiles scored 23 points to lead the Bears (10-3, 4-1 Missouri Valley) over the Salukis (4-9, 1-3) at Carbondale, Ill.

No. 16 Clemson 67, Wake Forest 45--Chrissy Floyd had 17 points, five steals and four assists to lead the Tigers (12-4, 3-2 ACC) over the Demon Deacons (8-7, 1-4) at Clemson, S.C.

No. 18 Vanderbilt 91, Kentucky 61--Chantelle Anderson scored 32 points to lead the Commodores (13-2, 2-0 SEC) to a victory over the Wildcats (4-10, 0-3) at Lexington, Ky.

No. 19 North Carolina State 71, Temple 64--Kay Yow became the fifth coach in women’s college basketball to reach 600 victories, directing the Wolfpack (11-4) to a victory over the Owls (9-4) at Raleigh, N.C. Yow is 600-243 in 30 seasons and 543-225 in 25 seasons at North Carolina State.

No. 20 Oregon 86, California 56--Angelina Wolvert scored 16 points and Jamie Craighead scored all 14 of her points in the first half as the Ducks (9-3, 2-0 Pacific 10) defeated the Bears (4-9, 0-3) at Eugene, Ore.

No. 21 Mississippi State 60, Mississippi 55--LaToya Thomas scored 31 points and Jennifer Fambrough had 15 to lead the Bulldogs (10-4, 1-2 SEC) over the Rebels (11-3, 0-3) at Oxford, Miss.

No. 22 Arizona 97, Washington State 58--LaKeisha Taylor scored 18 points and Reshea Bristol got her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 assists as the Wildcats (13-2, 3-0 Pac-10) routed the Cougars (7-6, 2-1) at Tucson.

Oregon State 81, No. 24 Stanford 65--Felicia Ragland scored 20 points as the Beavers (9-3, 1-1 Pac-10) built a huge halftime lead and went on to upset the Cardinal (7-6, 1-2) at Corvalis, Ore.

Alabama 60, No. 25 Auburn 53--Shondra Johnson scored 12 points, all on free throws, to help the Crimson Tide (13-3, 1-0 SEC) defeat the Tigers (13-2, 1-1) at Tuscaloosa, Ala.