South Carolina Starts Fast and Beats No. 14 Minnesota

Shannel Harris was disappointed after South Carolina had squandered late leads against ranked opponents Texas and Purdue last month. She made sure it didn’t happen again Tuesday night.

Harris matched her season total with 13 points and the Gamecocks ended a 17-game losing streak against ranked teams with a 79-61 victory over No. 14 Minnesota at Columbia, S.C.

The Gamecocks (3-3) hadn’t beaten a ranked team since defeating No. 13 Arkansas, 83-59, on Feb. 16, 2003.

Minnesota (6-2) took a 2-0 lead, then watched South Carolina go on a 13-0 run. The Golden Gophers made only two of their first 18 shots and trailed by as many as 27 points in the second half.

Jamie Broback, the Gophers’ leading scorer at 15.2 points a game, missed five of her first six shots and finished with four points, all in the first half.

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No. 5 Baylor 72, McNeese State 36 -- Abiola Wabara scored 15 points at Waco, Texas, to lead the defending national champion Bears to their 28th consecutive victory.

Sophia Young added 13 points and Jordan Davis had 10 for the Lady Bears (8-0).

Baylor played without Angela Tisdale, who was suspended for three games for an unspecified violation of team rules. She averaged 15.7 points and 7.3 assists over the first seven games.

Regina Spivey paced McNeese State (3-5) with 11 points.

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No. 8 Maryland 69, Coppin State 38 -- Marissa Coleman scored 13 points at College Park, Md., and the Terrapins (9-1) outscored their in-state foes, 23-4, at the free-throw line and finished with a 40-19 rebounding advantage. Rashida Suber scored 16 points for the Eagles (1-4).