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Duke center Chante Black battles for a rebound with Virginia forward Chelsea Shine during the second half in Charlottesville, Va., Thursday.
AP photo
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Jasmine Thomas scored 22 points and No. 4 Duke used an 11-0 run to pull away in the second half Thursday for a 81-67 victory against No. 17 Virginia.
Karima Christmas added 18 points for Duke (19-2, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which used a 27-9 run to end the first half to take the lead and never let the Cavaliers get any closer than three again. When Virginia pulled to 50-47, the Blue Devils scored 11 straight.
Virginia (18-5, 4-5) lost its 15th consecutive meeting with Duke. The Cavaliers came in on a three-game winning streak, including a victory against Maryland that ended a 17-game losing streak against the ACC’s top three programs — Maryland, North Carolina and the Blue Devils.
Lyndra Littles led Virginia with 29 points and Monica Wright added 21.
No. 6 Auburn 72, Mississippi 65
AUBURN, Ala. — DeWanna Bonner scored 23 points and Whitney Boddie had two free throws and a layup late, lifting No. 6 Auburn to a win over Mississippi.
Boddie was 2-of-4 from the line and had a steal and layup in the final 1:10 to help the Tigers (22-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) survive after blowing a 12-point lead.
Boddie also flirted with a triple-double, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.
No. 8 North Carolina 93, Virginia Tech 77
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Rashanda McCants scored 23 points to help eighth-ranked North Carolina beat Virginia Tech.
Jessica Breland added 20 points for the Tar Heels (20-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have followed a three-game losing streak with three straight victories. North Carolina shot 57 percent, led by 16 points at halftime and never let the margin slip below double digits.
No. 11 Florida 92, Alabama 71
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Sha Brooks scored 29 points to lead No. 11 Florida to a win over Alabama, sending the Crimson Tide to its 22nd straight conference loss.
Brooks made 11 of 20 field goal attempts and was six of nine on 3-pointers. Steffi Sorensen added 15 points for the Gators (21-2, 7-1 Southeastern), who won their sixth straight.
Varisia Raffington scored 18 points for Alabama (12-11, 0-8) and Tierney Jenkins had 16.
No. 13 Maryland 87, NC State 66
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Kristi Toliver scored 15 points, and No. 13 Maryland used a torrid shooting first half to cruise past North Carolina State.
Five players scored in double figures for the Terrapins (18-4, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who extended their home winning streak to 30. Demauria Liles had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Marissa Coleman contributed 14 points to pass Shay Doron and move into third place on the school career scoring list (1,880).
No. 14 Ohio St. 59, Purdue 47
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jantel Lavender had 19 points and 13 rebounds and No. 14 Ohio State pulled away from a halftime deficit to beat Purdue.
Lavender, who leads the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding, stretched her career double-figure scoring streak to 53 games the same night she topped 1,000 in career points.
No. 15 Florida State 64, Boston College 53
BOSTON — Mara Freshour scored 19 points, Tanae Davis-Cain had 14 and No. 15 Florida State rebounded from a last-second loss earlier this week by beating Boston College.
The Seminoles (19-5, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), off to their best start ever in conference play, posted their 10th win in 11 games.
Stefanie Murphy led cold-shooting BC (17-6, 5-3) with 16 points. The Eagles shot just 31 percent, hitting only five of 20 3-pointer.
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No. 9 Xavier 83, Temple 74
CINCINNATI — B.J. Raymond scored 23 points and led a 3-point barrage that swept No. 9 Xavier to its 11th straight win.
Facing a defense geared to take away the inside, Xavier (20-2, 8-0) made most of its big shots from way outside. Raymond went 5-of-7 from behind the arc during his fourth straight 20-point game, and freshman Brad Redford made four 3s as Xavier went 11-of-18 overall.
Michigan 71, Penn State 51
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Manny Harris scored 28 points as Michigan beat Penn State for a key Big Ten victory.
The loss ended Penn State’s winning streak at four games — their longest conference run since 1996. The Nittany Lions (17-6, 6-4) are now 1-14 at Crisler Arena.