BANGOR — Tanesha Sutton scored on a driving layup with 22 seconds left Monday night, giving Maine a one-point lead on the way to a 59-56 victory against Hartford in an America East women’s basketball game at the Cross Insurance Center.

Dor Saar added a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining for Maine (16-8, 9-2) before Jade Young missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Hawks (14-10, 6-5).

Roshunda Johnson of Mississippi State heads to the basket Monday night while guarded by Bianca Jackson of South Carolina during the first half. Mississippi State won, 67-53. Associated Press/Rogelio V. Solis

Julie Brosseau and Blanca Millan scored 19 each, and Saar added 11 for the Black Bears, who have a seven-game winning streak.

Darby Lee scored 24 points for Hartford.

(2) MISSISSIPPI STATE 67, (7) SOUTH CAROLINA 53: Victoria Vivians scored 20 of her 24 points in the first half to help spark a struggling offense, and the Bulldogs (24-0, 10-0 Southeastern) rallied to beat South Carolina (18-5, 7-3) at Starkville, Mississippi.

The Bulldogs ended an 11-game losing streak to the Gamecocks that included a defeat in the national championship game last season.

A 13-0 run to begin the fourth quarter was the difference. The Bulldogs turned a five-point third-quarter deficit into a lead they didn’t lose, much to the delight of the sellout crowd of 10,794 fans that was a Humphrey Coliseum record.

Blair Schaefer hit two big 3-pointers during that stretch to help flip the game in the Bulldogs’ favor.

(6) TEXAS 73, WEST VIRGINIA 55: Jatarie White had 18 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season to lead Texas (19-4, 10-2 Big 12) over West Virginia (17-7, 5-7) at Morgantown, West Virginia.

The Longhorns opened on a 7-0 run but West Virginia clawed back thanks to five first quarter 3-pointers.

Texas responded by outscoring the Mountaineers 19-7 in the second quarter to open a 37-26 lead at the half.

Both teams traded scores throughout the first 15 minutes of the second half. West Virginia cut the lead to seven with 5:16 left in the third quarter but got no closer.

(15) MISSOURI 66, FLORIDA 64: Cierra Porter scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help Missouri (18-5, 6-4 Southeastern) hold off Florida (10-13, 2-8) at Columbia, Missouri.

Sophie Cunningham, averaging 18.4 points per game, scored her final points of the game and finished with 10 on a baseline jumper to extend Missouri’s lead to 64-59.

Florida guard Funda Nakkasoglu sank a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:01 remaining to pull to 66-64. Missouri took some time off the clock after a defensive foul but Florida deflected the ball out of bounds off Cunningham’s knee at 12.1. The Gators’ offense stalled near the 3-point arc and Haley Lorenzen didn’t hit the rim on a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.

POLL: Connecticut (22-0) remained the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation by the 32-member media panel. They routed No. 7 South Carolina on Thursday, then blew out Cincinnati on Sunday.

The first five teams were unchanged with Mississippi State, Baylor, Louisville and Notre Dame following UConn.

Texas moved up two spots to sixth while UCLA, Oregon and Maryland rounded out the first 10 teams in the poll. The Ducks dropped three places after losing to then-No. 24 Stanford on Sunday night.

The 17th-ranked Cardinal made the biggest jump in the Top 25, moving up seven spots.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

SYRACUSE 78, LOUISVILLE 73: Tyus Battle scored 25 points to lead visiting Syracuse (16-8, 5-6 Atlantic Coast) over Louisville (16-8, 6-5).

Syracuse never trailed in the final 28:58, snapping a two-game losing streak. But the Cardinals made it interesting down the stretch against the Orange, who had just six healthy scholarship players and played just seven.

POLL: Villanova, Virginia and Purdue are making themselves comfortable atop the AP Top 25.

The Wildcats are ranked No. 1 in the latest poll, followed by the second-ranked Cavaliers and third-ranked Boilermakers. It marked the fourth straight week that they 1-2-3 in the poll while continuing extended winning streaks while avoiding the upsets that hit national powers Duke, Kansas, Arizona and Kentucky last weekend.

Villanova (22-1, 9-1 Big East) has won nine straight and hasn’t lost in the 2018 calendar year.

Virginia (22-1, 11-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won 14 straight games and leads the rest of the tradition-rich league by at least three games in the loss column.

Its defense ranks No. 1 nationally and the Cavaliers are coming off a game in which they held Syracuse to 44 points – the Orange’s lowest output ever in the Carrier Dome.

AUBURN: The NCAA denied the school’s appeal of a ruling declaring center Austin Wiley ineligible for the rest of the season.

The NCAA announced on Jan. 11 that Wiley won’t be eligible until next season. The NCAA said Auburn self-reported violations involving recruiting, extra benefits and agent-related activity. Wiley is a former five-star recruit who enrolled early last season and played in 23 games as a freshman.

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