Women's college basketball scores: South Carolina, Iowa, Stanford all dominant in early season tune-ups

The 2023-22 season is underway, and some of the nation's top teams cruised on opening night

The 2022-23 women's college basketball season officially tipped off on Monday. The top teams performed as expected, while No. 21 Creighton and No. 23 South Dakota State provided an exciting game as the only Top 25 matchup in either men's or women's basketball on the first day of the season.

Here are the highlights and results of the top women's basketball teams that competed on Monday:

• No. 8 Iowa State opened the season with an 87-54 victory over Cleveland State. Ashley Joens registered her 50th career double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds, as well as five assists and two blocks. Stephanie Soares contributed with 15 points and a team-high 14 rebounds. Denae Fritz added nine points and 10 rebounds.

• The No. 7 Louisville Cardinals topped the rival Cincinnati Bearcats 87-68 on the day they unveiled their 2022 Final Four banner. Cincinnati's Braylyn Milton had an impressive 28-point performance but it was not enough to lift her team to a win. Hailey Van Lith took charge of the winning offense by also registering 28 points. The Cardinals outshot their opponents 51.7 percent - 43.4 percent from the field. 

• The No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks dominated their opponents with a 101-31 victory over East Tennessee State. Six players reached double figures for the winning offense and Zia Cooke led all scorers with 17 points. Aliyah Boston registered 30 double-doubles last season, and she already got her first one of the 2022-23 campaign with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Gamecocks showed off defensively, holding their opponents to just 17.5 percent from the field. 
• No. 4 Iowa opened the season with an 87-34 win over Southern. Caitlin Clark had a physical night, exiting early in the game after landing awkwardly on her back but returned after a few minutes. She later got a bloody nose later in the first quarter, but none of that affected her. She went on to lead her team with 20 points going 6-of-10 from the field, including three 3-pointers. Monika Czinano and Hannah Stuelke also reached double digits with 10 points each. 
• No. 2 Stanford cruised past the San Diego State Aztecs with an 86-48 victory. Four Cardinal players registered double digits, with Kiki Iriafen leading with 16 points. Elena Bosgana followed closely with 15 points. Indya Nivar and Cameron Brink added 13 points each. Brink was impressive in other areas too as also registered eight rebounds and six blocks. 
• The No. 21 Creighton Bluejays, fresh off the program's first ever Elite Eight, took a 78-69 victory against No. 23 South Dakota State with a strong showing in the second half. Creighton junior guard Lauren Jensen had nine points in the first two quarters but finished the night with a game-high 30 points going 10-of-20 from the field, including four 3-pointers.
  

Here are the results for the five highest ranked teams, and the only Top 25 matchup, who played on Monday:

• No. 8 Iowa State 87, Cleveland State 54
• No. 7 Louisville 87, Cincinnati 68
• No. 1 South Carolina 101, East Tennessee State 31
• No. 4 Iowa 87, Southern 34
• No. 2 Stanford 86, San Diego State 48
• No. 21 Creighton 78, South Dakota State 69

[Nov 8, 2022 at 12:00 am ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

FINAL: No. 2 Stanford 86, San Diego State 48

Four Cardinal players registered double digits, with Kiki Iriafen leading with 16 points. Elena Bosgana followed closely with 15 points. Indya Nivar and Cameron Brink added 13 points each. Brink was impressive in other areas too as also registered eight rebounds and six blocks. San Diego State struggled to keep up all game and only shot at 31.6% from the field. No Aztec reached double digits, but Alex Crain was close with nine points. 

[Nov 8, 2022 at 4:32 am ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

FINAL: No. 4 Iowa 87, Southern 34

Iowa star Caitlin Clark was down early in the game, and got a bloody nose later in the first quarter. She shook it off and went on to lead the Hawkeyes to their first victory of the season with 20 points going 6-of-10 from the field, including three 3-pointers. Monika Czinano and Hannah Stuelke also scored in double figures with 10 points each. Iowa outshot Southern 51.7%- 21.1% from the field. 

[Nov 8, 2022 at 9:16 am ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

Stanford's Cameron Brink has six blocks tonight and the game is still in the third quarter. This is her fifth career game with six blocks. The program's record for a single game is eight blocks by Kristen Newlin at Washington State in 2004.

[Nov 7, 2022 at 11:00 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

HALFTIME: No. 2 Stanford 42, San Diego State 16

Stanford's Cameron Brink is leading the way tonight. She leads all scorers with nine points, six rebounds, two assists and four blocks. San Diego Sate is only shooting at 18.5% from the field and no Aztec has scored more than four points. 

[Nov 7, 2022 at 10:42 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

HALFTIME: No. 4 Iowa 43, Southern 15

Caitlin Clark came down early in the game, but she came back out on the floor ready to compete. She led all scores with 14 points after two periods. The Hawkeyes are outshooting the Jaguars 48.3%- 16.1% from the field.