SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Ta'Niya Latson scored 23 points, Makayla Timpson scored 22 and No. 24 Florida State handed No. 3 Notre Dame its second straight loss, 86-81 on Thursday night.

It was Florida State's second win over Notre Dame in 15 meetings between the teams and its first in South Bend.

O'Mariah Gordon scored 15 points for the Seminoles (23-6, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won four in a row.

Sonia Citron scored 21 points to lead Notre Dame (24-4, 15-2) and Liatu King added 17 points. Hannah Hidalgo scored 16 points but was 4-of-17 shooting.

Notre Dame led by as many as 15 points and lost. That's tied for its largest blown lead since coach Niele Ivey took over in 2020-21, after having blown a 15-point advantage at Syracuse on Jan. 31, 2021, according to ESPN Research.

The Fighting Irish suffered a 104-95 double-overtime loss at NC State on Sunday and are tied with the Wolfpack for the ACC lead. If the Fighting Irish and the Wolfpack share the ACC title, N.C. State will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament because of its victory over Notre Dame.

According to ESPN Research, Notre Dame is the only team currently ranked in the AP top 10 that has lost consecutive games -- and it has done it twice this season. This latest skid may cost the Fighting Irish a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

After Florida State pulled out to a 67-57 lead at the end of the third quarter, Notre Dame closed to 67-66 in the opening minutes of the fourth. Florida State then regained a double-digit lead and held off Notre Dame.

Florida State shook off a 4-of-20 shooting performance in the first quarter and surged ahead for a 44-40 halftime lead, outscoring the Fighting Irish 30-17 in the second quarter.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Sarah Strong had 22 points and nine rebounds and Paige Bueckers added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists as No. 5 UConn defeated No. 22 Creighton 72-53 on Thursday night to claim its fifth straight Big East regular-season title.

Bueckers became the second UConn player in the past 25 seasons to have 70 points and 30 assists in a four-game span in a season, according to ESPN research.

Kaitlyn Chen had 11 points and three assists and Azzi Fudd scored nine points for UConn (27-3, 17-0 Big East), which notched its 37th consecutive regular-season conference victory.

"I don't want it to be all the sudden it's national championship or bust at UConn and winning regular-season championship doesn't matter anymore, because it does matter," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "We've always made it matter. It's always been important to us."

Morgan Maly scored 11 points for Creighton (23-5, 15-2).

Creighton scored the first eight points of the game. A jumper by Fudd with 47 seconds left in the first quarter gave UConn its first lead and the Huskies opened the second with a 9-1 run to extend their lead to nine points.

UConn won its 22nd outright Big East regular-season title and has shared the crown twice.

Redshirt junior Caroline Ducharme made her first appearance at home for UConn since Nov. 16, 2023. Her play has been limited the past two seasons because of a concussion and other injuries.

Takeaways

Creighton: The Bluejays are 0-11 against UConn. Creighton is the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament and wouldn't meet the Huskies again until the title game, if both teams get that far.

UConn: The Huskies can go undefeated in conference play for the 18th time in program history with a win over Marquette on Sunday.

Key moment

Strong, a UConn freshman, was called for her second foul with 7:44 left in the second quarter. Before being taken out of the game, she had back-to-back baskets to give UConn a nine-point lead.

Key stat

After missing 14 of its 19 shots in the first quarter, UConn was 21 for 31 from the field in the second and third periods.

Up next

Creighton hosts Villanova on Sunday. UConn host Marquette on Sunday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

LOS ANGELES -- In the days and weeks leading up to her team completing its deal to land superstar Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss knew the importance of keeping trade talks with the Dallas Mavericks limited to as tight of a circle as possible.

"It was really important to me that we didn't blow up the team," Buss said Thursday before the Lakers' 111-102 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. "If it had leaked out and the trade hadn't happened, that would be really unfair to the progress that the coaching staff had made with the team. Because it's a huge distraction."

Mavs general manager and president of basketball operations Nico Harrison first approached the Lakers' vice president of basketball operations and GM Rob Pelinka with the trade concept on Jan. 7 when the Lakers were in Dallas. The trade was agreed upon 3 weeks later, with Harrison, Pelinka, Buss and Mavs ownership the only people privy to discussions until Feb. 1, when the deal was finished.

"The trade deadline is part of the business, it increases the level of stress for everybody," Buss said. "And I'm really proud that it didn't leak out and that we were able to execute the trade in a way that still was surprising to all the parties involved. But that goes with this business."

Now that Doncic is a Laker, Buss is more than happy to shout about his acquisition from the rooftops. Buss spoke to reporters Thursday to promote the new Netflix comedy series "Running Point," inspired by her life running the team. Kate Hudson portrays the character Isla Gordon, based on Buss. And Buss is an executive producer for the project, which debuted Thursday.

"Everyone thinks, 'Was this trade done to promote the show?' I don't think so," Buss joked.

The Doncic acquisition caused Buss to reflect on two major moves from the franchise's past that went different directions: trading for Pau Gasol with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008, 17 years to the day before the Doncic deal; and the deal for Chris Paul with the New Orleans Hornets that was vetoed by late NBA commissioner David Stern.

"There's always this concern there's going to be some new ruling that, like, now what's going to happen?" Buss said, when asked about any backlash her franchise could receive from the trade that shocked the league. "But what I have complete confidence in Rob is that he knows how to walk a deal through step by step to make sure that everything is complete and buttoned up, and that's exactly what happened."

Beyond the vote of confidence in Pelinka for how he handled the trade negotiations, Buss also offered support for first-year coach JJ Redick -- despite admitting that she initially had reservations about bringing him aboard.

"I was worried about hiring a rookie coach," Buss said. "This team is so important to this community, and to bring in a rookie coach that had no experience before, that was a big leap. But I knew that [Redick and Rob Pelinka] would work well together, and I love watching the progress that they're making."

Though the Lakers have endured many ups and downs since Buss assumed team governor responsibilities after the death of her father, Dr. Jerry Buss, the purple and gold are currently in a good place. After Thursday, they have won 14 out of 17 games; they landed an international phenom in Doncic; and Buss tapped into her team's Hollywood appeal for "Running Point."

With the Lakers celebrating "Girl Dad Night" on Thursday, Buss was asked what her dad would think about Doncic becoming a Laker.

"He'd be very proud," she said. "When you get a player of that stature, you have to give up a lot. But it's like, my dad was such a great poker player and he said that he always wanted me to remember that poker was a game of patience. That you had to wait for the right cards, but once you got the cards, you had to go from zero to 100 and play the cards and not be afraid to play them. So, it was difficult because we were not looking to trade Anthony Davis or Max Christie. But it was a deal that he would've made, and we had to go for it."

PHOENIX -- The injuries have taken a toll on Zion Williamson during his six-year NBA career. So have the losses.

But on nights like Thursday, there are tantalizing reminders of how much talent the 2019 No. 1 pick still possesses.

Williamson had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for his first career triple-double in the New Orleans Pelicans' 124-116 win over the Phoenix Suns. The Pelicans have won three straight games, matching their longest streak of the season.

"It's a reminder to the NBA, to the fans, to everybody," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "This is who he can be, night in and night out. That's what we're all striving to accomplish as a group. We're striving to get our best player on the floor."

Williamson grabbed his 10th rebound with 1:36 left, setting off a celebration by his teammates. The bruising 6-foot-6, 284-pound forward -- whose playing time is limited as the Pelicans try to keep him healthy -- needed only 31 minutes on the court to achieve the triple-double.

"It's dope," Williamson said. "It's funny, there have been so many times when I felt it could have happened, but I never forced the issue. Tonight, my teammates were like, 'No, you've got to get it tonight.'

"So I got to thank my coach and my teammates."

Williamson's big night was an encouraging moment in a tough season. Even after their three-game winning streak, the Pelicans have a 16-43 record and are far out of the playoff hunt.

One of the biggest reasons the Pelicans have struggled is because Williamson sat out about two months because of a hamstring injury, adding to a litany of medical issues since he was selected with the No. 1 pick out of Duke. But the potential is obvious -- he has been an All-Star in the two seasons in which he has played at least 60 games.

Key questions surrounding Williamson -- who is under contract for three more seasons -- have centered on his health, maturity and even his commitment. At times, he has struggled with his weight and conditioning.

This season, he was suspended one game after repeated violations of team policies, the tipping point was being late for a team flight.

Against the Suns, none of that mattered. He made two tough buckets in the paint down the stretch to help the Pelicans seal the victory and his 11 assists matched a career high. He made 13 of 17 shots and joined Steven Adams (2021) as the only Pelicans players with 75% shooting in a triple-double.

"He was fantastic and carried us down the stretch," Green said. "He's been amazing."

And here's the thing: Williamson is still only 24 years old. He's averaging 24.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists this season -- all around his career highs -- despite playing about 28 minutes per night.

"These nights are big for the confidence and a reminder of who I am," Williamson said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

LOS ANGELES -- Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards faces an automatic one-game suspension after picking up two technical fouls in Thursday night's 111-102 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, giving him 16 this season.

Edwards will have to sit out Friday's road game against the Utah Jazz unless one of his technicals against the Lakers gets rescinded upon review by the league office.

"Whatever they're gonna do, bruh," Edwards told ESPN as he exited Crypto.com Arena briefly after the final buzzer. "I don't even know. They should [rescind the second technical]."

Edwards was ejected after drawing his second technical foul of the night with 5:21 remaining in the third quarter.

As Edwards walked toward the tunnel, he tossed the ball into the crowd, drawing a delay-of-game warning.

Edwards and Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt were called for double technical fouls when they exchanged shoves at the end of the first quarter.

His second technical of the game occurred after Edwards complained about a no-call when he felt he got fouled on a drive. He fell after Lakers guard Gabe Vincent's left foot clipped the back of Edwards' right leg and griped at referee Brent Barnaky while sitting on the floor.

"[Edwards] was issued his second unsportsmanlike technical foul for directing profanity towards a game official," crew chief James Williams told a pool reporter.

Williams said that Barnaky took into consideration that a second technical foul would result in an ejection before making the call against Edwards.

According to ESPN Research, Edwards is the first player to receive 16 technical fouls before March since DeMarcus Cousins in 2016-17.

Edwards has been called for four technical fouls in four games since the All-Star break.

"He's gotta be better," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. "He's had too many outbursts. I think a lot of them are deserved. They're going to miss some calls from time to time for sure, so he's gotta be better. We've been talking to him about it, so it's on him."