Sports
Women's Top 25 roundup: No. 3 Texas handles No. 8 Kentucky
Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker (35) dribbles the ball in the first half as the Texas Longhorns take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at the Moody Center, Feb. 5, 2025. Madison Booker and reserve Kyla Oldacre both scored 19 points and No. 3 Texas was in control most of the way in defeating No. 8 Kentucky 67-49 in their Southeastern Conference showdown on Thursday night in Lexington, Ky.
Texas (25-2, 11-1 SEC) thrived on defense, never allowing more than 14 points in a quarter. The Longhorns needed the stingy defense because they shot 38.2 percent from the field, including 1-for-12 on 3-pointers.
Taylor Jones added 15 points and eight rebounds for Texas. Booker had eight rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Oldacre chipped in seven boards.
Georgia Amoore led Kentucky (19-4, 8-3) with 14 points, Teonni Key followed with 12 and Dazia Lawrence had 11, but the trio combined to shoot 14-for-37 from the floor. The team finished at 34.7 percent overall. The Wildcats were within 33-25 at halftime before Texas outscored them 24-10 in the third quarter.
No. 2 Notre Dame 88, Pitt 57
Olivia Miles poured in 28 points and Sonia Citron scored 19 of her 22 points in the first half as the Fighting Irish rolled over the host Panthers in the Atlantic Coast Conference matchup. Miles shot 10-for-16 from the field.
Liatu King had 11 points for Notre Dame (22-2, 13-0 ACC), which was up 49-33 at halftime. Irish star Hannah Hidalgo, who began the day averaging 25.9 points per game, went just 3-for-17 from the field and finished with 11 points.
Khadija Faye had a big game for Pitt (11-15, 3-10), finishing with 23 points, 16 rebounds four steals and two blocks. Mikayla Johnson notched 15 points and Marley Washenitz had 13.
No. 4 South Carolina 101, Florida 63
Joyce Edwards pumped in 28 points on 10-for-17 shooting in the Gamecocks’ romp over the Gators in the Southeastern Conference contest in Columbia, S.C.
Te-Hina Paopao added 14 points and MiLaysia Fulwiley for the Gamecocks (23-2, 11-1 SEC), who rang up a 62-32 halftime lead. South Carolina made 21 of 22 on free throws in advance of Sunday’s nonconference home matchup with No. 7 UConn.
Liv McGill and Ra Shaya Kyle both posted 15 points for Florida (12-13, 3-8), which shot 33.3 percent from the floor.
No. 9 Ohio State 87, Minnesota 84 (OT)
Cotie McMahon racked up 25 points as the Buckeyes recovered from squandering a late lead in regulation to snap their two-game skid by prevailing over the Golden Gophers in the Big Ten battle in Columbus, Ohio.
Grace Grocholski’s 3-pointer for Minnesota with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter forced overtime to cap a 13-1 run. Ohio State (21-3, 10-3 Big Ten), which led 35-30 at halftime, also received 16 points from reserve Ava Watson and 10 points apiece from Jaloni Cambridge and Taylor Thierry.
The Golden Gophers scored 10 straight points to close within 73-71 with 34 seconds left before Madison Greene split a pair of free throws to put Ohio State ahead by three. Sophie Hart scored 21 points for Minnesota (19-7, 7-7). Amaya Battle chipped in 17 and Annika Stewart 12.
No. 10 North Carolina State 76, Miami 74
Madison Hayes scored 19 points with a season-high four 3-pointers and Zoe Brooks weaved through traffic for a go-ahead layup with 46 seconds remaining as the Wolfpack survived an Atlantic Coast Conference threat from Miami in Raleigh, N.C.
Aziaha James scored 15 points and Tilda Trygger added 10 for the Wolfpack (20-4, 12-1 ACC), who extended their winning streak to nine games, while winning for the 16th time in their last 17. Hayes surpassed 1,000 points for her career.
Haley Cavinder scored 20 points with eight rebounds and six assists and Natalija Marshall added 17 points as the Hurricanes (13-11, 3-10) lost for the sixth time in seven games.
No. 12 North Carolina 67, Virginia Tech 62
Reniya Kelly matched her career high with 20 points and the Tar Heels prevailed in their first home game since Jan. 26 by knocking off the Hokies in the Atlantic Coast Conference meeting in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Kelly sank two clinching free throws with four seconds left, as North Carolina cored the final five points of the game. Lexi Donarski added 15 points for North Carolina (22-4, 10-3 ACC), which reached the 10-win mark in league play for the fourth straight season. Alyssa Ustby pulled in 16 rebounds.
Carys Baker had 17 points and seven rebounds, and Matilda Ekh notched 13 points for Virginia Tech (16-9, 7-7), which went scoreless in the final 2:51.
No. 13 Duke 72, Wake Forest 47
Toby Fournier scored 17 points and Oluchi Okananwa added 15 as the visiting Blue Devils leaned into their defense to earn the victory over the Demon Deacons at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Duke (20-5, 11-2 ACC) scored 41 points off 33 Wake Forest turnovers as Jadyn Donovan recorded four steals, while Delaney Thomas had three.
Rylie Theuerkauf scored 11 points for Wake Forest (8-16, 1-12), which went 1 of 8 from 3-point range in the second half and had three offensive rebounds for the game.
No. 15 Tennessee 99, Auburn 61
Jewel Spear scored 17 points, Ruby Whitehorn had 15 and Zee Spearman added 14 as the Lady Vols rolled past the visiting Tigers at Knoxville, Tenn., in their highest-scoring conference game this season.
Kaniya Boyd scored 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting off the bench and Talaysia Cooper added 10 as Tennessee (18-6, 5-6 SEC) shot 55.7 percent overall and made half of its 28 attempts from 3-point range.
DeYona Gaston scored 24 points with 12 rebounds and Yuting Deng added 13 points for Auburn (12-13, 3-9), which fell to 2-8 in road games.
Nebraska 91, No. 17 Maryland 71
Alexis Markowski scored 20 points with 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double and Alberte Rimdal added 15 points as the Cornhuskers ended a three-game losing streak with a road victory over the Terrapins at College Park, Md.
Britt Prince scored 13 points and dished out eight assists, while Logan Nissley and Jessica Petrie each added 11 points as Nebraska (17-8, 8-6 Big Ten) shot 50.7 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent (12 of 21) from 3-point range while holding a 42-25 rebounding advantage.
Shyanne Sellers scored 23 points for Maryland (19-6, 9-5), which dropped to 3-5 since Jan. 20.
Clemson 68, No. 19 Georgia Tech 61
Tessa Miller racked up 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting and added eight rebounds as the host Tigers completed the Atlantic Coast Conference upset.
Maddi Cluse added 14 points and Hannah Kohn 13 points for Clemson (12-13, 5-9 ACC). The Tigers, who were playing their third consecutive ranked opponent, led 37-26 at halftime and pulled out a victory despite 16 turnovers. They shot 50 percent from the field.
Kara Dunn scored 18 points, including hitting four 3-pointers, to lead Georgia Tech (20-5, 8-5), which took 34 of its 67 shots from 3-point range but made only eight. Tonie Morgan had 11 points.
Louisville 83, No. 23 Florida State 69
Tajianna Roberts scored 17 points with 10 rebounds and Jayda Curry also had 17 points as the visiting Cardinals won their third consecutive game with the victory over the Seminoles at Tallahassee, Fla.
Nyla Harris scored 14 points with nine rebounds for Louisville (18-7, 11-3 ACC), while Imari Berry added 11 points and Olivia Cochran had nine rebounds to reach 1,000 for her career.
Ta’Niya Latson scored 29 points, O’Mariah Gordon had 15 and Makayla Timpson had 10 for Florida State (19-6, 9-4), which went 3 of 20 (15.0 percent) from 3-point range and lost its second straight following a six-game winning streak.
–Field Level Media
Sports
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
Oct 1, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) during game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images LAS VEGAS — Entering her eighth season in the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is poised to build on what was arguably the most dominant individual campaign in league history.
Wilson joined Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the second player in league history to win a unanimous MVP award and joined an exclusive club as the fourth player to win the award three times. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last season and set the all-time single-season mark for points (1,021) and rebounds (451).
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, injuries and fatigue from their two previous championship runs mounted and resulted in the team’s worst regular-season record (27-13) since 2019. The Aces’ three-peat hopes ended with a 76-62 home loss to the New York Liberty to drop their semifinal series 3-1.
It’s that loss on her home floor that served as Wilson’s motivation this offseason.
“Losing sucks, especially on your home court,” Wilson said “It still kind of burns a little bit, but I’ve used that as fuel to help my teammates understand how hard it is to win in this league. Yes, we can celebrate the two championships. They were great. But for us to move forward, we have to understand how hard this league is and value the basketball and the little things. I think that’s what we lacked last season, so we’re going to make sure that we can show up better than we did.”
While the Aces appeared to be on top of the world heading into their potential three-peat campaign in 2024, the reality inside the locker room was that both the internal and external pressure to win another championship had become suffocating. A common theme across media day was the fact that the team feels less pressure entering the 2025 season, a sentiment Wilson shared as the unquestioned leader of the team.
“(Three-peat talks) obviously impacted us, because it’s like, y’all think we don’t want to win? We’re trying as well,” Wilson said.
“I would definitely say it’s refreshing this year. I feel like this is one of my only years where it feels like there’s no weight. There’s a lot of weight to be defending champs. It’s a lot of weight to be trying to win one. We don’t have that. We actually have a clean slate to really dial into getting back to who we are culturally, like, in our system and everything.”
Leading the Aces back to the top of the mountain for a third time in four years is one of a few historically significant achievements Wilson can collect this upcoming season. Wilson could also become the first four-time MVP in league history, though the meaning of that is something she hasn’t quite allowed herself to ponder yet.
“I haven’t given it much thought, but it would be a blessing to have my name in that conversation,” Wilson said. “Every year, I try to be better than I was the year before just to give myself a chance in this league. Because the league is getting better. We’re growing. At this point, you just want to maintain your stamina. You want to maintain your mental, all of that, because the season gets hard. I can’t think too much about that just yet, but I’m definitely going to try to be better than I was last year.”
As Aces coach Becky Hammon put it, fans can expect to see an even better version of Wilson this season.
“What I see is, she went and got better,” Hammon said. “Which is hard to do when you’re already the best, but it speaks to her work ethic, her desire and her mindset this whole offseason. We talked a lot this offseason. She’s a busy lady, but I can tell you what she always does is her workouts. She’s always getting her workouts in. That comes first and foremost, she never gets her priorities jumbled up.”
When Hammon was asked what a player like Wilson would possibly need to improve after last season’s campaign, the coach did not feel like revealing too much.
“There was (something for Wilson to improve), and she did,” Hammon said. “I’m not going to tell you what it was. Actually, there were two things.”
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Wilson joins Aaron Judge in spotlight for Yankees-A's series
May 5, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) throws to first for an out against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images The top two hitters in the majors square off Friday night when the New York Yankees face the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif.
It’s no surprise to see Yankees star Aaron Judge off to a superb start after winning American League MVP honors last season. He has a major league-best .400 batting average and entered Thursday’s play tied for the big-league lead with 12 homers and 34 RBIs.
But who had Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson ranking second in the majors at .357 as the season nears the quarter pole? Wilson has played in just 64 career games and quickly has solidified himself as a future All-Star, perhaps even this season.
Sharing the marquee board with Judge seems quite surreal for the 23-year-old shortstop who was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2023 draft.
“It’s a great feeling, for sure,” Wilson said of his name being mentioned with Judge. “Obviously, everybody has seen what he is doing. It’s pretty incredible watching him do his thing on a daily basis. To be up there with him is pretty cool for me.
“I’m excited to play against him this week and see what it looks like in person.”
Wilson had his first career four-hit game during Wednesday’s 6-5 home loss against the Seattle Mariners and has six multi-hit outings in the past eight games. He went 8-for-14 with one game-winning hit in the three-game series against the Mariners and is 16-for-34 (.471) with four walks during the eight-game stretch.
The hot hitting led to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay moving Wilson to the leadoff spot on Wednesday. Kotsay indicated Wilson may be sticking at the top of the lineup.
“I think you’ll see Jacob up there now,” Kotsay said. “Jacob’s earned it. … Jacob has shown enough over the last week. He’s walking and taking pitches, and, obviously, swinging the bat really well.”
Judge arrives in Sacramento in the midst of a four-game funk in which he is 2-for-15.
The two-time MVP just went 1-for-10 in a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres, but the one hit was a homer.
Judge grew up 50 miles south of Sacramento in Linden and starred for Linden High but wasn’t highly sought by major league teams. The then-Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round in 2010.
Judge instead went the college route and starred for Fresno State. He was chosen in the first round (32nd overall) by the Yankees in the 2013 draft.
Trent Grisham was one of the heroes of Wednesday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Padres. He hit a tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning.
Grisham had two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Padres — one of his former teams — and already has 10 long balls in just 89 at-bats. He hit just nine last season in 179 at-bats.
“I’m having fun with the guys, I would say that more than anything,” Grisham said. “The clubhouse is really good in here, led by Cap (Judge). So, I would say the guys have been the most enjoyable part.”
New York is starting right-hander Will Warren (1-2, 5.65 ERA) in Friday’s series opener. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.71) will be on the mound for the Athletics.
Warren, 25, struck out a career-high eight in 4 2/3 innings while losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He gave up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. Warren hasn’t previously faced the Athletics.
Bido, 29, received a no-decision against the Miami Marlins last Saturday when he gave up four runs on three hits over five innings. He is winless (0-1) over his last three starts. Bido hasn’t faced the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement
Aug 21, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada; Manny Pacquiao (right) fights Yordenis Ugas in a world welterweight championship bout at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao plans to end his retirement and return to the ring on July 19 against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas, ESPN reported Thursday.
Pacquiao, 46, will be fighting for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021.
The fight will be for Barrios’ WBC welterweight championship belt. Barrios turns 30 on May 18.
Pacquiao is an eight-division champion who is slated to be inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in June. He reportedly will formally announce his return to boxing next week. The report stated that Pacquiao has been cleared to compete by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
In recent years, Pacquiao has been focusing on his political career in the Philippines.
The boxer nicknamed “PacMan” has a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts during his career. He won his first major title — the WBC flyweight crown — at age 19 in 1998.
Pacquiao was 54-3-2 prior to turning 33 and 8-5 afterward. One of those losses was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via unanimous decision in 2015, a bout that reportedly drew nearly $400 million in pay-per-view sales.
Barrios (29-2-1, 18 knockouts) fought to a 12-round, split-decision draw against Abel Ramos last November. This will be his third defense since winning the title by beating Ugas in 2023.
–Field Level Media
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
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