Sports
Women's Top 25 roundup: No. 3 Notre Dame handles No. 25 Louisville
Mar 2, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo (3) reacts in the first half against the Louisville Cardinals at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images Hannah Hidalgo posted 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists as No. 3 Notre Dame halted a two-game skid, defeating No. 25 Louisville 72-59 to gain a piece of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship on Sunday at South Bend, Ind.
Notre Dame (25-4, 16-2 ACC) shares the regular-season title with NC State, which will hold the No. 1 seed for the ACC tournament based on defeating the Irish in double overtime last Sunday in Raleigh, N.C. Notre Dame will be the No. 2 seed.
Olivia Miles scored 15 points and Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld both had nine for the Irish. Jayda Curry scored 19 points for Louisville (20-9, 13-5), which shot 30.1 percent from the field.
Notre Dame’s 36-28 halftime lead dwindled to 40-35 before the Irish went on an 18-5 stretch to end the third quarter. Miles had seven points during that run, capped by a 3-pointer before the buzzer.
No. 9 NC State 69, SMU 45
Aziaha James and Zoe Brooks both scored 19 points and the Wolfpack clinched the No. 1 seed for the ACC tournament by rolling past the Mustangs at Fort Worth, Texas.
Madison Hayes had 18 points for NC State (24-5, 16-2 ACC), which overcame 15 turnovers. Brooks made nine of 12 shots from the field and Hayes shot 7 of 11.
Zanai Jones racked up 17 points and Kylie Marshall notched 13 for SMU (10-20, 2-16), one of three teams failing to qualify for the ACC tournament. The Mustangs shot 33.9 percent from the field, including 3 of 15 on 3-pointers.
Georgia 72, No. 11 Tennessee 69
Roxane Makolo’s layup broke a tie with 1:55 to go and the Bulldogs held on for the upset at Knoxville, Tenn.
Mia Woolfolk poured in 20 points and De’Maun Flournoy notched 18 for Georgia (12-18, 4-12 Southeastern Conference), which won back-to-back games for the first time since mid-December. Asia Avinger and Trinity Turner both had 11 points and Makolo finished with 10.
Jewel Spear’s 20 points and Zee Spearman’s 19 paced Tennessee (21-8, 8-8), which shot 33.9 percent from the field. The Volunteers, who stumbled Thursday at No. 15 Kentucky, fell behind 39-26 by halftime. Tennessee scored the first 13 points of the second half before Georgia regrouped.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jannik Sinner wins Madrid, shatters record for consecutive ATP Masters 1000 titles
Mar 29, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates his victory over Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic in the final of the men’s singles at the Miami Open at the Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images Jannik Sinner became the first player to capture five straight ATP Masters 1000 titles when he breezed past Germany’s Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday in the Mutua Madrid Open final.
The 24-year-old Italian, who ranks No. 1 in the world, started his unprecedented streak in France by winning the Paris Masters on Nov. 2. He set the record there for losing the fewest number of games (29).
Sinner won the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March, where he became the first player not to lose a set in two consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events. He followed that by claiming the Miami Open, the Monte-Carlo Masters and now the Mutua Madrid Open. The last four victories have come in a nine-week span.
In Sunday’s win over the second-seeded Zverev, Sinner never faced a break point while converting all four of his break points against Zverev. Of his 29 first serves that landed, he won the point on 27 (93.1%). He averaged 130 miles per hour on his first serves compared to Zverev’s 124 mph.
Sinner needed just 25 minutes to complete the first set and 31 minutes to take the second set and wrap up his ninth consecutive win over Zverev. The German sensed the match might go this way.
“He’s world No. 1 and hasn’t lost a match since the beginning of February,” Zverev told reporters after capturing his semifinal match on Friday. “Right now he’s definitely the best player in the world. I have to play very, very good tennis to have a chance.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Raptors' Brandon Ingram downgraded to doubtful for Game 7
Apr 26, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) shoots the ball as Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) defends during game four of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram was seen in a walking boot during the team’s shootaround on Sunday morning, several hours before Game 7 of the Eastern Conference first-round series against the host Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ingram initially was listed as questionable to play due to right heel inflammation. He was downgraded to doubtful when the NBA released its official injury report early in the afternoon.
An All-Star this season for the second time in his career, Ingram was limited to 11 minutes and scored one point in Toronto’s 125-120 setback to Cleveland in Game 5 on Wednesday. He did not play in Toronto’s 112-110 overtime victory in Game 6 on Friday.
During the regular season, the 28-year-old Ingram averaged a team-high 21.5 points over 77 games. He also averaged 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists and drilled 38.2% of his 3-point attempts.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Astros' Christian Walker batting cleanup one day after HBP to head
May 2, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker (8) is helped off the field after being hit by a pitch during the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Less than 24 hours after taking a fastball to the helmet, Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker was penciled into the starting lineup for the Astros’ series finale on Sunday at Boston.
Facing an 0-2 pitch from Red Sox rookie left-hander Tyler Samaniego, Walker was drilled over his left eye by a 93.3 mph fastball on Saturday that broke his helmet and sent the biggest piece flying 10 feet toward the backstop.
With the Astros leading 6-3 in the ninth, they took precautionary measures and removed Walker in favor of pinch runner Brandon Shewmake.
“I feel OK,” Walker told reporters afterward. “I think the helmet took most of it. And turning away from it hopefully made it more of a glancing blow than straight impact.”
Clearly Walker felt good enough to fill the cleanup spot for Sunday’s game against the Red Sox. Walker has appeared in every game this year for the Astros — starting all but one — and the 35-year-old has been producing some career numbers.
His .309 batting average, .386 on-base percentage and .577 slugging percentage all represent career bests. He has delivered eight homers and 26 RBIs through 34 games, which put him on pace for a career-high 38 homers and 124 RBIs.
–Field Level Media
Jannik Sinner wins Madrid, shatters record for consecutive ATP Masters 1000 titles
Raptors' Brandon Ingram downgraded to doubtful for Game 7
