Sports
UConn's Sarah Strong, Azzi Fudd headline women's All-Americans
Jan 19, 2026; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies forward Sarah Strong (21) and guard Azzi Fudd (35) defend against Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Iyana Moore (23) in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images UConn’s Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd, whose Huskies enter the Women’s NCAA Tournament with an undefeated record, were named Associated Press All-Americans on Wednesday.
Strong, a sophomore forward, was a unanimous selection. It’s the latest honor for Strong, who on Tuesday — along with Fudd — was named a U.S. Basketball Writers Association First Team All-American and previously was chosen as National Player of the Year by The Athletic and ESPN.
Joining them on the first team are Mikayla Blakes of Vanderbilt, UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Madison Booker of Texas. Blakes and Betts were named to the first team by 29 of the 31 voters.
UConn, UCLA and Texas are No. 1 seeds in the upcoming tournament. Vanderbilt is a second seed.
Strong and Fudd are the seventh set of teammates from head coach Geno Auriemma’s program to be named to the first team. They are the 10th overall pair and the first since 2020, when Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard were chosen.
Strong is averaging 18.5 points, remarkable because she only plays 26.3 of 40 minutes per game. Given UConn’s average margin of victory of 38.4 points, she rarely plays in the fourth quarter.
She is shooting 60.1% from the field, 42.7% from 3-point territory. She leads the Huskies in points, rebounds, steals and blocks and is second in assists. She has reached double digits in scoring in 47 consecutive games.
Fudd, a grad student, is averaging a career-high 17.7 points over 28.2 minutes per game. Fourth-quarter minutes are rare for the guard, too. She is shooting a team-best 44.6% from long range, good for seventh in the nation, and 95.1% from the foul line.
Blakes, a sophomore guard, is the first Commodores player in 23 seasons to earn AP All-America first-team honors. This is her fifth first-team All-American selection this season, including selections by The Athletic and ESPN.
Her average of 27.0 points per game leads Division I. Her 12 games of 30 points or more also are the most in the nation, and she is the only NCAA player to average more than 4.0 assists, 2.9 steals, and 2.8 3-pointers made per game this season. She is shooting 45.8% from the field.
It’s a repeat honor for Betts, a senior center who last season became the first UCLA player named to the women’s first team. She is averaging 18.5 points and 7.6 rebounds and shooting 56.2% from the field for UCLA.
Given the Bruins’ average 28.1-point margin of victory, Betts also wasn’t needed for full games, averaging 26.9 minutes.
For Booker, it’s also the second consecutive first-team selection. She has averages of 18.9 points and 6.5 rebounds and is shooting 51.6% from the field. A junior forward, she was named a preseason AP All-American along with Strong and Betts.
Second team
Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State
Audi Crooks, Iowa State
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Olivia Miles, TCU
Third team
Toby Fournier, Duke
Flau’jae Johnson, LSU
Raven Johnson, South Carolina
Olivia Olson, Michigan
Kiki Rice, UCLA
Honorable mention
Raegan Beers, Oklahoma; Zanai Barnett-Gay, Navy; Jazzy Davidson, USC; Maggie Doogan, Richmond; MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU; Rori Harmon, Texas; Ava Heiden, Iowa; Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA; Avery Koenen, North Dakota State; Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina; Liv McGill, Florida; Cotie McMahon, Ole Miss; Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State; Oluchi Okanawa, Maryland; Khamil Pierre, North Carolina State; Marta Suarez, TCU; Clara Strack, Kentucky; Riley Weiss, Columbia; Mikaylah Williams, LSU.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Habs outlast Devils in shootout to earn eighth straight victory
Apr 4, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Montréal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield (13) swipes at the puck in front of New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen (34) during the first period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Salus-Imagn Images Oliver Kapanen scored in the fifth round of the shootout to extend the Montreal Canadiens’ win streak to eight games after Saturday’s 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J.
Cole Caufield failed to find his 50th goal of the season, but tallied a pair of assists in the win, while Ivan Demidov, Jayden Struble, and Cole Hutson all scored for the Canadiens (45-21-10, 100 points).
Both goaltenders impressed as Jakub Dobes made 35 saves en route to his fifth consecutive win, while Jake Allen stopped 26 shots in the loss.
Jack Hughes, Timo Meier and Dawson Mercer all scored for the Devils (39-34-3, 81 points).
Struble broke the deadlock with 4:02 remaining in the first as he sent a rocket of a shot into the top corner for just his second goal of the season.
Caufield picked up his second assist of the night just over eight minutes into the second period as he slid a sneaky pass across to Demidov, who made no mistake to bury the power-play goal and extend his point streak to five games (two goals, four assists).
Hutson stretched it to a 3-0 lead 9:28 into the middle frame as the puck bounced out to him with Allen sprawled out and an empty net in front of him.
Mercer finally solved Dobes as he sent a short-side snipe over the netminder’s shoulder with 6:52 left in the second.
Just moments after Bratt was denied on a short-handed odd-man break, Hughes made the most of the second consecutive 2-on-1 chance, cutting the deficit to one with 2:20 left in the second.
Caufield had his best chance at finding his 50th goal with 7:44 left in the contest as he fired off a high shot from the slot, but Allen got it with the blocker.
Meier knotted things up at three with just 2:15 remaining in regulation as he took a pass from Hughes and sent his shot off the post and in.
Dobes robbed Bratt at one end, before Allen stoned Kapanen at the other during an exciting overtime frame.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Clayton Keller's hatty surges Mammoth past lowly Canucks
Apr 2, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) looks to pass while defended by Seattle Kraken center Chandler Stephenson (9) in the second period at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images Clayton Keller collected his third career hat trick in a four-point game to lead the visiting Utah Mammoth to a 7-4 victory over the cellar-dwelling Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
Dylan Guenther and Lawson Crouse both scored once and added an assist for the Mammoth (40-30-6, 86 points), who pulled closer to clinching a playoff berth.
Kailer Yamamoto and Liam O’Brien also tallied, while Logan Cooley collected a pair of assists and goaltender Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves.
Utah, which has won six straight versus Vancouver, is firmly in control of the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot.
Linus Karlsson scored twice while Jake DeBrusk and Marco Rossi added singles for Vancouver (22-46-8, 52 points), which has lost eight of nine games.
Goalie Nikita Tolopilo stopped 17 shots.
Keller broke open a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal at 7:04 of the second period by deflecting Guenther’s high point shot. It was originally waived off but video review showed Keller’s stick was even with the crossbar at impact.
The Mammoth have scored on the power play in five consecutive outings, converting nine times in that span.
After a string of near misses, Utah extended the lead when Guenther buried a sharp-angled chance into a yawning net at 11:55.
To their credit, the Canucks kept fighting but could not draw even.
DeBrusk’s power-play goal 20 seconds into the third period, a nifty deflection of Filip Hronek’s point shot, made it a one-goal game. But Crouse restored Utah’s two-goal bulge with a top-shelf shot at 1:32 of the final frame.
Rossi again pulled the hosts within one with another power-play goal at 4:40, only to see O’Brien tally seven minutes later with a deke on a partial breakaway in his first game since Feb. 4.
Keller’s empty-net goal rounded out the scoring, and gives him 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in a four-game streak.
Both clubs staked and squandered a lead.
Karlsson opened the scoring at the 2:28 mark, but Yamamoto drew Utah even 11 minutes later and Keller potted his first of the game with 90 seconds remaining in the opening period to give the Mammoth a 2-1 edge.
Karlsson tied the clash at 2-2 by deflecting the point shot 125 seconds into the second period.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Miami rallies twice to earn draw in new stadium opener vs. Austin
Apr 4, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) kicks the ball against Austin FC during the first half at Nu Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Substitute Luis Suarez scored his first goal of the season in the 82nd minute after Lionel Messi scored his fifth and Inter Miami salvaged a 2-2 draw against visiting Austin FC to officially open their new permanent stadium on Saturday night.
Both goals pulled Miami (3-1-2, 11 points) back from a goal down at the 26,700-seat Nu Stadium just west of downtown Miami, which replaces the Herons’ temporary home of Chase Stadium in nearby Fort Lauderdale.
Austin’s Guiherme Biro scored the first goal in the venue early in the first half, and Jayden Nelson temporarily restored the visitors’ lead early in the second.
It was the first time the Verde (1-2-3, 6 points) have scored multiple goals since a 2-2 home draw against Minnesota in their season opener.
But Austin were forced to settle for a share of the points when Suarez leveled nine minutes after his entrance on a well-worked corner.
Mateo Silvetti struck the inswinging service to the near post, and German Berterame met it with a flick-on header to the far post. That’s where Suarez showed up for a first-time volley from close range.
Once level late, Miami looked far more likely to get the winner. Suarez briefly thought he’d dispatched a rebound into the net for a winner, only to be ruled offside. Then Austin’s Brad Stuver sprawled to deny Messi’s low effort in second-half stoppage time.
A rare turnover from Messi led to Austin’s second goal in the 53rd minute.
Joseph Rosales took the ball off the Argentine, took several touches forward to begin a break and then sprayed a pass further up the left flank to Myrto Uzuni.
From there, Uzuni played a very clever first-time diagonal ball — benefiting from a fortunate deflection off Miami’s Noah Allen — into the path of Nelson sprinting up the center channel. Nelson finished the sequence off the inside of the left post and into the net.
Austin first went in front on a sixth-minute corner. Facundo Torres provided the outswinging service, and Miami’s Tadeo Allende slightly misjudged his clearing header attempt.
That allowed the ball to drop for Biro, who powered a low header off the turf and past Dayne St. Clair.
Messi pulled the Herons level four minutes later after Telasco Segovia orchestrated a flowing left-to-right move, eventually playing the ball to Ian Fray on the right flank.
Fray looped a cross back toward the penalty spot, where Messi connected with a relatively rare headed goal into the top-right corner.
–Field Level Media
