Sports
Santa Clara eager to prevail in final WCC meeting with No. 12 Gonzaga
Jan 8, 2026; Spokane, Washington, USA; Santa Clara Broncos guard Sash Gavalyugov (2) shoots the ball against Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (15) in the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images Santa Clara is enjoying a memorable season, but it can boost its success to another level when it hosts No. 12 Gonzaga on Saturday night in a battle for first place in the West Coast Conference.
The Broncos have won nine straight games since losing 89-77 to the Bulldogs on Jan. 8 in Spokane, Wash. This contest also marks the last regular-season battle between programs that have been in the same conference for the past 46 seasons and first met in 1959.
“We’ll keep it straightforward,” Santa Clara guard Sash Gavalyugov said. “It’s our last game against Gonzaga in the WCC, so we look to beat them for a goodbye. We look to be undefeated for the rest of the season.”
The Broncos (22-5, 13-1 WCC) stand a half-game ahead of the Bulldogs (24-2, 12-1) with Saint Mary’s (22-4, 11-2) looming close behind in third place.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few feels Santa Clara shouldn’t have any trouble being part of March Madness despite the school last qualifying in 1996.
“They’re an NCAA Tournament team,” Few said. “They pass the eye test.”
The Steve Nash-era Broncos went to the tournament three times in the 1990s and went 2-3, including the still-talked about upset of No. 2 seed Arizona in 1993.
Santa Clara is 13-0 at home entering the clash with Gonzaga, and coach Herb Sendek is doing his best to downplay the hype.
“It’s the next game on our schedule,” Sendek said after the Broncos’ 84-72 home win over Seattle University on Wednesday. “We don’t look at the name on the jersey or the tip time or the weather or whether it’s a holiday or any other thing that can enter someone’s mind.
“When it’s time to play, our conference schedule demands the best of us.”
Gavalyugov, a freshman, made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points against Seattle. He had scored in single digits seven straight times since his explosive 37-point outing against Loyola Marymount on Jan. 10.
One game ahead of his career-best outing, he had eight points on 2-of-7 shooting against Gonzaga. Bulldogs star Graham Ike scored 34 points on 13-of-17 shooting and collected 11 rebounds in the Gonzaga win.
“We guarded them really, really good and rebounded the ball well,” Few said of the contest that was tied at halftime and saw the Bulldogs lead by as many as 23 in the second half.
Ike has scored 30 or more in three of his past six appearances and has made 21 of 28 field-goal attempts over the past two games. He matched his career best of 35 points while making 13 of 18 shots in an 81-61 rout of Oregon State on Feb. 7, and he followed up with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting in an 83-53 home shellacking of Washington State on Tuesday.
Freshman Davis Fogle added 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting off the bench vs. the Cougars and was lauded by Few for his defense. Fogle had a season-high three blocked shots and matched his high of three steals in 23 minutes.
“I think on the defensive end, the game’s slowed down a lot,” Fogle said. “… Still working on it every day in practice and taking all the advice I can from coaches.”
Despite the Broncos splitting the regular-season series with the Bulldogs the past two campaigns, this is another one of those WCC rivalries long owned by Gonzaga.
The Bulldogs had won 26 straight matchups and 35 of 36 prior to the recent splits.
Gonzaga has won 22 of the past 24 meetings at Santa Clara. The Broncos won in 2011 and 2024.
Gonzaga will move into the rebuilt Pac-12 next season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Vancouver wins first pick in PWHL draft
Wisconsin defender Caroline Harvey handles the puck against Bemidji State during a WCHA first-round playoff game Feb. 27, 2026 at LaBahn Arena in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin won, 7-0. The Vancouver Goldeneyes have secured the first pick in the 2026 Professional Women’s Hockey League Draft, with Olympic gold medal-winning defenseman Caroline Harvey expected to be their selection.
The PWHL awards its No. 1 draft choice in a manner that differs from other pro leagues, using what has been dubbed the Gold Plan. Instead of the pick being handed to the team with the worst record, or distributed through a lottery system, the PWHL team that earns the most points after being eliminated from postseason consideration secures the spot.
With their 4-3 overtime defeat of the Minnesota Frost on Saturday night coupled with the Seattle Torrent’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Montreal Victoire, the first-year Goldeneyes secured the first pick. Saturday was the last day of regular-season play.
The full draft order is still to be determined — as is the date of the draft, which is expected to be held in June.
Harvey, 23, turns pro after leading Wisconsin to three NCAA championships — plus one runner-up finish — in her four seasons with the Badgers. In 150 games, she produced 201 points (54 goals, 147 assists), 15 power-play markers and 12 game-winning goals.
The NCAA title capped a busy hockey season for Harvey. She won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in the Milan-Cortina Games, adding it to the silver medal she won in Beijing in 2022 as a 19-year-old. She was MVP of the Olympic Tournament with nine points in five games, an Olympics mark for an American defender.
Harvey also was named Best Defenseman at the 2003 and 2005 World Championships, both of which the United States won.
She is from Salem, N.H.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Minnesota's Anthony Edwards out 'multiple weeks'
Apr 23, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) works around Denver Nuggets guard Bruce Brown (11) in the fourth quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Minnesota Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards will miss “multiple weeks” due to a left knee injury suffered Saturday night in his team’s 112-96 playoff win against the Denver Nuggets.
Per ESPN, Edwards was diagnosed with a bone bruise and hyperextension of the knee on Sunday. Testing did not reveal any ligament damage, and he is scheduled to begin rehab immediately.
The Timberwolves, the No. 6 seed, have a 3-1 lead over the No. 3 Nuggets. The best-of-seven series resumes Monday night in Denver.
Minnesota does not have an easy task closing out this series, however.
Donte DiVincenzo, Edwards’ backcourt mate, suffered a non-contact injury to his right leg 79 seconds into the game. ESPN reported Saturday night that DiVincenzo, who left the arena at halftime in a wheelchair, tore his right Achilles. That injury will put him out for several months.
In the absence of Edwards and DiVincenzo, Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench Saturday night to score 43 points with this line: 13-of-17 shooting, 5-for-5 from 3-point range and 12-for-12 from the foul line.
According to OptaSTATS, Dosunmu became the first player in NBA history to score at least 40 points, shoot at least 75% from the field, hit at least five 3-point attempts without a miss and convert at least 10 free-throw attempts without a miss.
“This is for Ant. This is for Donte,” Dosunmu told Timberwolves social media after the game. “I hope for a speedy recovery for them.”
After being acquired at the trade deadline from the Chicago Bulls, Dosunmu appeared in 24 regular-season games for Minnesota and averaged 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists. During this playoff series, he has delivered a team-high 22.8 points per game while shooting 64% from the field.
During the regular season, Edwards led the Timberwolves with 28.8 points per game and hit 39.9% of his shots from 3-point range over 61 games.
DiVincenzo started all 82 games and posted averages of 12.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Timberwolves forward Julius Randle said postgame that Minnesota can withstand the loss of its starting backcourt.
“We’ve got more than enough talent in here to win,” Randle said. “We lost two guys who are big pieces to our team but we talked about it all year, you need depth in the playoffs to win.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sabastian Sawe shatters 2-hour barrier to win London Marathon
Apr 23, 2023; London, UK; Participants of the London Marathon seen in the finish area after completing the race. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe became the first runner to complete an official marathon in less than two hours as he broke the world record at the London Marathon on Sunday.
On a calm, sunny morning, the 31-year-old finished the marathon in one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds. That crushed the previous record — set by Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum in the 2023 Chicago Marathon — by 65 seconds.
“I am feeling good,” Sawe told BBC Sport. “I am happy. It is a day to remember for me.”
Not only did Sawe blast through a psychological and physiological barrier akin to the four-minute mile, he set the pace for Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha to go under two hours as well. Kejelcha finished in 1:59.41.
“We started the race well and approaching the end of the race, I was feeling strong and I remember (Kejelcha) was so competitive,” Sawe said. “I think he helped me a lot. Finally, reaching the finish line, I saw the time. I was so excited.”
Pushed by Kejelcha, Sawe ran a reverse split to defend his London Marathon title. After reaching the halfway point in 1:00.29, he needed just 59:01 to complete his second 13.1 miles.
Sawe wasn’t the only racer to set a world record in London on Sunday. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa needed just 2:15.41 to break the tape, which placed her in the record books — again — for a marathon run only by women. Last year in London, she ran the marathon in a record 2:15:50.
–Field Level Media
