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Women's NCAA roundup: Lauren Betts lifts No. 1 UCLA to Elite Eight

NCAA Womens Basketball: NCAA Tournament Spokane Regional-Ole Miss vs UCLAMar 28, 2025; Spokane, WA, USA; UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts (51) shoots against Ole Miss Rebels forward Starr Jacobs (7) during the second half of a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament basketball game at Spokane Arena. at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images

Lauren Betts shot 15-for-16 from the floor on the way to 31 points as top-seeded UCLA pulled away from No. 5 Ole Miss in the second half of a 76-62 win in Spokane 1 Region play in Spokane, Wash., on Friday.

Betts delivered her second consecutive 30-point-plus performance of the NCAA Tournament, doing so while matching the career high for made field goals she set in November against Colgate.

Behind Betts’ dominant performance on the inside, UCLA (33-2) outscored Ole Miss (22-11) in the paint 48-34. Betts also grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots. Kiki Rice finished with 13 points and dished a game-high seven assists for the Bruins, who advance to face No. 3 LSU in the regional final on Sunday.

Tameiya Sadler led Ole Miss with 14 points, while Kennedy Todd-Williams and KK Deans each scored 13. Todd-Williams and Christeen Iwuala each grabbed nine rebounds.

No. 3 LSU 80, No. 2 NC State 73

Aneesah Morrow scored 30 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the Tigers rallied past the Wolfpack in the semifinals of the Spokane 1 Region of the Women’s NCAA Tournament in Spokane, Wash.

The Tigers scored the game’s final 10 points in the last two minutes. Sa’Myah Smith finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds and Mikaylah Williams added 19 points for the Tigers (31-5). LSU will play No. 1 seed UCLA in the Elite Eight on Sunday.

Zoe Brooks scored 21, Zamareya Jones had 13 and Aziaha James 12 to lead the Wolfpack (28-7), whose last points came on a Brooks layup that produced a 73-70 lead.

No. 1 South Carolina 71, No. 4 Maryland 67

MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 23 points off the bench and the defending champion Gamecocks prevailed against the Terrapins in the Birmingham Region 2 semifinal of the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

Chloe Kitts added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the top-seeded Gamecocks (33-3), who will meet second-seeded Duke in Sunday’s regional final in Birmingham, Ala. The Gamecocks defeated Duke 81-70 at home on Dec. 5 as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.

Kaylene Smikle led Maryland (25-8) with 17 points, while Allie Kubek and Sarah Te-Biasu both had 12 points and Shyanne Sellers posted 10 points. Smikle and Kubek fouled out as the Terrapins were forced to commit infractions in the final minute.

No. 2 Duke 47, No. 3 North Carolina 38

Oluchi Okananwa had 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench and the Blue Devils used a stifling defense to subdue the Tar Heels in the Sweet 16 of the Women’s NCAA Tournament in the Birmingham 2 Region.

Ashlon Jackson scored 10 points for Duke, which won despite shooting 31 percent from the field and going 5-for-24 on 3-pointers. The Blue Devils (29-7), who’ve won nine in a row, will meet No. 1 seed South Carolina in Sunday’s regional final.

North Carolina (29-8) shot 28.3 percent for the game and 3-for-11 on 3-pointers. The Tar Heels, who committed 15 turnovers, also suffered at the free-throw line, going 5-for-10. Alyssa Ustby’s nine points and 10 rebounds and Indya Nivar’s eight points paced North Carolina.

–Field Level Media

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No. 16 Texas Tech hands No. 4 Iowa State first home loss

NCAA Basketball: Texas Tech at Iowa StateFeb 28, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders forward Donovan Atwell (12) celebrates during the first half against the Iowa State Cyclones at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Every time Iowa State began to gain any semblance of second-half momentum Saturday, Texas Tech had an answer.

Whether it was a 3-pointer on one end, a block on the other or just stingy work on the defensive backboards, the Red Raiders simply refused to buckle to what has been dubbed Hilton Magic.

The result was another significant victory against a foe ranked No. 6 or higher this season, 82-73, which also marked the Cyclones’ first home loss of the season.

Donovan Atwell scored 18 points, hitting six 3-pointers, Luke Bamgboye delivered his best game since stepping in as a starter for the injured J.T. Toppin with 13 points and Christian Anderson navigated second-half foul trouble to score 12 points and dish out seven assists as No. 16 Texas Tech (22-7, 12-4 Big 12) moved into a tie for second place in the conference with Houston.

The Red Raiders are 3-0 since losing Toppin, the 2025 Big 12 Player of the Year, to a season-ending knee injury.

No. 4 Iowa State (24-5, 11-5) got 22 points from Joshua Jefferson and 20 from Milan Momcilovic, but couldn’t quite dig out of a hole that grew as deep as 45-25 late in the first half.

The Cyclones crept back within 65-59 with 7:08 to play on Tamin Lipsey’s dribble-drive bucket and the capacity home crowd was at a full-throat roar.

That rally came after Iowa State was unable to chip away at a 16-point deficit despite Anderson getting tagged with his fourth foul right before the first media timeout of the second half and heading to the bench for nearly 6 minutes.

Jaylen Petty and Tyeree Bryan stepped up with Anderson sidelined, sharing the lead guard responsibilities and scoring a combined 17 points in the second half.

More importantly, Petty helped Texas Tech regain its footing after the Cyclones made their run. He pulled up for a timely 3-pointer and moments later hit a mid-range jump shot late in the shot clock. Both buckets came after Bamgboye blocked shots at the rim.

Atwell sank his final 3 with 4:47 remaining, and Bryan finished a 10-0 run with a driving layup to push the lead to 75-59, leaving Iowa State unable to recover.

Atwell’s big day from beyond the arc helped the Red Raiders finish 14 of 29 from deep against one of the Big 12’s best defenses.

Conversely, the Cyclones struggled to make shots from anywhere most of the game and finished at 39% overall (23 of 59), including 8 of 24 from 3-point territory. Jefferson and Momcilovic combined to connect on 13 of 28 field-goal attempts.

Iowa State clawed back into the game by cranking up its defense, especially on Anderson, in the second half. The Cyclones forced 10 turnovers in the second half, which led to 12 points the other way. Iowa State scored 17 points off turnovers in all.

Sparked by Atwell’s 15 points, Texas Tech held a comfortable 45-29 lead at halftime. The Red Raiders made five of their final eight 3-pointers after a 3 of 10 start and knocked down 10 of 11 shots from inside the arc with 11 assists on 18 made field goals.

Jefferson and Momcilovic each notched 13 points to help the Cyclones outscore Texas Tech 44-37 in the second half, but the Red Raiders had enough in the tank to hold on for another huge NCAA Tournament resume-boosting triumph.

–Field Level Media

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Sharks beat Oilers to halt five-game slide

NHL: Edmonton Oilers at San Jose SharksFeb 28, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Edmonton Oilers left wing Zach Hyman (18) scores a goal against San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) during the first period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Shakir Mukhamadullin scored the game-winner on a slap shot midway through the third period as the San Jose Sharks defeated the visiting Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Saturday.

Michael Misa had a goal and an assist, and 12 different players recorded points for the Sharks, who ended a five-game losing streak, their second longest of the season.

Connor McDavid, the NHL’s leading scorer, led Edmonton with three assists, while Evan Bouchard had a goal and two assists.

Macklin Celebrini opened the scoring 8:34 into the first period for San Jose. Oilers goaltender Connor Ingam, who made 28 saves, lost his stick on the previous sequence. He thought the puck had been cleared far enough away from his zone to retrieve it, but the Sharks’ Will Smith retrieved it and sent it over to Celebrini for his team-leading 29th of the season.

Misa and Barclay Goodrow also scored in the first period as the Sharks recorded three goals in the opening 20 minutes for the second straight time against Edmonton this season.

Last time, on Jan. 29th, the Oilers would score four unanswered goals, including an equalizer with 59 seconds left by Bouchard and the winner with 1:06 remaining in overtime by Zach Hyman.

Leon Draisaitl scored off an assist from McDavid on the Oilers’ league-leading power play in the first as Edmonton trailed by two goals heading into the second period.

Bouchard tallied his 17th goal of the season to get Edmonton within one in the second period, scoring off assists from McDavid and Mattias Ekholm.

The goal gave Bouchard 20 points in his last 10 games. The last defenseman to do that for the Oilers was legendary Paul Coffey in 1986.

Trent Frederic evened the game at 3 at 2:54 into the third on a wrister from Matt Savoie, who drove the puck all the way up the ice past Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov before feeding the former Boston Bruin for the easy finish.

Askarov made 20 saves for San Jose.

The teams then traded goals, with San Jose first retaking the lead as Alexander Wennberg scored on a wrister less than three minutes after Frederic’s equalizer, with Jake Walman evening the game again for the Oilers less than two minutes after that.

The scoring frenzy concluded with Mukhamadullin’s winner at the 9:27 mark of the third period, after William Eklund found him at the point for the powerful slap shot.

The Oilers have scored 17 goals in three games since coming back from the Olympics but have now lost two of those contests.

–Field Level Media

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Minnesota United holds off FC Cincinnati in historically cold matchup

MLS: Minnesota United at Austin FCFeb 21, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; Minnesota United forward Kelvin Yeboah (9) stops during the first half against Austin FC at Q2 Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Kelvin Yeboah scored in the 66th minute and Drake Callender made four saves as Minnesota United presented Cameron Knowles his first victory as head coach with a 1-0 shutout of FC Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon in Saint Paul, Minn.

Roman Celentano finished with four saves for FC Cincinnati (1-1-0, 3 points).

Yeboah, who scored the tying goal in the 90th minute in Minnesota’s season opening 2-2 draw at Austin FC, headed in a rebound of a Tomas Chancalay free kick from the top left edge of the box for the game-winner. Chancalay’s shot caromed off the far right post into the middle of the box where Yeboah drilled in a hard header.

The score was set up when a free kick was awarded after Cincinnati’s Gerardo Valenzuela tripped Joaquin Pereyra just inches outside the penalty box.

Cincinnati, which opened the season with a 2-0 victory over Atlanta United, nearly tied it five minutes later on a curling left-footed shot from the middle of the box by Obinna Nwobodo that was heading for the right corner of the goal, but Callender made a diving one-arm save to knock it wide of the post.

Chancalay had a chance to extend the lead in the 83rd minute when he went in on a breakaway, but Celentano made a leaping two-hand deflection of his left-footed shot from the left side of the box that was ticketed for the top right corner of the goal.

Minnesota United (1-1-0, 4 points) moved into first place in the Western Conference with the win. Star striker James Rodriguez, who won the Golden Boot playing for Colombia in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, dressed but did not make his debut for the Loons.

The temperature at kickoff was 20 degrees with a wind-chill of 11 making it the coldest game played in team history for Cincinnati.

–Field Level Media

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