Sports
Women's Top 25 roundup: No. 1 UCLA puts away No. 24 Michigan
Dec 29, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close during the first quarter against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The Bruins won 91-54 for Close’s 300 career win. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images Kiki Rice and Lauren Betts led five scorers in double digits as No. 1 UCLA stayed unbeaten by keeping No. 24 Michigan at arm’s length 86-70 in a Big Ten matchup on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Rice posted 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and added 10 assists and three steals. Betts followed with 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals as the Bruins (14-0, 3-0 Big Ten) used a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to push their lead to 16. Another 9-0 run a few minutes later sealed the win.
Londynn Jones tallied 13 points and Gabriel Jaquez and Angela Dugalic 12 apiece for UCLA, which shot 55.6 percent from the field.
Freshman Syla Swords scored a career-high 30 points on 11-of-25 shooting for Michigan (10-4, 1-2), which has lost three of its last four games. Olivia Olson contributed 17 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks, and Jordan Hobbs chipped in 10 points.
No. 4 Southern California 75, Nebraska 55
JuJu Watkins poured in 26 points, 11 in the third quarter, as the Trojans pulled away to defeat the Cornhuskers in the Big Ten contest in Los Angeles.
Watkins, who began the day third in Division I by averaging 25.2 points per game, went 7 of 15 from the field and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line. She made 9 of 10 from the line in the third quarter, as USC (13-1, 3-0 Big Ten) outscored Nebraska 20-11 to extend its lead to double digits.
Kiki Iriafen added 14 points, and Rayah Marshall chipped in eight points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals for USC, which extended its winning streak to nine games.
Logan Nissley led the Cornhuskers (10-4, 1-2) with 14 points, and teammate Britt Prince followed with 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
No. 7 UConn 77, Marquette 45
Sarah Strong led four scorers in double digits with 15 points, and the Huskies used a strong second quarter to defeat the host Golden Eagles in a Big East game in Milwaukee.
KK Arnold added 13 points and seven assists off the bench for UConn (12-2, 3-0 Big East). Paige Bueckers entered averaging 20.9 points per game but managed just 12 against Marquette on 4-of-12 shooting. Jana EL Alfy chipped in 10 points, and Strong added seven rebounds and four assists.
Skylar Forbes netted 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting for the Golden Eagles (9-4, 1-1). None of her teammates managed more than six points, and they combined to shoot 26.2 percent from the field. UConn’s Kaitlyn Chen tallied all seven of her points in the second quarter, as the Huskies outscored the Golden Eagles 21-8 to take control of the game.
No. 12 Kansas State 74, Houston 55
The Wildcats saw a double-digit lead slip away in the third quarter but roared back in the fourth to put away the host Cougars for their ninth consecutive victory in the Big 12 clash.
Ayoka Lee, Temira Poindexter and Jaelyn Glenn all scored 15 points for Kansas State (14-1, 2-0 Big 12), with Lee adding nine rebounds and four blocks. Teammate Serena Sundell chipped in with 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Trailing by one point with one minute gone in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats ran off 21 points to blow the game open. Poindexter had eight points in that spurt.
Eylia Love led Houston (4-9, 0-2) with 16 points and Laila Blair added 12 points and three steals.
No. 18 West Virginia 80, UCF 58
Ja’Naiya Quinerly scored 17 of her season-high 31 points in the first quarter as the Mountaineers built a big lead and coasted past the Big 12 opponent Knights in Morgantown, W.Va.
Syndey Shaw added 19 points and Jordan Harrison contributed 12 points, six rebounds and six assists for West Virginia (11-2, 1-1 Big 12). The Mountaineers led by six midway through the first quarter, but finished on a 17-1 burst, with Quinerly scoring eight and Harrison four.
Khyala Ngodu paced UCF with 14 points and seven rebounds. Kaitlin Peterson was right behind with 13 points, Nevaeh Brown added 12 and Emely Rodriguez 11. The Knights (7-5, 0-2) lost their third straight game.
No. 21 Michigan State 77, Purdue 59
Jocelyn Tate posted a season-high 19 points and added 11 rebounds and three steals, and she led a big second quarter as the Spartans turned back the Boilermakers in East Lansing, Mich.
Grace VanSlooten finished with 13 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals for Michigan State (12-2, 2-1 Big 10), which ended a two-game losing streak. Ines Sotelo added 16 points and six boards, and Julia Ayrault supplied 11 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Tate netted 10 points in the second quarter as Michigan State (12-2, 2-1 Big 10) outscored Purdue 18-3.
Destini Lombard and Lana McCarthy scored 10 points apiece to pace Purdue (7-7, 0-3), which has lost two games in a row and four of six. Lombard also had four steals and two blocks.
No. 23 Iowa 80, Penn State 68
Taylor McCabe scored 17 points, Addison O’Grady netted 16 and Hannah Stuelke posted a double-double as the Hawkeyes used a late 9-0 run to defeat the Lady Lions in the Big Ten matchup in University Park, Pa.
Stuelke finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four assists as Iowa (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) won its third straight game. The Hawkeyes shot 52.5 percent from the floor and dominated in bench points (33-10) and paint points (46-26).
Gabby Elliott led Penn State with career highs of 32 points and seven 3-pointers, including two treys early in the fourth quarter as the Lady Lions (9-5, 0-3) were within 63-61 with 7:04 left. A layup by O’Grady and Teagan Mallegni’s three-point play began Iowa’s burst, which pushed the lead to 11 with 4:12 to play.
Lucy Olsen added 11 points for the Hawkeyes, and Gracie Merkle notched 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Lady Lions. Elliott was 12 of 22 from the field, including 7 of 11 from deep.
–Field Level Media
Sports
MLB roundup: Chris Sale, Braves win pitchers' duel vs. scuffling Phils
Apr 18, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Chris Sale worked seven strong innings and Mauricio Dubon provided a two-run single to lift the visiting Atlanta Braves to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.
Sale (4-1) struck out seven and walked only one, giving up just one run and five hits. Austin Riley, Jonah Heim and Ozzie Albies each had two hits as Atlanta won for the eighth time in 10 games.
The Braves will look to complete a three-game sweep Sunday in the finale with the scuffling Phillies, who have dropped eight of 10. Philadelphia ace Cristopher Sanchez (2-2) gave up three unearned runs in six innings, yielding eight hits and a walk with eight strikeouts.
The game began in exciting fashion, as Ronald Acuna Jr. sent a blast to deep center, only to watch Brandon Marsh leap at the wall to rob a home run. In the second, Philadelphia’s Felix Reyes launched Sale’s 2-0 fastball over the wall in right field for a home run in his first major league at-bat. However, that was the only offensive highlight for the hosts.
Diamondbacks 6, Blue Jays 2
Corbin Carroll broke a tie with an opposite-field grand slam in the eighth inning and Arizona extended its winning streak to four games with a victory over Toronto in Phoenix.
Ildemaro Vargas singled off Jeff Hoffman (1-2) to open the eighth, extending his season-opening hitting streak to a franchise-record 14 games. Alek Thomas singled and Ketel Marte walked to bring up Carroll, who hit his fourth career slam on a 3-1 fastball. The D-backs, who have won eight of 10, lead the majors with 10 comeback victories.
Nathan Lukes had three hits, Kazuma Okamoto had two hits and an RBI and Ernie Clement and Eloy Jimenez had two hits apiece for the Blue Jays, who have lost four straight, six of seven and 12 of 15.
Yankees 13, Royals 4
Cody Bellinger homered twice and collected five RBIs as the New York Yankees easily recorded a victory over visiting Kansas City.
Amed Rosario hit a two-run homer and Ben Rice hit a solo shot during a five-run third. New York’s Will Warren (2-0) allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings. The right-hander matched a career-high with 11 strikeouts and walked none.
The Royals dropped their sixth straight and were blanked until Carter Jensen hit a two-run homer in the seventh. Michael Massey added a two-run double in the ninth. Noah Cameron (1-1) was shelled for a career-worst seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in four innings.
Athletics 7, White Sox 6 (11 innings)
Nick Kurtz hit a game-tying home run in the seventh inning and Max Muncy was the walk-off hero in the 11th as the Athletics overcame an early 5-0 deficit to beat Chicago in West Sacramento, Calif.
Muncy hit a game-winning sacrifice fly to left field off Lucas Sims (0-2) to score Jacob Wilson. The White Sox had the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the 11th, but Jack Perkins (2-0) pitched out of trouble to give the A’s a chance to end the game in the bottom half.
The game went to extras after Kurtz’s two-run shot off Jordan Leasure in the seventh. Colson Montgomery, Andrew Benintendi and Munetaka Murakami hit home runs in a losing effort. The White Sox missed countless chances to build on their lead, finishing 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position.
Giants 7, Nationals 6 (12 innings)
Matt Chapman drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 12th inning and San Francisco beat host Washington.
Chapman led off the 12th against Cionel Perez (0-2) and grounded a single to left, scoring automatic runner Luis Arraez. Caleb Kilian (1-0) pitched two innings for the win. The automatic runner did not advance in either inning and Kilian only allowed one baserunner on an intentional walk.
Heliot Ramos had three hits including his second home run in two games as San Francisco won its third straight. The Nationals loaded the bases with no outs in the 10th, but Ryan Walker got two strikeouts and a groundout. James Wood hit his seventh homer of the season and scored three runs for the Nationals.
Reds 5, Twins 4
Pinch hitter Dane Myers’ bloop single scored Spencer Steer in the top of the ninth inning as Cincinnati rallied for a win over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
The Reds scored a run in each of the final three innings to rally from three separate two-run deficits, with Elly De La Cruz providing an RBI single and Rece Hinds providing a sacrifice fly. Kyle Nicolas (1-0) struck out the side in the eighth.
Ryan Jeffers had a two-run triple for the Twins, who saw manager Derek Shelton ejected for arguing a check-swing decision on the pitch before De La Cruz’s RBI single. Cole Sands (0-1) allowed Myers’ game-winning hit in the ninth.
Tigers 4, Red Sox 1
Tarik Skubal pitched six dominant innings and Kerry Carpenter highlighted his multi-hit game with a home run, leading Detroit to a win over host Boston.
Skubal (3-2) struck out 10, twice fanning the side, while allowing just one run on four hits. Carpenter (2-for-3, two RBIs) and Kevin McGonigle (2-for-5, RBI, run) led the offense for Detroit, which broke a nine-game road losing streak.
Tyler Holton and Kenley Jansen teamed up in relief as Boston was limited to five hits. Jansen notched his fifth save. Boston’s Brayan Bello (1-2) gave up four runs on five hits and three walks in four innings. He fanned four, while throwing 84 pitches.
Rays 8, Pirates 7 (13 innings)
Cedric Mullins’ two-run leadoff home run in the top of the 13th inning made the difference as Tampa Bay beat host Pittsburgh in a four-hour, 12-minute game that was the longest of the season in terms of innings played and was extended by a two-hour, 27-minute weather delay.
Mullins had two hits and three RBIs and Jonny DeLuca had two hits and two RBIs to help the Rays rally from a 4-0 deficit before the delay and win for the seventh time in their past eight games. Mullins’ 403-foot homer to right field came off Yohan Ramirez (2-1).
The Pirates cut the deficit to one in the bottom of the 13th when Konnor Griffin singled home Jake Mangum. But Yoendrys Gomez recovered by striking out Joey Bart with runners on second and third. Chandler Simpson, Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda also had two hits each for Tampa Bay, which used eight relievers, capped by Griffin Jax (1-2) and Gomez.
Guardians 4, Orioles 2
Brayan Rocchio hit a three-run homer and Gavin Williams pitched seven strong innings to lead host Cleveland past Baltimore for its second win in five games.
Bo Naylor also homered for the Guardians, which had just three hits. Williams (3-1) struck out 11 and allowed one run, three hits and one walk. It marked the second time this season and sixth time overall that he has struck out 10 or more in a game.
Leody Taveras and Gunnar Henderson (two hits) hit solo homers for the Orioles, who had just four hits and struck out 16 times while losing for the fourth time in the past five games. Dean Kremer (0-1) pitched six innings for the Orioles and gave up three runs and two hits. He struck out seven and walked two.
Mariners 7, Rangers 3
George Kirby continued his mastery of Texas, allowing one run over 5 2/3 innings, as host Seattle posted a victory against its American League West rivals.
Luke Raley homered for the Mariners, who snapped a four-game losing streak and beat Texas for the first time in five tries this season. Kirby (3-2) improved to 9-1 in 12 career starts against Texas.
Josh Jung went deep for the Rangers, who had won their previous two games. Nathan Eovaldi (2-3) gave up four runs (two earned) on eight hits in five-plus innings.
Cardinals 7, Astros 5
Masyn Winn and Jose Fermin smacked their first home runs, and visiting St. Louis clinched an interleague series win over Houston.
Alec Burleson also homered for the Cardinals, who pounced on Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. (1-1) and rode a solid start from right-hander Andre Pallante (2-1), who worked five innings.
Yordan Alvarez crushed his league-leading ninth home run and Shay Whitcomb belted a three-run shot, but the Astros lost their third consecutive game and have dropped 11 of 13.
Cubs 4, Mets 2
Carson Kelly hit a tiebreaking three-run pinch-hit home run in the sixth inning for host Chicago, which beat skidding New York.
The pinch-hit homer was the second of Kelly’s career and his first since Aug. 25, 2021. Ian Happ homered in the second for the Cubs, who have won four straight and have scored 51 runs while winning five of their last six games.
Kelly’s homer off Brooks Raley made a winner of Jameson Taillon (1-1), who gave up one run on five hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings.
Brewers 5, Marlins 2
Brice Turang slugged a go-ahead, two-run homer and Brandon Woodruff pitched seven brilliant innings as Milwaukee beat host Miami.
Turang went 2-for-3 with three RBIs for the Brewers, who won their season-high fourth consecutive game. Woodruff (2-2) allowed three singles and one run over seven innings.
Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara (2-2) allowed five hits and three runs in five innings. He tied his career high with six walks and matched a career low among five-plus-inning starts with just one strikeout. Liam Hicks and Connor Norby each had two hits for Miami.
Padres 4, Angels 1
Fernando Tatis Jr. had two hits and two RBIs and Mason Miller struck out two en route to his seventh save to lead San Diego to a victory over Los Angeles in Anaheim.
Ramon Laureano also drove in two runs, Jake Cronenworth scored a run and reached base four times with a single, two walks and a hit by a pitch and Freddy Fermin scored twice for San Diego, which won for the 12th time in its last 14 games.
Zach Neto and Mike Trout each doubled and Nolan Schanuel had an RBI single for Los Angeles, which finished with just six hits. Ryan Zeferjahn (1-1) allowed two runs on three hits and two walks in one inning immediately after Yusei Kikuchi wrapped his scoreless six-inning, eight-strikeout start for Los Angeles.
Rockies 4, Dodgers 3
Troy Johnston hit a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth inning and Colorado edged Los Angeles in Denver to win for only the second time in nine games.
Johnston had three of the Rockies’ seven hits. Brennan Bernardino (2-0) delivered 1 1/3 no-hit innings in relief, and Victor Vodnik pitched the ninth for his third save.
Kyle Tucker and Dalton Rushing homered for the Dodgers, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Shohei Ohtani was 1-for-4 to extend his on-base streak to 50 games. Will Klein (1-1) allowed hits to each of the first three batters he faced in the sixth, including Johnston’s game-winning double.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Team Vitality, Team Spirit to clash in IEM Rio grand final
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Team Vitality and Team Spirit advanced to the grand final with semifinal victories Saturday at the $300,000 Intel Extreme Masters Rio event in Brazil.
Vitality blanked FURIA and Spirit did the same to Team Falcons. FURIA and Team Falcons will meet in the third-place match on Sunday before Vitality and Spirit face off in the grand final.
Sixteen Counter-Strike 2 teams have been competing this week for a top prize of $125,000.
The double-elimination group stage began with two groups of eight teams, with all matches best-of-three. The group winners advanced to the playoff semifinals, with the group runners-up entering the quarterfinals as high seeds and the third-place teams entering the quarterfinals as low seeds.
In the single-elimination playoffs, all matches have been best-of-three until Sunday’s best-of-five grand final.
On Saturday, Vitality took out FURIA 13-10 on both Overpass and Ancient. Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut of France paced the winning side with a 49-27 kill-death differential. For FURIA, Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato of Brazil posted a 36-28 K-D differential.
Spirit cruised past Team Falcons 13-7 on Dust II and 13-4 on Mirage, led by Russian Boris “magixx” Vorobiev’s K-D differential of 31-17. Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov of Russia led Falcons with a 28-27 K-D differential.
Play continues Sunday with the final two matches:
–Team Vitality vs. Team Spirit (grand final)
–FURIA vs. Team Falcons (third-place match)
IEM Rio prize pool:
1. $125,000
2. $50,000
3. $30,000
4. $20,000
5-6. $12,500 — MOUZ, Natus Vincere
7-8. $7,000 — G2 Esports, Aurora Gaming
9-12. $5,000 — RED Canids, 3DMAX, B8, HOTU
13-16. $4,000 — Gentle Mates, Team Liquid, Passion UA, Legacy
–Field Level Media
Sports
Team Falcons, BetBoom Team start fast at Wallachia Season 8
Xtreme Gaming, PARIVISION, Team Falcons and BetBoom Team won in sweeps as the PGL Wallachia Season 8 group stage opened on Saturday in Bucharest, Romania.
Other winners, by 2-1 scores, were Team Spirit, Team Liquid Aurora Gaming and HEROIC.
The $1 million Dota 2 tournament began Saturday with the 16-team group stage, which concludes Wednesday. Eight teams advance to the double-elimination playoffs on April 23-26. All matches are best-of-three until the best-of-five grand final.
Xtreme Gaming knocked off Natus Vincere in 44 and 34 minutes, both on green. PARIVISION took down MOUZ in 26 and 43 minutes, both on green.
BetBoom Team swept Virtus.pro in 34 and 40 minutes, both on green. Team Falcons dispatched Team Yandex in 49 minutes on green and 36 minutes on red.
Team Spirit dropped its opening map on green in 33 minutes to Vici Gaming, then rallied with wins in 58 minutes on red and 38 minutes on green.
Team Liquid won in 46 minutes, fell to GamerLegion in 39 minutes, then won the deciding map in 48 minutes — all winning teams on red.
Aurora Gaming took the opener in 41 minutes on red, then South America Rejects drew even with a 24-minute victory on green before Aurora triumphed in 32 minutes on red.
HEROIC started fast in 32 minutes on green, then Tundra Esports won a marathon of 65 minutes on green before HEROIC won in 39 minutes on red.
Sunday’s Round 2 schedule for 1-0 teams:
–Xtreme Gaming vs. Aurora Gaming
–Team Liquid vs. BetBoom Team
–Team Spirit vs. Team Falcons
–PARIVISION vs. HEROIC
Round 2 for 0-1 teams
–Vici Gaming vs. Natus Vincere
–MOUZ vs. GamerLegion
–Team Yandex vs. South America Rejects
–Tundra Esports vs. Virtus.pro
PGL Wallachia Season 8 prize pool:
1. $300,000 — TBD
2. $175,000 — TBD
3. $120,000 — TBD
4. $80,000 — TBDt
5-6. $60,000 — TBD
7-8. $40,000 — TBD
9-11. $20,000 — TBD
12-14. $15,000 — TBD
15-16. $10,000 — TBD
–Field Level Media
MLB roundup: Chris Sale, Braves win pitchers' duel vs. scuffling Phils
Team Vitality, Team Spirit to clash in IEM Rio grand final
