Sports
Women's Top 25 roundup: No. 24 Florida State overtakes No. 3 Irish
Oct 4, 2024; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Reigan Richardson (24) celebrates a three-pointer during Countdown to Craziness at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images Ta’Niya Latson’s 23 points and Makayla Timpson’s 22 points and 17 rebounds helped No. 24 Florida State rally from a big early hole to stun No. 3 Notre Dame 86-81 on Thursday in South Bend, Ind.
O’Mariah Gordon added 15 points for Florida State (23-6, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference)
Notre Dame (24-4, 15-2) led by 15 points in the second quarter but wound up taking a second straight ACC loss for the first time in four years. The Irish fell in double overtime at North Carolina State on Sunday.
NC State and Notre Dame are tied atop the ACC standings with one game remaining for each team. NC State holds the tiebreaker for ACC tournament seeding.
Sonia Citron had 21 points for the Irish. Liatu King finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
No. 1 Texas 68, Mississippi State 64
Shay Holle scored 16 points and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda compiled 15 points and 11 rebounds to guide the Longhorns past the Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss., for their 12th win in a row.
Madison Booker had 12 points and Rori Harmon added 10 points and seven assists for Texas (28-2, 14-1 Southeastern Conference), which held on after holding a 10-point lead with 2:10 remaining. The Longhorns trailed 27-26 at halftime.
Jerkaila Jordan had 14 points and Madina Okot put up 11 points for Mississippi State (19-10, 6-9).
No. 5 Connecticut 72, No. 22 Creighton 53
Sarah Strong’s 22 propelled the Huskies as they clinched the Big East regular season crown in Harford, Conn.
Paige Bueckers totaled 15 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for UConn (27-3, 17-0 Big East).
Morgan Maly had 11 points and Molly Mogensen added nine points for Creighton (23-5, 15-2), which had 19 turnovers.
Creighton scored the game’s first eight points, but the Huskies led 11-10 by the end of the first quarter, then outscored the Blue Jays 27-12 in the second to take control.
No. 6 South Carolina 75, Ole Miss 59
Chloe Kitts recorded the Gamecocks’ first triple-double in four years, leading South Carolina past the Rebels in Oxford, Miss.
Kitts finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, the ninth triple-double in program history. Sania Feagin shot 10-for-13 from the field on the way to 22 points for the Gamecocks (26-3, 14-1 SEC), who took control in the second half.
Sira Thienou notched 15 points off the bench to pace Ole Miss (18-9, 9-6), but the Rebels managed to score only 12 fourth-quarter points. Christeen Iwuala ended up with 10 points.
No. 20 Alabama 88, No. 7 LSU 85 (OT)
Sarah Ashlee Barker made a tiebreaking jumper with 1:27 left in overtime and Aaliyah Nye racked up 28 points at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
After Barker’s basket, LSU’s Mikaylah Williams went 1-for-2 on free throws at the 31-second mark, but Alabama still needed a blocked shot by Essence Cody, two free throws from Zaay Green and a final defensive stop to hold on. Williams’ 3-point attempt was off the mark on the game’s last shot.
Alabama (23-6, 10-5 SEC) received 21 points from Barker, 17 from Cody and 15 from Green.
Williams had 22 points, Aneesah Morrow notched 16 points and Sa’Myah Smith added 15 points for LSU (27-3, 12-3).
No. 16 Duke 68, No. 8 North Carolina 53
Reigan Richardson sank five 3-pointers and scored 23 points as the Blue Devils avenged an earlier ACC overtime loss by defeating the Tar Heels in Durham, N.C.
Toby Fournier posted 19 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Duke (22-7, 13-4 ACC), which outscored the Tar Heels 21-9 in the third quarter.
North Carolina (25-5, 13-4) had been the only Division I women’s team this season without a road loss. Lanie Grant had 17 points to pace the Heels while Indya Nivar and Lexi Donarski both had 10.
North Carolina, which bounced back from a rough start and led 32-31 at halftime, couldn’t overcome 20 turnovers.
The Tar Heels played without starters Reniya Kelly and Alyssa Ustby, who were out with injuries. Kelly’s absence came as a surprise, while Ustby has missed recent games.
No. 9 North Carolina State 78, Wake Forest 57
Aziaha James scored 18 of her 21 points in the first half to help the Wolfpack grab a 24-point halftime lead as NC State cruised in its regular-season home finale in Raleigh, N.C.
Zoe Brooks poured in 17 points and Madison Hayes had 14 for the Wolfpack (23-5, 15-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who are unbeaten in 16 home games. The Wolfpack made eight first-half 3-pointers, leading 48-24 at the break and showing no letdown after upending then-No. 1 Notre Dame in double overtime on Sunday.
Reserve Malaya Cowles had 14 points and Elise Williams provided 13 for Wake Forest (9-19, 2-15), which has lost 12 in a row in the series. The Demon Deacons went 4-for-20 on 3-point attempts.
No. 18 Kentucky 82, No. 11 Tennessee 58
Clara Strack’s 23 points and 15 rebounds carried the Wildcats in the Southeastern Conference win in Lexington, Ky.
Teonni Key and Georgia Amoore both scored 18 points for Kentucky (22-5, 11-4 SEC), which led 45-26 at the half. Dazia Lawrence added 13 points for the Wildcats, who outrebounded Tennessee 52-31.
Talaysia Cooper was the only double-figure scorer with 25 points for Tennessee (21-7, 8-7), which shot 31.1 percent from the floor.
No. 13 Oklahoma 89, Florida 65
Payton Verhulst’s 17 points and Raegan Beers’ 16 paced the Sooners to a Southeastern Conference road win in Gainesville, Fla.
Skylar Vann had 13 points for Oklahoma (22-6, 10-5 SEC), while Liz Scott and Sahara Williams both had 11. The Sooners were up 44-32 at halftime and scored at least 20 points in every quarter.
Liv McGill had 14 points to lead Florida (14-15, 5-10), while Ra Shaya Kyle and Alexia Dizeko each had 11.
No. 19 Maryland 74, Indiana 60
Shyanne Sellers had 25 points for the Terrapins, who outscored Indiana 28-21 in the fourth to pull away for the Big Ten Conference win in Bloomington, Ind.
Kaylene Smikle added 16 points for Maryland (22-6, 12-5 Big Ten) and Christina Dalce had 11.
Yarden Garzon’s 18 points led Indiana (17-11, 9-8), and Shay Ciezki finished with 15. The Hoosiers rallied from a 30-20 halftime deficit to close within two in the third quarter before fading.
No. 25 Louisville 78, Clemson 52
Tajianna Roberts racked up 19 points and the Cardinals, who couldn’t hold a lead in their last game, bounced back with an Atlantic Coast Conference home win.
Jayda Curry added 15 points and 10 rebounds while reserve Izela Arenas notched 14 points for Louisville (20-8, 13-4 ACC), which endured fourth-quarter snags in Sunday’s loss to then-No. 9 North Carolina. Louisville led Clemson 31-30 at halftime before pouring it on in the second half, including a 23-6 fourth quarter.
Loyal McQueen had 16 points to pace Clemson (13-15, 6-11), which was 3-for-15 on 3-pointers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Joey Logano fastest to finish in first North Wilkesboro points race since '96
Jul 19, 2026; North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, USA; Team Penske driver Joey Logano (22) takes the second stage during the Window World 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Joey Logano dominated by leading a career-high 323 laps as NASCAR welcomed historic North Wilkesboro Speedway back to the Cup Series’ regular-season points schedule for the first time since 1996 in Sunday night’s Window World 450 in North Wilkesboro, N.C.
Winless since early May of last season at Texas Motor Speedway, the three-time Cup Series champion notched his 38th career victory in 16 seasons by topping Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota over the final half of the race, beating the points leader by 0.859 seconds in a long stretch of green-flag racing.
Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs and Shane van Gisbergen finished as the top five.
Sixth-place Bubba Wallace was the final car on the lead lap.
After three cleanly-raced support events over the weekend, Ryan Blaney was slotted first after qualifying was washed out Saturday, but his No. 12 Ford team had to fix a power steering issue that sent him to the back of the 37-car field.
That gave the point to Gibbs, who took them to green in a points race for the first time since polesitter Ted Musgrave did so on Sept. 29, 1996, before a nearly three-decade-long shutdown of the 0.625-mile short track.
Gibbs led the first 40 circuits until John Hunter Nemechek spun after contact with Zane Smith, and the first caution period ended with Hamlin taking two tires to claim the lead on the restart.
Gibbs hustled back in his No. 54 Toyota and narrowly beat van Gisbergen to win Stage 1, which consisted of 80 laps. Logano, Hamlin and Carson Hocevar were the next three finishers.
Logano, the 2024 winner of the All-Star Race at NWS, took the lead from van Gisbergen on Lap 113 in Turn 4 in the 185 laps that made up Stage 2.
The No. 22 Team Penske driver increased his advantage over second-place Chase Elliott to 3 1/2 seconds by Lap 150 and soon lapped Gibbs (speeding penalty), but Hamlin found his way to move by Elliott in the first long green-flag run on the short track.
On Lap 183, Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman wrecked coming off Turn 2 and slid onto the pit-road entrance for the third caution, putting William Byron and Elliott two laps down after their green-flag stop.
Logano captured Stage 2 for his first segment win this season, and Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Wallace and van Gisbergen earned top-five bonus points.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Royals RHP Stephen Kolek (flexor) hurt on rehab assignment, placed on IL
Kansas City Royals pitcher Stephen Kolek (32) pitches in the third inning between the Kansas City Royals and Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. The Kansas City Royals placed right-hander Stephen Kolek on the 15-day injured list on Sunday after he strained his right flexor during a rehab start.
Kolek was injured on Saturday while pitching for Triple-A Omaha to get him ready to return to the major league squad as soon as this week after an extended absence on the family medical emergency list.
He was scheduled for four innings or 65 pitches but made it through only 51 pitches (30 strikes) over 2 2/3 innings against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs before he exited in the third inning with the Omaha Storm Chasers’ trainer.
Kolek allowed two runs on six hits with a hit batter, no walks and three strikeouts.
“He said he didn’t feel great playing catch, but then as he got on the mound, he felt better,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said Sunday. “The first couple of innings were pretty good. In the third inning, he felt more aggressive discomfort. They thought it was best to get him out of there.”
Kolek, 29, is scheduled to get imaging done on Monday.
He last pitched in a major league game on July 2, allowing three runs on four hits in two innings of a 5-2 home loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Kolek has been away from the team since before the birth of his daughter, Faye, who was born seven weeks premature on June 25, MLB.com reported. He has been in the hospital with his wife, Jessica, and their baby, leaving only for that July 2 start. The Royals placed him on the family emergency medical list three times and the paternity list twice as well as the restricted list on July 11, according to MLB.com.
With his child making progress, Kolek planned to return to the Royals, including Saturday’s rehab start. Major League Baseball gave the Royals permission for Kolek to have a rehab assignment, which is not the norm for players on the restricted list.
Kolek is 4-3 with one shutout, a 4.50 ERA, 12 walks and 34 strikeouts in 54 innings over 10 starts this season.
He is a career 12-10 with a 4.13 ERA, 55 walks and 150 strikeouts in 213 1/3 innings over 71 games (29 starts) for the San Diego Padres (2024-25) and Royals (2025-present). The Padres traded Kolek and right-hander Ryan Bergert to the Royals for catcher Freddy Fermin on July 31, 2025.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Injury-riddled Wings and Liberty tip Monday in rescheduled game
Jul 7, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard (32) and New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones (35) at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The Dallas Wings will be chasing their seventh straight win when they host the slumping New York Liberty on Monday in Arlington, Texas, but they likely will be without the services of star guard Paige Bueckers.
Bueckers spent the final minutes of Sunday’s 90-82 home win over the Los Angeles Spark in the locker room after suffering an apparent head injury late in the fourth quarter.
With 3:33 remaining in the game, Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike was dribbling down the court, got tripped up by Dallas rookie Azzi Fudd and lost her balance. She tumbled into the legs of Bueckers and the second-year player fell straight back, landing on her back.
The back of Bueckers’ head appeared to hit the floor when she fell and the 24-year-old immediately grabbed her head.
Bueckers walked off the court on her own but with members of the Wings’ staff flanking her as she continued to hold her head and had a slight limp.
Bueckers had amassed a game-high 25 points before being forced from the game. Arike Ogunbowale scored six of her 20 points in the victory over the final 2:36 while Jessica Shepard totaled 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Fudd also scored 11 points in win.
“We worked hard for this win, and when Paige went down, it was all about the rest of us stepping up,” Ogunbowale said after the victory over Los Angeles.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez had no detailed update on Bueckers’ status in his postgame press conference but said Bueckers was in good spirits. Her availability for Monday’s game is yet to be determined.
“She’s upset at Azzi because she said Azzi tripped her (Ogwumike) and took away P’s charge,” Fernandez said lightheartedly.
Monday’s game was rescheduled from July 16 because of travel difficulties for the Liberty, creating a home back-to-back for Dallas.
The Wings (17-8) enter Monday’s game carrying their longest winning streak in 11 years. Dallas has captured six straight games for the first time since the 2015 campaign when the franchise was in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In that season, the Wings (then known as the Shock) won eight straight outings early in the year and then six in a row before bowing out against the Phoenix Mercury in the Western Conference semifinals.
The Liberty (13-12) limp into Arlington on the heels of a 108-88 loss in Indianapolis to the Fever on Saturday. Breanna Stewart led the way with 26 points and eight boards for New York, while Jonquel Jones netted 13 points and Marine Johannes and Sabrina Ionescu each added 12.
Johannes suffered a left ankle injury in the game and is questionable to compete on Monday.
The Liberty jumped out to an 11-point, first-quarter lead and were up by four at halftime before succumbing in the second half. New York’s 17 turnovers which led to 30 Fever points had plenty to do with the loss.
“We don’t like where we’re at right now, but (here) we are,” Stewart said after the loss. “(We’re) playing with that, realizing that we’re in it. We’re in the trenches, and we can either keep sinking or we can dig ourselves out.”
New York has dropped six of its past seven games and eight of its last 10. The Liberty have trailed by at least 13 points at some juncture in six of their past eight games and has lost all six of those contests.
“We’re really mature about it,” Ionescu said. “It really hasn’t been too frustrating. Every team goes through it. During the process, kind of when you’re in it, it sucks, but I think everyone has a really good mindset of knowing it’ll pay off for us in the long run.”
Key New York players Satou Sabally (concussion protocol) and Leonie Fiebich (foot) have been ruled out for the game.
It is the teams’ third and final meeting of the season. Dallas took the first two matchups, both in Brooklyn, including an 88-77 decision on July 7 that started the Liberty’s current four-game losing streak.
–Field Level Media
Joey Logano fastest to finish in first North Wilkesboro points race since '96
Royals RHP Stephen Kolek (flexor) hurt on rehab assignment, placed on IL
