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
Knicks and Nuggets Blow Big Leads: What Went Wrong in Game 2?
Roughly 5,000 feet of elevation separate Denver and New York City.
Still, gravity works the same regardless of where one stands. Just ask the NBA teams in both towns.
“You get too high, and you get, I don’t want to say cocky, but feeling yourself,” Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said.
That sensation went south on either side of the country Monday night.
After squandering sizable leads that would have cemented commanding 2-0 advantages in their respective first-round playoff series, the Nuggets and Knicks now find themselves bracing for a fight.
Should their opponents ultimately have their number, Denver and New York will look back with disdain on 19 and 14. Those were the Game 2 cushions the teams coughed up as the No. 3 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference.
“It’s a game we should’ve won,” Knicks guard Josh Hart said. “In the playoffs, we can’t give away games.”
Be that as it may, the Knicks did just that against the Atlanta Hawks. They controlled the outcome for much of the night and took a 12-point edge into the fourth quarter after leading by as many as 14.
Then New York shot 5-for-22 from the floor in the final 12 minutes compared to 10-for-15 for Atlanta. Fighting through vulgar chants from the Madison Square Garden faithful, Hawks star CJ McCullom scored six straight points down the stretch during one key sequence on the way to a game-high 32.
“In that fourth quarter, you could tell [the Hawks] were playing with a level of desperation,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “There were four 50-50 balls, and they got three of the four. We always use that stat to gauge the level of aggression in a game. In that fourth quarter, their aggression stepped up.”
New York’s melted at the same time. How many late possessions saw the Knicks pass or hold the ball around the perimeter before settling for subpar looks from 3-point range? The Knicks went 3-for-11 from deep as part of their flop.
Denver led the Minnesota Timberwolves by 19 points early in the second quarter before crumbling. The Nuggets still were ahead by three points to start the fourth quarter but a combined 2-for-12 shooting effort from pillars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in the final 12 minutes took a toll.
“I feel like we had the game in hand, and then we just didn’t make our shots,” Murray said.
As with the Knicks and Hawks, the reversal of fortunes stemmed both from the hosts’ miscues and an outstanding effort from a visiting player, as Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards had 30 points.
“Great leadership, positive,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “He recognized he needed to get into attack mode and get downhill a little bit more. He did that.”
The Knicks and Nuggets no doubt sensed the need to amp up their own urgency as things started slipping away Monday.
That neither could act upon it didn’t signal the end for either New York or Denver, of course. But now there’s unnecessary added weight for the climb back to the top.
Sports
Pistons seek return to identity vs. Magic after Game 1 shocker
Apr 19, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) is defended by Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane (3) in the second half during the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images After an exceptional regular season, this wasn’t the start to the NBA playoffs that the Detroit Pistons envisioned.
Reeling from a stunning Game 1 loss in which only two players reached double figures, the Eastern Conference’s top seed heads into Game 2 Wednesday against the visiting Orlando Magic facing early pressure to reset the best-of-seven series.
The eighth-seeded Magic controlled the opener from the start, never trailing and leaning on a balanced offensive attack. Paolo Banchero led the way with 23 points while Franz Wagner scored 11 of his 19 in the fourth quarter to help close out the 112-101 win.
For Detroit, the issue wasn’t just the loss — it was how it happened. The Pistons never established their defensive identity and struggled to find consistent offense beyond star guard Cade Cunningham, two areas that will be central entering Game 2.
“It starts, always, with us defensively,” said Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “When you go back and watch the film of that (game), we weren’t ourselves defensively. The telling tale is typically when we play them, they go to the free-throw line a ton.
“… We went 38 (times) but they went 19. So that means we weren’t playing our brand of basketball, being physical, being handsy, being aggressive. That kind of sets the tone for us.”
Offensively, the Pistons leaned on Cunningham, who scored 39 points, but got little other support — scoring their fewest points in nearly three months, since a loss to the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 29. Detroit will need more help from All-Star center Jalen Duren, who was held to just eight points and seven rebounds in Game 1.
“They came out ready from the jump,” Duren said. “We didn’t really meet their intensity. They’ve been playing with their backs against the walls the last few weeks, so they were already kind of already rolling. I think we just got to do a better job meeting that intensity.”
Duren said the Pistons remain confident despite the loss, which extended their home playoff losing streak to 11 games, the longest in NBA history.
“We know the type of team we are,” Duren said. “We feel like we’re the better team. We know that we’ve just got to make adjustments and come out smarter, come out playing harder.”
Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said he has talked to his team about not becoming too overconfident coming off Sunday’s win.
“It’s one game at a time,” Mosley said of his message to the team. “It’s the reality that, yeah, you did get the Game 1 win, but now you have to go and figure out how to get a Game 2 (win). There’s going to be, obviously, the positive talk about what you’ve done, and thinking there’s reasons to celebrate, but at the end of the day, it’s one game, and that’s the most important piece that we’ve talked about: just taking it one game at a time.”
Banchero said the team has received the message, and he believes the key for the Magic is to play defense like they did in the opener.
“I thought we were on a string, just communicating, talking out coverages,” Banchero said. “I think it’s just going to continue to take that, being aggressive, being the aggressors on defense and just not trying to give them much. Obviously they’re going to make shots, but just not trying to give them any free looks.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lynx star Napheesa Collier (ankle) targets June for on-court work
Mar 2, 2026; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Unrivaled Co-founder Napheesa Collier at Barclay’s Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The Minnesota Lynx said Tuesday that star forward Napheesa Collier’s rehab from left ankle surgery is “progressing as expected,” and she could resume on-court activities in early June.
The team plans to release updates on Collier’s progress when available.
The timeline means Collier will miss, at minimum, the first month of the WNBA season, which begins May 10 for the Lynx.
Collier underwent surgery on her ankle on March 24 after sustaining a severe injury during the 2025 playoffs. Per reports at the time, she sustained a Grade 2 tear of three ligaments in the ankle and a muscle in her left shin on a collision during Game 3 of the playoff semifinal series vs. Phoenix.
Collier, 29, averaged a career-high 22.9 points and shot 40.3% from 3-point range to go with 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game last year. The back-to-back WNBA Most Valuable Player runner-up, Collier is a five-time All-Star and earned MVP honors in the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup final and the 2025 All-Star Game.
–Field Level Media
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