Sports
Women's Top 25 roundup: Paige Bueckers hurt in No. 7 UConn's win
UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5) makes a move on Marquette guard Halle Vice (22) during the first half of their game Wednesday, January 1, 2025 at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Paige Bueckers scored 15 points before leaving the game with a knee injury in the third quarter as visiting No. 7 UConn routed Big East Conference rival Villanova 83-52 on Sunday.
Bueckers dove for a loose ball along with the Wildcats’ Jasmine Bascoe, who rolled into her left leg. Bueckers, the projected No. 1 overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, returned to the bench later in the game with an ice pack on her knee. Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said he’s optimistic that Bueckers isn’t seriously injured.
Sarah Strong scored a game-high 21-points for UConn (13-2, 4-0), while Villanova (7-8, 1-2) was paced by Bascoe’s 12 points.
No. 2 South Carolina 95, Mississippi State 68
Tessa Johnson came off the bench for 22 points as the Gamecocks shrugged off a slow start to earn a Southeastern Conference rout of the Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss.
Chloe Kitts added 17 points and 10 rebounds for South Carolina (14-1, 2-0), which trailed 22-13 after a quarter before outscoring Mississippi State 55-23 in the middle two quarters.
Jerkaila Jordan scored a game-high 24 points for the Bulldogs (13-3, 0-2).
No. 3 Notre Dame 76, No. 17 North Carolina 66
Hannah Hidalgo scored 24 points and dished out five assists as the Fighting Irish notched an Atlantic Coast Conference win over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Olivia Miles added 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Notre Dame (12-2, 3-0), while Liatu King tallied 15 rebounds to go with eight points.
North Carolina (13-3, 1-2) got 16 points and nine rebounds from Maria Gakdeng.
No. 5 Texas 90, Arkansas 56
Six players scored in double figures as the Longhorns rolled to an SEC rout of the Razorbacks in Austin, Texas.
Aaliyah Moore scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Texas (15-1, 2-0), which earned a 46-27 advantage on the boards and forced 25 turnovers.
Arkansas (7-10, 0-2) got a game-high 23 points from Izzy Higginbottom.
No. 6 LSU 73, Auburn 63
A 27-8 second quarter burst was the difference as LSU stayed unbeaten by winning the matchup of SEC Tigers in Baton Rouge, La.
Aneesah Morrow scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for LSU (17-0, 2-0), while Kailyn Gilbert added 17 on 8-of-10 shooting off the bench.
Auburn (9-6, 0-2) got 19 points off the bench from Audia Young.
No. 9 Oklahoma 87, No. 15 Tennessee 86
The Sooners built a 16-point lead after three quarters and hung on to hand the Lady Vols their first loss in an SEC thriller in Knoxville, Tenn.
Payton Verhulst scored 16 points for Oklahoma (13-2, 1-1), including two foul shots with 50 seconds left that proved to be the difference. Raegan Beers added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Jewel Spear fired in a game-high 28 for Tennessee (13-1, 1-1), which had a chance to win but saw Sara Puckett miss a 3-pointer in the last five seconds.
No. 10 Ohio State 92, Northwestern 62
The Buckeyes raced to a 77-43 lead after three quarters en route to an easy Big Ten Conference win over the Wildcats in Columbus, Ohio.
Jaloni Cambridge scored a game-high 20 points for Ohio State (14-0, 3-0), which led by 39 at one point in the fourth quarter. Cotie McMahon had 16 points as five Buckeyes scored in double figures.
Kyla Jones tallied 15 points for Northwestern (7-8, 0-4), which has lost three in a row.
No. 14 Duke 69, Pitt 31
The Blue Devils forced 29 turnovers and allowed the punchless Panthers to hit just 11 of 45 field goal attempts in posting an easy ACC victory in Durham, N.C.
Reigan Richardson scored 13 points for Duke (12-3, 3-0), reaching the 1,000-point mark for her career.
Khadija Faye tallied a game-high 17 points for Pitt (8-8, 0-3), which had just four other players score.
No. 16 Kentucky 96, Vanderbilt 78
Georgia Amoore finished with 24 points and nine assists as the Wildcats bombed in 15 3-pointers and scored 31 first-quarter points in an SEC win over the Commodores in Nashville, Tenn.
Amelia Hassett added 20 points (six 3-pointers), nine rebounds and five assists as five players scored in double figures for Kentucky (13-1, 2-0).
Vanderbilt (14-2, 1-1) got 24 points out of Mikayla Blakes.
No. 19 Alabama 68, Missouri 49
Zaay Green scored a game-high 23 points and the Crimson Tide started SEC play 2-0 for the first time in 21 seasons by drilling the Tigers in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Aaliyah Nye added 11 for Alabama (15-1, 2-0), which held Missouri to 34 percent field goal shooting and forced 20 turnovers.
Angelique Ngalakulondi and Nyah Wilson each scored nine points for Missouri (11-6, 0-2).
No. 22 North Carolina State 91, Boston College 52
The Wolfpack jumped out to a 28-9 first-quarter lead and never looked back in an easy ACC rout of the Eagles in Raleigh, N.C.
Saniya Rivers scored 23 points and added 11 rebounds for NC State (11-3, 3-0), while Zoe Brooks chipped in 11 points and 11 boards.
T’yana Todd scored 20 points to pace Boston College (10-7, 1-3).
Texas A&M 60, No. 25 Ole Miss 58
Sole Williams scored a game-high 18 points and the Aggies outscored the Rebels 20-6 in the fourth quarter to earn an SEC win in College Station, Texas.
Jada Malone shot a perfect 7-for-7 to post 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Texas A&M (8-6, 1-1).
Ole Miss (10-4, 1-1), which made only 19 of 53 shots from the field, was led by Madison Scott’s 14 points.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Wild D Jonas Brodin out for Game 1, F Joel Eriksson Ek also ailing
Apr 7, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Tyler Johnson (90) moves the puck away from Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin (25) and center Joel Eriksson Ek (14) during the second period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin didn’t travel with the team to Denver and will miss Sunday night’s playoff series opener against the Colorado Avalanche.
Forward Joel Eriksson Ek is listed as questionable to play in Game 1 of the Western Conference second-round series.
Brodin, 32, sustained a lower-body injury during Game 5 of Minnesota’s first-round series against the Dallas Stars. He was hurt while blocking a shot by Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen during the second period.
Brodin missed the clinching Game 6 victory on Thursday. He had one assist in the series.
In the regular season, Brodin had four goals and 18 points in 62 games.
Eriksson Ek was hurt in Game 6 when his right leg smacked into the wall. He didn’t practice on Saturday.
Minnesota coach John Hynes was debating what to do about Ek’s spot with his status unclear.
“I’m kind of going through that a little bit right now,” Hynes said. “So, now you kind of go down that decision-making process of what would we do if he’s not ready.”
Ek, 29, had three goals and five points in the Dallas series. In the regular season, he had 19 goals and 51 points in 70 games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cameron Young holds six-shot lead after three rounds in Miami
May 2, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Cameron Young makes his par putt on the 18th hole during the third round of the Cadillac Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Romance-Imagn Images Cameron Young shot 2-under-par 70 on Saturday to remain in control through three rounds of Cadillac Championship at Miami.
Young is up six strokes on a group of three golfers, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, at windy Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster Course.
Young, who’s at 15-under 201, will be looking for his second victory of the season and the third of his career on the PGA Tour during Sunday’s final round.
Scheffler shot 69 to move to second place by the time he finished the round. He’s joined in that position by South Korea’s Si Woo Kim (69) and Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan (69).
Young began the round with a bogey on the par-5 first hole but played the next 11 in 3 under.
Scheffler’s round was defined by birdies on three of the four par-5 layouts.
Matt McCarty (69), Ben Griffin (68) and Canada’s Nick Taylor (72) are at 8 under and tied for fifth place. Taylor bogeyed the final hole.
Jordan Spieth took a significant dive, shooting 75 and falling to a tie for 12th at 5 under. He was hurt by two double-bogeys — first on the par-3 fourth hole when he didn’t get into putting position until his fourth stroke and then on the 18th when his approach shot went into the water and he was forced to take a penalty.
Australia’s Adam Scott had the day’s best score with a bogey-free 6-under 66, leaving him at 3 under.
–Field Level Media
Sports
RJ Barrett, Raptors clash with Cavaliers in unexpected Game 7
May 1, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett (9) reacts after scoring the winning basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the overtime period in game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images RJ Barrett kept the Toronto Raptors’ season alive with one of the most clutch shots in franchise history, but he isn’t ready to reminisce about the moment yet.
Not with a win-or-go-home Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first round series taking place Sunday night at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“Forget everything that’s happened,” said Barrett, who is averaging a series-high 24.3 points per game. “Now, it’s one game to win it all.”
The fifth-seeded Raptors earned that opportunity when Barrett’s 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in overtime bounced off the heel of the rim, high in the air and through the hoop to give them a 112-110 victory Friday.
As a result, upstart Toronto has pushed the team with the highest payroll in the NBA to the brink of a devastating end to a season that began with championship dreams.
“Glory to God, that was a fun one, right?” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “It was a heck of a fight. We just talked about how much fun this is and how much we loved the challenge.”
Fourth-seeded Cleveland got a clean look at the buzzer, but Evan Mobley’s 29-footer was off the mark, keeping both teams unbeaten at home in the series.
“If I continue to sulk about that (Barrett) shot, it’s over,” Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell said. “Unfortunately, but fortunately, half of the locker room has been through this before. It’s going to test us.
“Protect home court, that’s all you can do. We’ve got to protect home court.”
History is on Cleveland’s side as it has never lost a Game 7 at home, beating the Washington Bullets in 1976, Boston Celtics in 1992, Indiana Pacers in 2018 and Orlando Magic in 2024.
Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Max Strus, Dean Wade and Sam Merrill remain on the roster from the latter, which featured the Cavaliers and Magic winning every game in their respective arenas.
“We’re at home and the ball is in our court,” said Mobley, who is averaging 19.0 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 56.8 percent from the field. “We’ve just got to come together and get a win.
“Don’t get too involved in the magnitude of everything, just protect home court.”
Toronto has only played one Game 7 on the road, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001. Barrett was about to celebrate his first birthday at the time, while Scottie Barnes and breakout performer Ja’Kobe Walter hadn’t been born yet.
Barrett, Barnes and Walter combined to score 73 of the Raptors’ 112 points in Game 6.
“I’ve watched so many Game 7s, you see the intensity on the court,” said Walter, who averaged 22.0 points and made 10 3-pointers in the last two contests. “I’m so excited to be in this moment.”
Barnes has been the most consistent performer in the series, averaging 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists. In a surprising development, he and Barrett have outplayed Cleveland’s star backcourt of James Harden and Mitchell.
Mitchell is shooting just 43.7% on field goal attempts, including 35.3% on 3-point tries; he has only attempted 14 total free throws. He has only taken over in brief stretches of two games, marking a complete turnaround from his brilliant 2025 postseason.
Trade-deadline acquisition Harden has been plagued by careless passes and poor decision-making, averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.7 turnovers.
“I’m a little frustrated, but there’s nothing you can do about it,” Harden said. “We can’t dwell on it too long. Just go back home, play one game and win.”
Both squads took Saturday off but will hold shootarounds on Sunday morning.
Raptors small forward Brandon Ingram (right heel) missed Game 6 and will be evaluated after working out with the team. Point guard Immanuel Quickley (right hamstring) continues to undergo treatment but will sit out the entire series.
The Cavaliers have no injuries and, should they lose, no legitimate excuses.
“This is typical NBA basketball with a four and a five seed going at it,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Now, we’ve got to go out and get Game 7.”
–Field Level Media
