From Felicia Keller: The No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball team beat Washington 82-67, extending its win streak to 20 games, clinching the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament and earning at least a share of the league regular season title on Thursday night.
“It shows how hard we are working throughout the season, and we’re just going to have to continue to try to get better,” Bruins center Lauren Betts said. “Obviously it’s great, but we have bigger things that we’re looking forward to, so we’re just going to continue to keep our heads down.”
It is the Bruins’ first regular season conference championship since the 1998-99 season, when they tied for first in the Pac-10.
“To have a couple of alumni that were on that team here today, that’s really special, and I really want to compliment these guys for always having a sense of humility,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We walk on the shoulders of the people that came before us, and we’re just really thankful to be in the position we’re in, and in the number one net conference in the country for women’s basketball.”
Betts scored a game-high 23 points and was one of five UCLA players to finish with double-figure scoring, while Washington freshman Brynn McGaughy recorded the second-highest point total of her college career with 19. Avery Howell scored 17 points and led the Huskies with seven rebounds.
USC women get a scare in victory
From Ryan Kartje: Through a stellar debut season, freshman Jazzy Davidson has done everything for USC that was asked of her. She’s led the Trojans in scoring, in rebounds, in blocks, in assists, in steals. She’s been their best defender, their most clutch performer. Six times, she’s won Big Ten freshman of the week.
Her star turn had helped turn the Trojans around in recent weeks, powering a season-long win streak that was extended to six with a 66-59 victory over Wisconsin on Thursday. She’d already turned in another in a season’s worth of extraordinary performances, when Davidson landed awkwardly in the final minutes and a searing pain shot through her calf.
The pained look on the freshman’s face and the hush of the Galen Center in those first few seconds was enough to transport at least some of the USC faithful in the crowd back to last March, when Trojan superstar JuJu Watkins injured her knee not far from the same spot. The feeling of dread only worsened as teammates carried her first to the sideline, where coaches and trainers eventually carried her to the locker room.
Considering all the unfortunate twists of fate for USC over the last year, it was impossible not to, for a moment at least, assume the worst. But not long after, Davidson strode into the postgame news conference room no worse for the wear.
“Based on the 30 texts I’ve gotten,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said, “Jazzy is OK.”
Cramps, it turned out, were the culprit.
Big Three ready for Lakers
From Broderick Turner: The Lakers had just completed practice Thursday with a full and healthy squad when Luka Doncic strolled over to speak with the media.
Doncic had played only five minutes Sunday for Team World in the All-Star Game because of a lingering left hamstring strain. He missed the previous four Lakers games.
With the Lakers’ season scheduled to restart against the Clippers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, Doncic was asked if he would be playing.
“Probably,” he said. “We’ll see. I got to talk to people.”
Since Doncic practiced, he was asked how he was doing and how his hamstring felt.
“I’m good,” he said. “Feeling good.”
Lon Rosen to take over business operations for the Lakers
Bennedict Mathurin helps Clippers edge the Nuggets
Bennedict Mathurin scored 38 points in his home debut for Los Angeles and the Clippers held off the Denver Nuggets 115-114 on Thursday night.
Denver’s Jamal Murray had a chance to tie it on three free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining after a foul from Derrick Jones Jr. Murray made the first two before missing the third, with time expiring on the rebound.
Kawhi Leonard added 23 points, and Jones had 22 to help the Clippers (27-28) improve to 21-7 since Dec. 20. Both teams were coming off the All-Star break.
Mookie Betts feels ready for resurgence
From Jack Vita: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not hesitate when asked about his expectations for Mookie Betts.
“He will be in the MVP conversation this year,” Roberts said this week. “But again, I think, speaking for Mookie, his main goal is to help us win a championship. So, I think whatever falls out from there, I think that will happen. I just want him to focus on just being healthy, helping us win, and then whatever happens outside of that, will happen.”
Coming off a season that got off on the wrong foot with a stomach virus that caused him to lose 20 pounds and then saw him set career lows for batting average (.258), on-base percentage (.326) and OPS (.732), Betts is eager to move forward. And with a more typical spring training timeline this year — unlike the previous two years when season-opening games in South Korea and Japan sped up preparations — Betts can ease into his seventh season with the Dodgers.
“I haven’t had a regular spring maybe since I’ve been a Dodger,” said Betts, who also won’t be participating in the World Baseball Classic as he did in 2023. “I just know that, being 33 now, I don’t have to hurry up and get here, and be ready to play from day one. So, I can just kind of embrace that. Not everybody’s blessed to have that, so being that I am one of the ones that’s blessed with that, I’ll see what I can make of it.”
Rain is the winner at Genesis Invitational
From Steve Galluzzo: The roars were back at The Riv on Thursday… and so was the rain.
After a four-birdie spree on the back nine, Englishman Aaron Rai vaulted into the lead at six-under-par through 16 holes before the horn sounded to suspend play at 5:41 p.m. He and 29 others will finish their first rounds when play resumes Friday morning at the Genesis Invitational.
Unfazed by a nearly three-hour weather delay, Jacob Bridgeman fired a five-under-par 66 and shares the clubhouse lead with the No. 2-ranked player in the world Rory McIlroy.
“Awesome course,” Bridgeman said as he left the press tent. “Played it yesterday for the first time and I love it!”
Making his tournament debut, Bridgeman carded four birdies on the back nine, the last at No. 17, to pull even with McIlroy at five-under, and parred the 18th to take the clubhouse lead. The 26-year-old South Carolinian is ranked 52nd — the highest he has been since turning pro four years ago — but has never won on the Tour.
Genesis Invitational leaderboard
This day in sports history
1887 — The International Assn., the first minor league baseball association, is organized in Pittsburgh.
1951 — The college point-shaving scandal prompts Long Island University to drop basketball and all other intercollegiate sports. LIU revives basketball in 1957.
1971 — En route to a record 76-goal season, Boston’s Phil Esposito becomes the first player to score his 50th goal in February, but the Bruins lose to the Kings 5-4.
1972 — Larry Brown of the Denver Rockets sets ABA records for assists in a game (23), half (18) and quarter (10) during a 146-123 home win over the Pittsburgh Condors.
1974 — Gordie Howe, the NHL’s career scoring leader, comes out of retirement and signs a $1-million, four-year contract to play with the Houston Aeros of the WHA and sons Mark and Marty.
1976 — Muhammad Ali beats Jean-Pierre Coopman with a fifth-round knockout at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in Puerto Rico to defend his world heavyweight title.
1988 — In Calgary, Brian Boitano of the U.S. wins the Olympic figure skating gold medal on a technical merit tiebreaker and nearly flawless free skate.
1993 — Julio Cesar Chavez records a fifth-round TKO over Greg Haugen in a WBC super lightweight title bout before a record crowd of 130,000 at Mexico City’s Aztec Stadium.
1998 — Tara Lipinski, 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating champion, beating fellow teen and U.S. teammate Michelle Kwan to take the gold. Lipinski is two months younger than Sonja Henie was in her 1928 victory.
2006 — Tanith Belbin and partner Ben Agosto end the U.S. medals drought in Olympic ice dance competition with a silver. The last to do so were Colleen O’Connor and James Millns, who won bronze in 1976.
2009 — Lindsey Van of the U.S. becomes the first female ski jumping world champion. Women’s ski jumping makes its debut at this year’s Nordic world championships in the Czech Republic. Todd Lodwick wins the opening Nordic combined event to give the U.S. two golds in one day. Before Van’s victory, the U.S. had not won a gold at a Nordic worlds since 2003 when Johnny Spillane took a Nordic combined sprint.
2010 — Switzerland’s Simon Ammann wins the large hill at the Vancouver Games to become the first ski jumper with four individual Olympic titles.
2011 — Trevor Bayne, 20, wins the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s biggest race, in only his second Sprint Cup start.
2011 — Kobe Bryant wins his record-tying fourth All-Star game MVP award, scoring 37 points before his hometown fans and leading the West past the East 148-143.
2016 — Lindsey Vonn clinches a record 20th World Cup crystal globe title and surpasses Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark. It’s Vonn’s record eighth downhill title. Stenmark won 19 globes between 1975 and 1984.
2021 — Australian Open Women’s Tennis: Naomi Osaka of Japan wins her fourth major and second Australian title; beats American Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3.
2022 — Hannah Green of Australia becomes first woman to win a mix-gender golf tournament over 72 holes; closes with five-under 66 for a 4-stroke win in TPS Murray River on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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