AP Sports Summary for Sunday, March 31st, 2024.
Donovan Clingan, UConn power back into Final Four behind 30-0 run in 77-52 rout of Illinois
BOSTON (AP) — Defending national champion UConn powered its way back into the Final Four behind a 30-0 run led by Donovan Clingan, who finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Huskies crushed Illinois 77-52. It was a March Madness record 10th straight double-digit victory for the Huskies, who cruised to their fifth national title last year and seem inexorably headed for a sixth. Their NCAA Tournament wins this year have come by 39, 17, 30 and 25 points. The top-seeded Huskies will face Alabama in the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona. Marcus Domask scored 17 points for third-seeded Illinois.
Alabama rides tidal wave of 3-pointers to beat Clemson 89-82 and reach 1st Final Four ever
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Sears hit seven 3-pointers and Alabama recovered from its early long-distance shooting woes to beat Clemson 89-82 and reach the Final Four for the first time. The Tide will face defending champion UConn in Glendale, Arizona. Sears finished with 23 points. Alabama made 10 of its 16 3-pointers in the second half to pull away. Clemson was led by Joseph Girard III with 19 points and Ian Schieffelin added 18 points nand 11 rebounds. The Tigers were trying to make the Final Four for the first time, too. They had allowed just 14 3-pointers in their first three NCAA Tournament victories.
Caitlin Clark leads Iowa to 89-68 win over Colorado and rematch with defending NCAA champion LSU
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Caitlin Clark had 29 points and 15 assists to lead top-seeded Iowa to an 89-68 win over fifth-seeded Colorado in the women's NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes advanced to the Albany 2 Regional Final and a rematch of last year's national title game against LSU. The Tigers, who beat the Hawkeyes in last year's championship game, topped UCLA in Saturday's earlier regional semifinal. Clark got the Hawkeyes going early, driving to the basket for easy layups or throwing fantastic passes. Aaronette Vonleh scored 13 points and Frida Formann had 12 for the Buffaloes, who trailed by double digits for the entire second half.
Johnson, Reese lead defending champion LSU past UCLA 78-69 to reach Elite Eight
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Flau'jae Johnson had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Angel Reese put up her 26th double-double of the season and LSU beat UCLA 78-69 in the Sweet 16 to continue its quest for a second straight national title. Reese had 16 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out late in the game for the Tigers, who closed the game on a 14-2 run. Aneesah Morrow scored 17 points and Mikaylah Williams added 12. Lauren Betts had 14 points and 17 rebounds for UCLA. Londynn Jones and Gabriela Jaquez also had 14 points apiece. Jaquez hit a jumper that gave the Bruins a 67-64 lead with 2:46 left. But LSU responded with its run, sparked when Reese blocked a shot by Betts, leading to a drive by Johnson that fouled out Rice.
Kim Mulkey says she likely won't read her Post profile, defends LSU team against media portrayals
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — LSU coach Kim Mulkey says she probably won't read the newspaper article over which she has threatened to file a defamation lawsuit, but she did question the timing of its release. Mulkey was the subject of a profile in The Washington Post in which family members and former players are quoted about her personality and how she runs her programs. It was published about an hour before LSU played UCLA in the Sweet 16. Mulkey did defend her players against portrayals in the media, referring to a column published Friday by the Los Angeles Times in which her players were called "villains" and "dirty debutantes." She said, "How dare people attack kids like that?"
Paige Bueckers leads UConn women into 28th Elite Eight as Huskies hold off Duke 53-45
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 24 points to lead third-seeded UConn and its injury-depleted roster back to the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament with a 53-45 victory over No. 7 seed Duke. A year after having to watch March Madness while sidelined by a knee injury, Bueckers was again the best player on the floor, lifting the Huskies into their 28th regional final. And this one will be among the more unlikely in coach Geno Auriemma's 39-year tenure. UConn dressed eight players and played only six. The Huskies move on to face top-seeded Southern California and fabulous freshman JuJu Watkins in the Portland 3 Region final.
Hoskins has 4 RBIs in Brewers' contentious 7-6 win as Mets' RamÃrez ejected for throwing behind him
NEW YORK (AP) — Rhys Hoskins drove in four runs, a day after his hard slide into Jeff McNeil caused dugouts to empty, and Yohan RamÃrez was ejected for throwing behind the Milwaukee designated hitter's back the Brewers' 7-6 victory over the New York Mets. Hoskins hit a two-run single in a three-run first inning, followed with a two-run homer in the third and singled and scored on a balk in the fifth by Luis Severino, who gave up a career-high 12 hits in his Mets debut. RamÃrez's first pitch to Hoskins in the seventh sailed well behind the right-handed hitter. RamÃrez was ejected by plate umpire Lance Barrett.
Albies, Olson, Ozuna, Harris hit homers, Braves pound 19 hits in 12-4 win over Phillies
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna and Michael Harris II all homered and an expected battle of aces fizzled early in the Atlanta Braves' 12-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. J.T. Realmuto homered for the Phillies. Atlanta's Max Fried lasted only seven batters, walked three and got just two outs before he was chased in the first inning trailing 3-2. Aaron Nola gave up 12 hits and seven runs for the Phillies. Ronald Acuña Jr., Albies, Harris and Ozuna all had three hits on Saturday. Jess Chavez pitched three innings out of the bullpen to pick up the win.
Scheffler overcomes late double bogey for 66 and is part of 5-way tie in Houston
HOUSTON (AP) — Scottie Scheffler is one round away from a third straight victory on the PGA Tour. The world's No. 1 player has plenty of company. Scheffler bounced back from a double bogey with consecutive birdies for a 66. That leaves him in a five-way tie for the lead at the Houston Open going into the final round. Also sharing the lead are David Skinns, Stephan Jaeger, Alejandro Tosti and Thomas Detry. All of them are going for their first PGA Tour victory. One shot behind was a group of one-time winners. That includes U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap, who shot 63.
Danielle Collins wins Miami Open on her final try, topping Elena Rybakina in straight sets
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Danielle Collins had the perfect send-off at her final Miami Open, beating Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday to capture the title in her home state before an adoring crowd that included Andre Agassi and Martina Navratilova. The 30-year-old Collins announced at the Australian Open that this season would be her last because she's suffering from endometriosis, an ailment that affects the uterus. It was the third career title and first since San Jose in 2021 for Collins, who became the lowest-ranked women's champion at Miami. She leaves with $1.1 million in prize money and will move up to 22nd in the rankings.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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INTERLEAGUE
Final Texas 11 Chicago Cubs 2
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 7 Chicago White Sox 6
Final Minnesota 5 Kansas City 1
Final Tampa Bay 5 Toronto 1
Final Baltimore 13 L.A. Angels 4
Final Cleveland 12 Oakland 3
Final N.Y. Yankees 5 Houston 3
Final Seattle 4 Boston 3
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Milwaukee 7 N.Y. Mets 6
Final Pittsburgh 9 Miami 3
Final Atlanta 12 Philadelphia 4
Final Washington 7 Cincinnati 6
Final San Francisco 9 San Diego 6
Final Colorado 9 Arizona 4
Final St. Louis 6 L.A. Dodgers 5
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Boston 104 New Orleans 92
Final Orlando 118 Memphis 88
Final Milwaukee 122 Atlanta 113
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final SO Florida 3 Detroit 2
Final OT Vegas 2 Minnesota 1
Final Edmonton 6 Anaheim 1
Final N-Y Rangers 8 Arizona 5
Final Colorado 7 Nashville 4
Final Chicago 5 Philadelphia 1
Final Ottawa 3 Winnipeg 2
Final Carolina 3 Montreal 0
Final Toronto 3 Buffalo 0
Final Tampa Bay 4 N-Y Islanders 1
Final SO Boston 3 Washington 2
Final SO Columbus 4 Pittsburgh 3
Final San Jose 4 St. Louis 0
Final Dallas 3 Seattle 0
Final Calgary 4 Los Angeles 2
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (1)UConn 77 (10)Illinois 52
Final (19)Alabama 89 Clemson 82
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Final Philadelphia 2 Minnesota 0
Final Colorado 3 Los Angeles FC 2
Final tie Cincinnati 1 Charlotte FC 1
Final D.C. United 1 CF Montréal 0
Final tie New York City FC 1 Miami 1
Final tie New York 1 Orlando City 1
Final Sporting Kansas City 3 Toronto FC 1
Final Austin FC 2 FC Dallas 1
Final Houston 2 San Jose 1
Final tie Columbus 2 Nashville 2
Final Real Salt Lake 3 St Louis City 1
Final Vancouver 3 Portland 2
Final LA Galaxy 1 Seattle 0
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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INTERLEAGUE
Chi Cubs at Texas 2:35 p.m.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE
L-A Angels at Baltimore 1:35 p.m.
Toronto at Tampa Bay 1:40 p.m.
Detroit at Chi White Sox 2:10 p.m.
Minnesota at Kansas City 2:10 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Houston 2:10 p.m.
Cleveland at Oakland 4:07 p.m.
Boston at Seattle 4:10 p.m.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta at Philadelphia 1:35 p.m.
Milwaukee at N-Y Mets 1:40 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Miami 1:40 p.m.
Washington at Cincinnati 1:40 p.m.
Colorado at Arizona 4:10 p.m.
San Francisco at San Diego 4:10 p.m.
St. Louis at L-A Dodgers 7:10 p.m.
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Cleveland at Denver 3:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Charlotte 6 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Brooklyn 6 p.m.
Miami at Washington 6 p.m.
Philadelphia at Toronto 6 p.m.
Chicago at Minnesota 7 p.m.
Dallas at Houston 7 p.m.
Golden State at San Antonio 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at New York 7 p.m.
Utah at Sacramento 9 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Anaheim at Vancouver 3:30 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(6)Tennessee at (3)Purdue 2:20 p.m.
NC State at (13)Duke 5:05 p.m.
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Chicago at Atlanta 3:30 p.m.
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