Northwestern soph found dead in room
Northwestern women’s basketball player Jordan Hankins was found dead in her room on campus Monday afternoon, the school said. The sophomore from Indianapolis was 19.
Evanston, Ill., police are investigating, but the school said in a statement there was no evidence of foul play. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of death.
The Wildcats’ game Wednesday at Minnesota has been postponed.
“We are heartbroken and deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jordan Hankins,” Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips said in a statement. “Our love and thoughts are with her family, teammates and friends. … Our department is solely focused on supporting those who adored her.”
Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown called Hankins “remarkably dynamic.”
“This is a devastating loss for our basketball family,” he said. “She brought an unwavering intensity and commitment to everything in her life. We will miss her enormously.”
Baylor, UConn No. 1 in polls
Baylor (15-0) moved up a spot to the top of the Associated Press men’s poll for the first time.
St. Mary’s fell from 19th to 21st despite victories against BYU and USF.
Connecticut remained No. 1 in the women’s Top 25. Stanford fell from 10th to 13th, Cal from 20th to 24th.
Baylor wasn’t even getting votes in the men’s Top 25 poll at the start of the season two months ago, when its football team was in the midst of a 7-6 season overshadowed by scandal. Head coach Art Briles was fired in May after an investigation that determined the school mishandled assault claims for years, including several against football players.
Now Baylor is the 59th school to be ranked No. 1 since the AP men’s poll started in the 1948-49 season. And the two-time national-champion Lady Bears remain No. 2 in the women’s poll.
Baylor got 55 of 65 first-place votes to replace Villanova on top after the defending national champion lost to Butler, leaving the Bears and No. 5 Gonzaga (15-0) as the only unbeaten teams. The Wildcats (15-1) got one first-place vote and dropped to third.
The Big 12 is 1-2 in the poll, with Kansas (14-1) moving from third to second with eight first-place votes. UCLA (16-1) stayed fourth with the other first-place vote.
In the women’s poll, Kentucky ended a streak of 132 weeks in the poll. It was the fifth-longest active streak and eighth longest overall. Kentucky split two games last week, edging Missouri before losing to Texas A&M. Kentucky’s streak started Feb. 1, 2010, and the Wildcats reached as high as fifth in the rankings. Honored: Cal’s Ivan Rabb and Santa Clara’s Lori Parkinson each received a Player of the Week award Monday. The Pac-12 gave Rabb its men’s honor after he averaged 17 points and 14 rebounds as the Bears split two games in Los Angeles. He hit the tying and winning foul shots, then made a game-saving block in Cal’s 74-73 win at USC on Sunday. The WCC gave its women’s honor to Parkinson, who averaged 13.5 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and five assists in the Broncos’ wins over Portland and LMU.