South Carolina stays perfect after stunning buzzer-beater
Kamilla Cardoso banked in her first-ever 3-pointer at the buzzer and rescued No. 1 South Carolina's perfect season with a 74-73 victory over Tennessee at the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday.
The Gamecocks (31-0) had blown a 23-point lead and trailed the Lady Vols (19-12) 73-71 with 1.1 seconds left. But Raven Johnson's pass found an open Cardoso at the top of the key and the team's leading scorer and rebounder calmly shot it off glass and in.
Cardoso was mobbed by her joyous teammates as the large South Carolina crowd — the campus is only about a 100-mile drive from the Greenville arena — cheered in celebration.
Cardoso was playing in front of her mom and sister who came up from Brazil to celebrate senior day with her last weekend. This week was their first chance to see her play in person since she left the country at age 15.
The Gamecocks advance to their ninth tournament final in the past 10 seasons and will look for their eighth title in that span.
CLARK LEADS IOWA TO HUGE WIN OVER MICHIGAN >> Caitlin Clark had 28 points to pad her all-time NCAA scoring total and matched a season high with 15 assists to lead thirdranked Iowa past Michigan 95-68 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
Hannah Stuelke scored 16 point as the Hawkeyes (28-4) advance to play Nebraska for the championship today.
Golf
SCHEFFLER, LOWRY RALLY TO SHARE
BAY HILL LEAD >> Scottie Scheffler was six shots behind before rallying to end the day with a share of the lead with Shane Lowry.
Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, one-putted his final seven greens, four of them for birdie, for a 2-under 70. Lowry also bounced back with two late birdies, one from just outside 30 feet on the par-3 17th, for a 70.
They were at 9-under 207, one shot ahead of U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark. San Francisco's Will Zalatoris is two shots behind. KOHLES TAKES LEAD IN PUERTO RICO >> Ben Kohles had four birdies over his last five holes for a 9-under 63 and a two-shot lead in the Puerto Rico as he chases his first PGA Tour title.
Jimmy Stanger was two shots behind along with Brice Garnett (68) and Matti Schmid (68). THREE-WAY TIE AT LPGA TOURNAMENT >> Lydia Ko and Bailey Tardy each shot 6-under 66s and joined Sarah Schmelzel, who finished with a 69, to top the leaderboard after the third round of the Blue Bay LPGA on China's southern island of Hainan.
NHL
KOTKANIEMI'S GOAL LIFTS HURRICANES PAST DEVILS >> Jesperi Kotkaniemi broke a tie with a bad-angle shot early in the third period to lead Carolina to a 4-2 win over New Jersey.
Ex-Shark Timo Meier scored for the Devils, who are 1-2 under interim coach Travis Green.
Tennis
DJOKOVIC, GAUFF BOTH WIN AT INDIAN
WELLS >> Coco Gauff rallied just in time to avoid an early exit from the BNP Paribas Open, edging Clara Burel 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4). Hours later, Novak Djokovic made a winning return to the desert, beating Aleksandar Vukic 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in his first match at Indian Wells in five years.
Motorsports
VERSTAPPEN CRUISES TO SAUDI ARABIAN GP WIN >> Max Verstappen stayed firmly on course for another season of dominance in Formula 1 by winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Even after just two races, and despite turmoil at Red Bull, Verstappen seems in near-total control on the track as he aims for a fourth consecutive title this year.
The Dutch driver won easily ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez.