Lady Dogs rally to win

ATHENS, Ga. — Jenna Staiti scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half and forced a crucial turnover in the closing seconds as No. 15 Georgia overcame a 19-point halftime deficit to beat Alabama 72-68 in Southeastern Conference women’s basketball Sunday. Que Morrison scored 21 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs (13-3, 2-2), who shot 65% after halftime to mount the big rally. The Crimson Tide (10-5, 1-3) led 24-15 after the first quarter and 48-29 at midgame after shooting 10-for-12 from 3-point range during the first half, when Brittany Davis made all six shots she attempted behind the arc. Davis did not score after intermission, though, and the Tide managed just eight third-quarter points while the Lady Dogs got nine in the period from Mikayla Coombs to cut their deficit to 56-50 heading into the final quarter. Georgia’s Zoesha Smith made a layup with 6:27 to play to make it 60-all, and Coombs gave the hosts their first lead at 67-65 when she put back her own missed layup. Down by one, Alabama’s Megan Abrams drove the lane with 18 seconds left, but Staiti and Sarah Ashlee Barker, who had five steals, collapsed in the paint and forced the turnover. Morrison made two free throws and Staiti’s free throw with a second left put the game away. Staiti totaled nine rebounds and five blocks, while Coombs finished with 13 points. Alabama’s scoring was paced by Davis (18 points), Taylor Sutton (13), Hannah Barber (12) and Jada Rice (10). The Tide scored 42 points from 3-point range, shooting 14-of-25 from behind the arc but just 7-of-27 inside it.

› AUBURN, Ala. — K.D. Johnson scored 23 points and No. 9 Auburn extended its winning streak to 11 games with a 85-73 victory over Florida in SEC men’s basketball late Saturday night. Auburn (14-1, 3-0) held off a big second-half surge by Florida (9-5, 0-2), which was led by Colin Castleton’s 22 points and 10 rebounds. Anthony Duruji scored 14 for the Gators, while Myreon Jones added 13. For the Tigers, Jaylin Williams netted a season-high 14 points and Wendell Green Jr. added 13 as the hosts outscored Florida 35-9 in bench points. Jabari Smith chipped in 13 points and five rebounds for Auburn, which shot 53.6% from the field and 44.4% from 3-point range. Florida hit just 27.3% of its 3-pointers and missed 13 of its final 17 shots.

FOOTBALL

› DENVER — The Denver Broncos are looking for a new head coach to lead them out of a six-year playoff drought and a half-decade of losing seasons that marks the most protracted plunge by a Super Bowl champion in NFL history. The Broncos fired Vic Fangio after he went 19-30 over three years, including 7-10 this season despite having one of the easiest schedules and the highest-paid defense in the league. The team made the move Sunday morning, less than 24 hours after closing the season with a home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that dropped the Broncos to 5-13 in AFC West Division play during Fangio’s tenure. Fangio’s .387 winning percentage included a 6-11 mark at home over the past two seasons, the worst such stretch in Denver since the team went 4-10 in 1967-68. The Broncos are the first team in league history to follow a Super Bowl championship with six straight seasons without a playoff appearance, and three of those postseason misses came under Fangio’s watch. Fangio, 63, burnished his reputation as a defensive mastermind during his first head coaching gig in Denver, yet his teams struggled mightily on offense and special teams. He will be a strong candidate for a defensive coordinator job in the new round of coaching changes this month.