Shaw leads U.S. women in a Gold Cup win over Argentina
Jaedyn Shaw scored a pair of goals and the United States went up 3-0 within the first 20 minutes before going on to defeat Argentina 4-0 late in the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup on Friday night in Carson.
Shaw, 19, scored in the 10th and 18th minute, while veteran Alex Morgan added a third goal off a header in the 19th. Lindsey Horan converted a penalty kick in the 77th.
“It’s good to get on the score sheet and we were really attacking minded tonight,” Morgan said. “Getting three goals in 20 minutes or less is great.”
Shaw became the youngest player to score three goals in her first six national team appearances.
Morgan, the Diamond Bar native, started after joining the team earlier this week as an injury replacement for Mia Fishel, who tore a ligament in her right knee in practice.
MOTORSPORTS Mcdowell earns first NASCAR Cup pole
Michael Mcdowell insisted his first NASCAR Cup Series pole in his 467th career start was not a surprise.
Following a close runnerup finish in last week’s Daytona 500 qualifying, Mcdowell said he knew his Front Row Motorsports Ford would be fast on Saturday.
After starting beside Daytona 500 pole winner Joey Logano on the front row last week, Mcdowell edged Logano in qualifying for today’s race. Mcdowell was first with a fast lap of 178.844 miles per hour on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s 1.54-mile track. Logano continued another strong day for Ford drivers by claiming the No. 2 spot at 174.424 mph.
Mcdowell, 39, won the 2021 Daytona 500. His only other Cup Series win came at Indianapolis in 2023.
After starting second last week and leading six laps at Daytona, Mcdowell finished 36th.
■ Austin Hill won his second straight NASCAR Xfinity race to open the season, surging to the lead on an overtime restart when teammate Jesse Love ran out of gas, for a dramatic ending on Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.
Love, 19, finished 12th after leading 157 laps.
Hill opened the Xfinity season last week with his third consecutive seriesopening win at Daytona before adding his third career win at his Atlanta home track.
NBA Lakers, Clippers post Friday night wins
Lebron James had 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, Anthony Davis had 28 points and 13 rebounds and the Lakers beat the Spurs, 123-118, Friday night for their seventh victory in nine games.
Victor Wembanyama had 27 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in his first road game against the Lakers. The French rookie sensation scored 16 points in a dominant first quarter.
Davis sat out the entire fourth quarter of the second game in a back-to-back set, and Jaxson Hayes performed capably in his place against Wembanyama while the Lakers cruised to their 12th win in 18 games.
■ Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points, Terance Mann had a season-high 23 points and 12 rebounds and the Clippers pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Grizzlies, 101-95, Friday night in Memphis.
■ Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr agreed Friday to a two-year contract extension worth $35 million, according to two people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
After the Warriors beat Charlotte 97-84, Kerr declined to comment on his deal because “nothing has been signed,” but instead just smiled and said he feels “really good” about his future with Golden State.
Kerr, 58, is in his 10th season with the Warriors. His current deal was set to expire after this season.
GOLF Knapp jumps out to big lead in Mexico
PGA Tour rookie Jake Knapp ran off 11 birdies Saturday and seized control of the Mexico Open at Vidanta with an 8-under 63, giving him a fourshot lead going into the final round with a spot in the Masters on the line.
Knapp began the third round in a four-way share of the lead and playing in front of the largest gallery while paired with Alvaro Ortiz of Mexico.
He wasted no time making himself the target. Knapp, a 29-year-old from UCLA, stuffed his opening shot into 2 feet and the next one to 4 feet for a birdiebirdie start. Turns out he was just getting warmed up. He closed out the front nine with five birdies over the last six holes for a 28, and no one got closer to him than three shots the rest of the way.
Sami Valimaki of Finland lost momentum on the back nine until finishing with birdie from the collar of the green on the par-5 18th for a 67, leaving him four shots back.
■ Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina ran off four straight birdies on the back nine and closed with a 3-under 70 for a one-shot victory in the Trophy Hassan II at Rabat, Morocco, giving him membership on the PGA Tour Champions for the first time.
Gonzalez got into the field — the only PGA Tour Champions event outside North America except for the Senior British Open — by finishing among the top four on the European Legends Tour last season.
His birdie streak began at the 13th hole, and two closing pars gave him a one-shot victory over Thomas Bjorn.
Y.E. Yang, who shared the 36-hole lead with Gonzalez, tied for third with Mark Hensby.
■ Patty Tavatanakit shot a 6-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the LPGA Thailand tournament. Tavatanakit had a three-round total of 16-under 200 on the Siam Country Club Old Course at Chonburi.
Madelene Sagstrom shot 69 and was in second place.
TENNIS Paolini wins title at Dubai Championships
Jasmine Paolini earned the biggest victory of her career by defeating qualifier Anna Kalinskaya 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 to win the Dubai Championships title.
The 26th-ranked Paolini fought back from a break down in both the second and third sets en route to her second career WTA singles title and first at the 1000 level.
Paolini, a 28-year-old Italian, avenged her loss to Kalinskaya from a month ago in the Australian Open fourth round, and Saturday’s victory assures her of a top 20 debut when the rankings are updated on Monday.