UConn set to return to No. 1 after routing top-ranked Irish
Freshman Christyn Williams scored a career-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting and No. 2 Connecticut women’s basketball team never lost the lead after the 6:36 mark of the first quarter in dominating No. 1 Notre Dame 89-71 on Sunday.
The Huskies (7-0) ended a 28-game winning streak at home by Muffet McGraw’s Irish, who beat UConn 9189 in overtime in last season’s NCAA semifinals on way to their second national championship. In its last 100 games at home, Notre Dame is 97-3 — with all the losses coming against the Huskies.
Jackie Young, who scored 32 against the Huskies last March, led the Irish (7-1) with 18 points.
GONZAGA 79, NO. 8 STANFORD 73 >> Stanford (6-1) won its first six games by at least 22 points, but Gonzaga (81) frustrated the Cardinal early and held on in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga’s only loss this season is to top-ranked Notre Dame.
Kiana Williams scored 18 for Stanford, which was out-scored 13-4 to end the first half (the Cardinal missed nine of its last 10 shots before the break), and then made just 2 of 12 shots in the third quarter to face a 58-41 deficit.
Stanford cut the deficit to 74-71 on Dijonai Carrington’s basket with 37 seconds left and Williams sank a pair of free throws to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 7673 with 9 seconds left, but that was as close as it got. NO. 15 CAL 67, CS NORTHRIDGE 42 >> Kristine Anigwe scored 26 points — including Cal’s first 12 — to became the third player in Cal basketball history — male or female — to reach 2,000 career
points and the 20th in Pac-12 women’s basketball history. She joins Collen Galloway (1978-81, 2,320 points) and Ashley Walker (2006-09, 2,142) on the list.
It might have been a costly win for Cal (7-0), however, as starting point guard Asha Thomas was carried off the court in the third quarter after suffering a knee injury.
Golf
RAHM WINS HERO WORLD CHALLENGE >> Jon Rahm turned a potential shootout into a Bahamas breeze, closing with a 7-under 65 for a four-shot victory in the Hero World Challenge. Starting the final round in a three-way tie with Tony Finau and Henrik Stenson, Rahm took the lead when Finau made bogey on the par-3 eighth hole, and the 24-year-old Spaniard never trailed the rest of the day at Albany Golf Club.
The tournament host, Tiger Woods, got off to another rough start, rallied on the back nine and had to settle for a 1-over 73 to finish 17th against the 18man field. He finished 19 shots behind, the biggest gap this year from the winner over 72 holes.
Justin Rose, needing to finish in a three-way tie for second to return to No. 1 in the world, closed with a 65 and was in position to go back to the top of the ranking until Finau rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt for a 69 to finish alone in second. Brooks Koepka, who did not play this week, remains No. 1. Rose has one more event left in two weeks at the Indonesia Masters.
Soccer
BERHALTER NAMED U.S. COACH >> Gregg Berhalter has been hired to coach the U.S. men’s national team, making him the first person to run the team after playing for the Americans at the World Cup.
Berhalter, 45, who spent the past five seasons as coach of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, represents a generational change for an American team staggered by its failure to reach this year’s World Cup after seven straight appearances at soccer’s showcase. He made 44 appearances for the U.S. from 1994-06.
FSU WINS WOMEN’S TITLE >> Dallas Dorosy scored in the 60th minute to help Florida State beat North Carolina 1-0 for the NCAA Women’s College Cup championship.
The Seminoles (20-43) won the NCAA title for the second time, and did it with an impressive run. In their last four games, the Seminoles eliminated the last three NCAA champions (Stanford, Penn State and USC) and the most accomplished program in the sport. The Tar Heels were in the Final Four for the 28th time in the 37-year history of the tournament. They have now gone six years since their most recent NCAA title in 2012.