Creighton cuts down Villanova women, 63-49; Olsen scores 29; Villanova men scare No. 1 UConn

VILLANOVA, Pa. >> Morgan Maly had 24 points and 13 rebounds, Emma Ronsiek scored 19 points and No. 21 Creighton defeated Villanova 63-49 on Sunday, snapping the Wildcats’ fivegame Big East Conference winning streak.

Creighton led 43-32 through three quarters. The teams traded baskets for much of the fourth quarter until a 3-pointer by Lauren Jensen gave the Bluejays a 14-point lead with less than three minutes remaining. A couple of minutes later, Jensen’s layup put Creighton up 61-45 entering the final minute.

Creighton’s Big Three of Jensen, Maly and Ronsiek combined for 55 of the Bluejays’ 63 points. The Bluejays’ only bench points came on a last-minute layup by Kennedy Townsend.

Maly’s 24 points came on 7-of-18 shooting, with 3 of 9 3-pointers, plus 7 for 7 from the free-throw line. In addition to her 19 points, Ronsiek had five rebounds, five assists, four steals and a couple of blocked shots. Jensen, whose playing time was cut back due to foul trouble, scored 12 points.

Lucy Olsen scored 29 points on 12-for-29 shooting for Villanova (12-6, 5-2 Big East) but she got little scoring help from her teammates in the second half when she scored 17 of Villanova’s 25 points.

No. 18 Ohio State tops No. 2 Iowa in OT

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cotie McMahon had a career-high 33 points and 12 rebounds as No. 18 Ohio State rallied to stun No. 2 Iowa 100-92 in overtime on Sunday, despite 45 points from Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark.

The Buckeyes (15-3, 6-1) trailed by as many as 12 points in regulation but forced the extra period, tied at 83

Clark scored all of Iowa’s nine overtime points. A 3-pointer from Rebeka Mikulasikova gave Ohio State a six-point lead with 1:14 left in overtime. A basket by McMahon and four late free throws from Jacy Sheldon sealed with win and fans streamed out of the stands to celebrate.

Clark and a fan collided on the court, knocking her to the floor.

The Buckeyes win snapped a 15-game win streak for the Hawkeyes (182, 7-1 Big Ten).

MEN’S BASKETBALL No. 1 UConn beats Villanova 66-65

Tristen Newton already had the assist on the goahead bucket when he put the finishing touches on UConn’s second win of the week since it hit No. 1 in the poll with a pair of free throws.

Newton then waved byebye to a Villanova student section that taunted him all game.

“Safe travels to them going back home to the crib,” Newton said with a laugh.

The Huskies headed home the same way they left: as the top team in college basketball.

Alex Karaban hit the decisive 3-pointer for UConn with 2:43 left in the game that settled a fantastic Big East matchup, Newton scored 25 points and the Huskies held off persistent Villanova 66-65 at a packed Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.

“This is a manhood test every time you step on the court in the Big East,” coach Dan Hurley said. “It’s UFCtype (games). It’s steel cage. You could throw elbows, it’s jiu-jitsu, it’s Muay Thai, it’s everything.”

Cam Spencer had 14 points for the Huskies (172, 7-1 Big East), who are 2-0 since they were voted No. 1 the AP Top 25 in the regular season for the first time since they spent four weeks there in the second half of the 2008-09 season, which ended with the Huskies reaching the Final Four.

GOLF McIlroy wins Dubai Desert Classic for record 4th time after reeling in Young in final round

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy won the Dubai Desert Classic for a record fourth time Sunday, completing a remarkable weekend comeback by reeling in Cameron Young early in the final round then holding off Adrian Meronk down the back nine to seal a onestroke victory.

McIlroy closed with a 2-under 70 to retain the title at a tournament he first won in 2009 and has captured more than any other in his career. Among his 38 wins as a professional, he had also won the Tour Championship and Wells Fargo Championship three times.

His latest victory at Emirates Golf Club was surely the most unlikely. McIlroy walked to the 18th tee on Friday trailing Young by 11 shots, only to make birdie, shoot 63 on Saturday to get into the final pairing on Sunday and then wipe out the American’s overnight two-stroke lead after just six holes.

McIlroy led by three at the turn after birdies at Nos. 8 and 9 — two of the toughest holes at Emirates Golf Club — but came under some pressure from Meronk, who made four birdies on his back nine.

The world No. 2 walked down No. 18 leading by one shot — just like at last week’s Dubai Invitational, when he was beaten by Tommy Fleetwood — but this time he didn’t lose it as he closed with a tap-in par for 14-under par overall.

McIlroy made eight pars and a bogey on his back nine, capping what he described as a “very controlled round of golf.”

“It was one of those days where there wasn’t a ton of fireworks just because the course was so difficult,” he said. “But I held on as best as I could and thankfully no one around the top of the leaderboard made much of a run.”

COLLEGE FOOTBALL Buffalo hires South Carolina special teams coordinator Lembo

BUFFALO — Buffalo on Sunday hired South Carolina special teams coordinator Pete Lembo, who has 15 years of experience as a college head coach, to lead the Bulls.

Lembo replaces Maurice Linguist, who last week stepped down after three years leading the Bulls to become an assistant coach at Alabama under Kalen DeBoer. The Bulls went 14-23 under Linguist, who was hired to replace Lance Leipold after he left for Kansas in 2021.

Lembo, 53, has experience in the Mid-American Conference, going 33-29 in five seasons as head coach at Ball State from (2011-15). He also has served as head coach Elon and Lehigh, going 79-36 in 10 seasons.

Lembo hasn’t had a head coaching job since Ball State, but he’s made several stops as assistant head coach and special teams coordinator, including at Maryland, Rice and Memphis.