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Delle Donne scores 20 points, Sykes adds 16 as Mystics beat Sky 77-69

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elena Delle Donne scored 20 points, Brittney Sykes added 16 points and three steals and the Washington Mystics beat the Chicago Sky 77-69 Sunday. Washington (7-4) has won four of its past five games and six of its past eight. Chicago (5-7) has lost four games in a row, the franchise’s longest losing streak since a seven-game skid early in the 2021 season, when the Sky responded with seven straight wins and eventually won the WNBA title. Delle Donne made a jumper and hit two free throws before Sykes found Shakira Austin for a basket that made it 6-0 and Washington never trailed. Sykes had 14 points on perfect shooting in the first half, going 5 of 5 from the field, including a 3-pointer, and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line. Courtney Williams made a driving layup with about a minute left in the first half that trimmed Chicago’s deficit to 39-38, but Delle Donne answered with a three-point play to give the Mystics a four-point halftime lead and Austin scor...

Steward has 28 points, 14 rebounds as Liberty beat short-handed Mercury 89-71

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart rebounded from one of the worst games of her career with a stellar effort, scoring 28 points with 14 rebounds and seven assists to lift the New York Liberty to an 89-71 win Sunday over the Phoenix Mercury, who were playing without an injured Brittney Griner.Griner missed her second straight game with a hip injury she suffered against Seattle on Tuesday. The All-Star center received a warm standing ovation from the crowd when a video was played of her at the first timeout. Phoenix (2-8) was also missing Diana Taurasi because of a hamstring injury.New York (7-3) had its own injury issues with Sabrina Ionescu missing her second straight game with a hamstring injury. Stewartwas aggressive from the start. She hit an array of shots from inside and out, finishing the opening half with 23 points as New York built a 53-34 lead.Phoenix pulled to 72-64 with 6:01 left as Sophie Cunningham scored nine points during an 11-0 run. Cunningham finished with 27 points t...

Stoutenborough and 2 relievers stymie Virginia offense to keep TCU alive in the CWS with a 4-3 win

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:57 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Sam Stoutenborough and two relievers limited Virginia to five hits, Cole Fontenelle drove in two runs and TCU eliminated the Cavaliers from the College World Series with a 4-3 win Sunday.The Horned Frogs (43-23) will try to extend their stay when they play Tuesday against Oral Roberts. ORU beat TCU 6-5 in the CWS opener.“I think everybody was wondering, after the punch to the gut on Friday, how they were going to respond?” coach Kirk Saarloos said. “I didn’t have any question about how they were going to respond. I could see it on the bus. I could see it on Saturday at our practice. … We outlasted them.”Virginia (50-15) lost a second straight one-run game and went 0-2 for the first time in six CWS appearances. Five of the first six CWS games have been decided by one run.“Two one-run losses certainly hurts, and I feel for our guys because they’ve had a terrific year,” Cavaliers coach Brian O’Connor said. “That said, we didn’t win, and our goal is to win...

Gators take control of their College World Series bracket with a 5-4 win over pesky Oral Roberts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:57 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Hurston Waldrep struck out 12 in six innings, and Florida homered three times to break its single-season record in a 5-4 victory over Oral Roberts in the College World Series on Sunday night.Florida took control of Bracket 1 — but not before Matt Hogan’s inside-the-park home run pulled ORU within two runs and having to escape a bases-loaded situation in the eighth when its closer was forced out of the game because of a mound-visit rules violation and another threat in the ninth.The Gators (52-15) will play Wednesday against the winner of the Tuesday elimination game between ORU and TCU. Florida would have two chances, if needed, to get the one win that would send it to the best-of-three finals beginning Saturday.The Summit League’s Golden Eagles (52-13), the first No. 4 regional seed since 2012 to play in the CWS, are known to punch above their weight, but they looked outclassed early against the No. 2 national seed Gators.That changed in the seventh w...

Wyndham Clark plays big and becomes a major champion at the US Open

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wyndham Clark always carried the message from his late mother to “play big.” Nothing was bigger than Sunday when he held off Rory McIlroy with one clutch shot after another to become a U.S. Open champion.The final act was two putts from 60 feet on the 18th hole at Los Angeles Country Club, and the 29-year-old Clark pumped his fist when it settled a foot away. He tapped that in for an even-par 70 and a one-shot victory over McIlroy and so many other stars.Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, couldn’t catch him. Neither could British Open champion Cameron Smith or Rickie Fowler, who played in the final group for the third time in a major and watched an exquisite performance by Clark, playing for only the third time on the weekend in a major.Clark let loose his emotions at the end, looking to the blue sky in tears and covering his face with his cap as he sobbed on the green. He thought about quitting golf a decade ago when he struggled with t...

Blinken sostuvo una reunión “directa” con el ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de China

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:57 GMT

(CNN) — El secretario de Estado de EE.UU., Antony Blinken, inició conversaciones con altos funcionarios chinos en Beijing el domingo al comienzo de una visita de alto perfil destinada a encaminar las relaciones nuevamente después de meses de tensiones inflamadas entre las dos economías más grandes del mundo.Blinken es el primer secretario de Estado que viaja a China en cinco años y el funcionario estadounidense de mayor rango en realizar una misión de este tipo desde que el presidente Joe Biden asumió el cargo a principios de 2021.Los observadores vigilarán de cerca si se prevé una reunión con el líder de China Xi Jinping. Los viajes anteriores del principal diplomático de Estados Unidos a menudo involucraron un cara a cara con el principal líder de China, pero las relaciones están en su punto más bajo en décadas.Funcionarios de ambos gobiernos han señalado bajas expectativas para la visita, y un alto funcionario del Departamento de Estado les dijo a los periodistas a principi...

Florida 5, Oral Roberts 4

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:57 GMT

FloridaOral Roberts abrhbiabrhbi Totals31555Totals384114 Kurland 2b5010McMrray 1b3020 Lngford cf/lf3000Quinn lf3111 Cglnone 1b4000Cox cf5010 Rivera ss4111Hogan rf5222 Ropelle c2100McCrsky ss5020 Heyman dh3112Breeze 3b4110 Shelnut lf3100Stahl dh5001 Evans rf3112 Halter 3b4010Godman c4010 Brthers 2b4010 E_Rivera, Kowalski. 2B_Hogan (13), Godman (13). HR_Rivera (18), Heyman (12), Evans (6), Hogan (19). RBI_Rivera (69), Heyman 2 (39), Evans 2 (37), Quinn (40), Hogan 2 (72), Stahl (57).Florida0203000005-5-1—5Oral Roberts0100002014-11-1—4IPHRERBBSOFlorida Waldrep W6711312Slater02/312210Neely110011Fisher S11/321110Oral Roberts Gollert L345516Patten11/300013Widener22/310014Kwalski200001Source

Rickie Fowler fades in final round after bounce-back US Open

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — From his electric opening-round 62 to his neon-orange Sunday ensemble, Rickie Fowler showed off just about everything during the 123rd U.S. Open that once made him one of the most compelling figures in golf.Unfortunately, that also included another painful fade from title contention after he took a share of the lead into the last round.Fowler stumbled to a 75 Sunday, finishing in a three-way tie for fifth at Los Angeles Country Club. After 18 holes alongside eventual champion Wyndham Clark, Fowler ended up five shots back with the worst final round among the top 19 finishers.To be sure, there was a significant bright side to Fowler’s week.He rebounded from several years of disappointing play with his best result at a major since his runner-up finish at the 2018 Masters. He even set a U.S. Open record with 23 birdies over his four rounds at LACC, playing phenomenal golf for long stretches.But after taking at least a share of the lead into each of the final th...

Bonner scores 20, Thomas added 16 with 12 assists as Sun beat Sparks 83-74

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — DeWanna Bonner had 20 points and nine rebounds, Alyssa Thomas added 16 points, 12 assists and five steals, and the Connecticut Sun beat the Los Angeles Sparks 83-74 Sunday. Brionna Jones scored 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds for Connecticut (9-3), which rebounded from a 92-88 loss to Atlanta last time out to win for the third time in the last four games. Thomas moved past Taj McWilliams-Franklin (3,019) into third on the Sun’s career scoring list with 3,027 points, behind Asjha Jones (3,336) and Nykesha Sales (3,955). Karlie Samuelson hit a jumper for that made it 74-all with three minutes to play but the Sparks shot 0 for 6 the rest of the way. DiJonai Carrington hit two free throws with 2:48 remaining to give Connecticut the lead for good and spark a 9-0 closing run. Jones added a layup almost a minute later and Los Angeles coach Curt Miller was called for a technical foul with 1:27 to go. Bonner made the free throw and added a layup be...

McIlroy gets big break at US Open but ice-cold putter costs him the title

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:05:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rory McIlroy got the sort of break most players need to win a U.S. Open. If only he could’ve made a putt or two to go with it. The golf gods, to say nothing of the golf rulebook, gave McIlroy a chance to save par after his approach shot on the 14th hole came up short and embedded in the deep grass above a greenside bunker. But McIlroy missed the putt — a common theme on Sunday — and made his only bogey of the day. That single shot cost him in a one-stroke loss to Wyndham Clark. McIlroy shot even-par 70 — one birdie, 16 pars and that single bogey — to finish at 9-under 271. His drought in the majors is now at 33 tournaments, a dry spell that is nearing nine full years.“I think the putter, I’ll rue some of the chances that I missed,” McIlroy said. “It was hard to get the ball really close all day. It was that and that wedge shot on 14, coming up a little short, those are the things I’ll rue today.”He finished the day with 36 putts over 18 holes — n...