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No. 7 Washington beat No. 5 Oregon at Bill Dellinger Invite – Women’s Result

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No. 7 Washington women win at Bill Dellinger Invitational: Photo gohuskies.com

(Sporting Alert) — No. 7 Washington pulled off an impressive victory over hosts and No. 5 Oregon to take the women’s team title at the 2013 Bill Dellinger Invitational at the Springfield Country Club on Saturday.

Washington scored 30 points with an average team time of 17:03 on their way to taking the victory by 22 points.

The Oregon Ducks finished second with 52 points, Boise State was third with 63, while fourth went to Portland on 81 and Wichita State finished a distant fifth with 163 points.

Leading the Husky was freshman Amy-Eloise Neale, who clocked 16:48 for second place overall in the women’s 5K, while senior Katie Flood was fourth in 16:54.

Another freshman Katie Knight (17:06) in addition to sophomores Maddie Meyers (17:06) and Eleanor Fulton (17:18) all finished in the top 10 in the scoring department.

Emma Bates of Boise State ran 16:35 to win the individual women’s title with her teammate Marisa Howard running 16:50 for fourth place overall and third in the scoring.

Oregon was led by Megan Patrignelli, who ran 16:57 for sixth place overall.

Bill Dellinger Invitational Individual Results

1 392 Alexa Efraimson UNATTACHED12 16:35 5:21
2 300 Emma Bates BOISE STATE 16:35 5:21
3 412 Amy-Eloise Neale WASHINGTON 16:48 5:25
4 302 Marisa Howard BOISE STATE 16:50 5:25
5 404 Katie Flood WASHINGTON 16:54 5:27
6 355 Megan Patrignelli OREGON 16:57 5:28
7 394 Stephanie Jenks UNATTACHED16 16:57 5:28
8 362 Laura Hottenrott PORTLAND 17:03 5:30
9 408 Katie Knight WASHINGTON 17:06 5:31
10 409 Maddie Meyers WASHINGTON 17:06 5:31
11 391 Lindsey Drake UNATTACHED10 17:09 5:32
12 390 Carrie Dimoff UNATTACHED9 17:16 5:34
13 405 Eleanor Fulton WASHINGTON 17:18 5:34
14 351 Molly Grabill OREGON 17:20 5:35
15 353 Abbey Leonardi OREGON 17:23 5:36
16 357 Maggie Schmaedick OREGON 17:24 5:36
17 365 Gina Paletta PORTLAND 17:25 5:37
18 356 Sarah Penney OREGON 17:34 5:40
19 363 Anne Luijten PORTLAND 17:35 5:40
20 336 Halie Raudenbush IDAHO 17:36 5:40
21 304 Lauren Lucas BOISE STATE 17:37 5:41
22 306 Erin McLaughlin BOISE STATE 17:39 5:41
23 366 Marit Tegelaar PORTLAND 17:39 5:41
24 317 Lauren Bergam GONZAGA 17:39 5:41
25 403 Kaylee Flanagan WASHINGTON 17:40 5:41
26 420 Samantha Shukla WICHITA STATE 17:44 5:43
27 349 Maria Elbon OREGON 17:46 5:43
28 303 Kate Jette BOISE STATE 17:49 5:44
29 373 Sarah Dean PORTLAND STATE 17:53 5:46
30 415 Sidney Hirsch WICHITA STATE 17:53 5:46

——————–
Women’s Team Scoring
——————–

1. 30 WASHINGTON (17:03 85:12 0:30)
=====================================
1 2 412 Amy-Eloise Neale 16:48
2 4 404 Katie Flood 16:54
3 7 408 Katie Knight 17:06
4 8 409 Maddie Meyers 17:06
5 9 405 Eleanor Fulton 17:18
6 ( 21) 403 Kaylee Flanagan 17:40
7 ( 30) 411 Baylee Mires 17:55

2. 52 OREGON (17:20 86:38 0:37)
=====================================
1 5 355 Megan Patrignelli 16:57
2 10 351 Molly Grabill 17:20
3 11 353 Abbey Leonardi 17:23
4 12 357 Maggie Schmaedick 17:24
5 14 356 Sarah Penney 17:34
6 ( 23) 349 Maria Elbon 17:46
7 ( 37) 354 Ashley Maton 18:03

3. 63 BOISE STATE (17:18 86:30 1:14)
=====================================
1 1 300 Emma Bates 16:35
2 3 302 Marisa Howard 16:50
3 17 304 Lauren Lucas 17:37
4 18 306 Erin McLaughlin 17:39
5 24 303 Kate Jette 17:49
6 ( 27) 309 Shannon Susbauer 17:54
7 ( 31) 310 Taryn Treadway 17:56

4. 81 PORTLAND (17:32 87:36 0:51)
=====================================
1 6 362 Laura Hottenrott 17:03
2 13 365 Gina Paletta 17:25
3 15 363 Anne Luijten 17:35
4 19 366 Marit Tegelaar 17:39
5 28 368 Natasha Verma 17:54
6 ( 33) 360 Julia Fonk 17:57
7 ( 36) 364 Tansey Lystad 17:59

5. 163 WICHITA STATE (18:01 90:04 0:49)
=====================================
1 22 420 Samantha Shukla 17:44
2 26 415 Sidney Hirsch 17:53
3 29 418 Kaitlyn McLeod 17:55
4 34 419 Ebeissa Nyandwi 17:59
5 52 417 Emily Hornbeck 18:33
6 ( 54) 421 Savannah Wright 18:42
7 ( 57) 414 Kayla Deighan 18:44

6. 175 IDAHO (18:06 90:29 0:48)
=====================================
1 16 336 Halie Raudenbush 17:36
2 32 340 Holly Stanton 17:56
3 41 331 Ally Ginther 18:16
4 42 335 Emily Paradis 18:17
5 44 339 Alex Siemens 18:24
6 ( 49) 333 Abby Larson 18:28
7 ( 51) 334 Marquita Palmer 18:32

7. 186 GONZAGA (18:10 90:46 0:46)
=====================================
1 20 317 Lauren Bergam 17:39
2 38 319 Taylor Cherry 18:07
3 40 322 Amelia Evans 18:14
4 43 328 Zoe Urcadez 18:21
5 45 321 Shelly Davis 18:25
6 ( 48) 323 Alison Fraher 18:27
7 ( 56) 320 Katy Culver 18:44

8. 223 SEATTLE U. (18:21 91:45 0:42)
=====================================
1 35 383 Lauren Hammerle 17:59
2 39 385 Hannah Mittelstaedt 18:11
3 46 380 Sophie Curatilo 18:26
4 50 381 Madison Davis 18:28
5 53 382 Taylor de Laveaga 18:41
6 ( 55) 386 Lila Rice 18:43
7 ( 59) 388 Jennifer Stolle 18:51

9. 251 PORTLAND STATE (18:36 93:00 1:07)
=====================================
1 25 373 Sarah Dean 17:53
2 47 379 Cheryn Trapp 18:27
3 58 378 Camelia Mayfield 18:46
4 60 376 Olivia Loveland 18:54
5 61 374 Katherine Hendricks 19:00
6 ( 63) 375 Keikoanne Hollins 19:26
7 ( 64) 377 Kennedy Martin 19:40

10. 328 MT. SAC (19:46 98:48 0:30)
=====================================
1 62 346 Nichelle Jackson 19:26
2 65 344 DeDe Dornisch 19:41
3 66 347 Sierra Ungerman 19:50
4 67 341 Ashli Badorf 19:55
5 68 342 Celilia Barraza 19:56
6 ( 69) 343 Alexandra Borunda 20:00
7 ( 70) 345 Crystal Gonzales 21:16

Kennedy Kithuka wins Chile Pepper 8k; Arkansas take team title

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ARKANSAS (Sporting Alert) — Kennedy Kithuka was again impressive on Saturday after the Texas Tech star won the men’s 8k college division at the 2013 Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The defending NCAA champion over 10K, clocked 23:28 to take the win, following up on his victory at last week’s OSU Jamboree in Stillwater.

The Kenyan was followed home by a determined Jamaican Kemoy Campbell, who races for Arkansas and he came across the line in an impressive 23:34, with the two being the only ones under 24 minutes on the wet course.

Arkansas, which finished three runners in the top ten took the team overall title with an overall score of 31 points.

Villanova scored 44pts for second place, while Texas Tech (91), North Texas (110) and Loyola Marymount (114) completed the top five finishers.

Individual Results

Place Athlete Name Time Points
1 Kennedy Kithuka
SR – Texas Tech 23:28.1 1
2 Kemoy Campbell
SR – Arkansas 23:34.8 2
3 Stanley Kebenei
JR – Arkansas 24:08.0 3
4 Patrick Tiernan
FR – Villanova 24:27.0 4
5 Solomon Haile
SR – Arkansas 24:27.6 5
6 David Fuentes
SR – Rogue Running 4 24:35.9
7 Frankline Tonui
FR – Iowa Central CC 24:36.9 1
8 Jordan Williamsz
SO – Villanova 24:37.8 6
9 Ezekiel Kissorio
SR – Texas Tech 24:39.6 7
10 Weston Strum
SR – LMU 24:42.7

Team Scores

Place Team Points Div
1 Arkansas 31 Univ
2 Villanova 44 Univ
3 Texas Tech 91 Univ
4 North Texas 110 Univ
5 LMU 114 Univ
6 Baylor 161 Univ
7 U.A.L.R. 188 Univ
8 Central Arkansas 264 Univ
9 Louisiana Monroe 274 Univ
10 Louisiana Tech 276 Univ

Edna Kiplagat defends World Championships marathon title

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MOSCOW, Russia (Sporting Alert) — Edna Kiplagat of Kenya became the first woman to successfully defend a marathon world title, following her champion run at the IAAF World Championships on day one in Moscow, Russia on Saturday.

Kiplagat, who decided against going with the early quick pace, ran herself back into contention as the race progresses before pulling away to take the gold medal in 2hr 25min 44sec.

The 33-year-old had also won the 2011 gold in Daegu.

Italian Valeria Straneo, who led for most of the race finally surrendered the lead with little over a mile to go, finished second in 2:25.58 and became the highest finisher ever in a world championships marathon for her country.

Kayoko Fukushi of Japan stuck to her game plan and was successful in taking the bronze medal with a time of 2:27.45.

African runners were picked at the start of these championships to dominate the event, but only winner Kiplagat finished amongst the top ten runners.

Weir sizzles to 19.79 PR to win 200m title, Fraser-Pryce takes women’s event – Video Highlights

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (Sporting Alert) — Olympic silver medallist Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce easily won the women’s 200m title at the Jamaica National Championships on Sunday, while Olympic bronze medallist Warren Weir blasted to a personal best to win the men’s race.

Fraser-Pryce easily won the women’s event in 22.13 seconds after taking charge of the event coming off the curve.

Training partners Sherone Simpson, who ran 22.55 and Anneisha McLauglin, 22.58, crossed the finish line behind her as they also booked their World Championships places to Moscow.

On the men’s side, London Olympic Games bronze medal winner Weir, produced a new personal best of 19.79 to win the men’s race, equalling the second fastest time of the year.

Pre-meet favourite Nickel Ashmeade was second in 20.06, with third going to Jason Livermore, who ran a personal best of 20.13.

World record holder Usain Bolt, who has a wild card in the event and only raced over the 100m, and Yohan Blake, who is still recovering from an injury, did not race in the event.

There were also solid times in the men’s 400m, as 20-year-old Javere Bell took the national title with a time of 45.04, beating high school sensation Javon Francis, who was second in 45.24, a time that is under the qualifying standard.

Novlene Williams-Mills took the women’s race with a solid 50.01, as she got the better of the improving Stephenie Ann McPherson, who ran 50.28 for second place and Patricia Hall (51.13).

Elsewhere, at the national championships on Sunday, Danielle Williams won the women’s 100m hurdles with a 12.69 performance, out-sprinting Andrea Bliss (12.82) and Shermaine Williams (12.93).

Warren Weir 19.79 Video Highlights

Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce Video Highlights

Video Highlights: Javere Bell 45.08

Tyson Gay flashes to world-leading 9.75; English Gardner wins women’s title

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DES MOINES, Iowa (Sporting Alert) – Sprint superstar Tyson Gay sizzled to a world-leading time of 9.75 seconds to win the men’s 100m dash at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday night.

Gay, who got off to a slow start, got up to his top speed quickly to power past Justin Gatlin and break the championship record here.

Gatlin, who confirmed that he is carrying a hamstring injury, was second in 9.89, with Charles Silmon (9.98) making his first American team by finishing third.

The winning performs confirmed that Gay is certainly in great shape and is on the right path to challenge the Jamaicans, led by world record holder Usain Bolt and reigning world champion Yohan Blake later this summer.

Michael Rodgers ran 9.98 for fourth.

Gardner Blazes To National Crown

English Gardner, the two-time NCAA champion produced another personal best and world-lead equalling of 10.85 seconds to win the women’s 100m and booked her place on the team to the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia later this summer.

The race saw the first five women going under 11-seconds as another NCAA star, Octavious Freeman from the University of Central Florida, also setting a new personal best of 10.87 for second and Alexandria Anderson taking third in 10.91.

Jeneba Tarmoh clocked 10.93 for fourth, while Barbara Pierre, who had run 10.85 to set a world-leading in the semi-finals faded to fifth in 10.94.

Results

Women 100m final
English Gardner 10.85, Octavious Freeman 10.87, Alexandria Anderson 10.91, Jeneba Tarmoh 10.93

Men’s 100m final
1 Tyson Gay 9.75, Justin Gatlin 9.89, Charles Silmon 9.98, Michael Rodgers 9.98.

Bolt hunts title – Jamaica Trials Schedule and Live Stream – Day 2

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (Sporting Alert) — Day two action at the 2013 Jamaica Track and Field Championships is set to be highlighted by the sprinting events, which will feature the likes of Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell.

Watch LIVE Streaming of Jamaica Track and Field Trials

Action on the track on the second begins with the men’s 800m at 7:00 pm, while the women’s and men’s 100m semifinals and final are also set to go off in the evening session.

Bolt, after running 10.00 seconds to win his heat and top the list of athletes heading into the semis, races in the first semi-finals against Nickel Ashmeade, Jason Livermore and Sheldon Mitchell.

The world record holder, who is determined to run a fast time at the trials, is expected to go all the way and win another national title, this after being beaten last year by training partner Yohan Blake, who is not competing after he failed to fully recover from an injury.

Powell, after missing most of the competitive season because of injuries, races in semi-final heat 2, and will take on Kemar Bailey-Cole, Nester Carter and Jacques Harvey.

With defending champion Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce and Veronica Campbell-Brown out of 100m, the battle for the women’s 100m crown is expected to be wide open.

Season veteran Kerron Stewart and the improving Carrie Russell are the strong favourites to take the title, but the likes of Sherone Simpson, Aleen Bailey and Schillonie Calvert could all be in the mix as well.

Elsewhere, 21-year-old Kemoy Campbell is well positioned to dominate the men’s 5,000m, but the distant star wants to improve on his 13:32.81, as he seeks at least the B stand of 13:20.00 to qualify for the World Championships this summer.

The women’s and men’s 400m hurdles national champions will be crowned on Friday night, with Roxroy Cato, Javarn Gallimore and Leford Green leading the way on the male side and Ristananna Tracey, Nickiesha Wilson and Shevon Stoddart leading the way on the female side.

Jamaica Trials Day 2 Live Schedule

FIELD EVENTS…………AFTERNOON……..
5:00pm Triple Jump Men Final 5:30pm Discus Women Final 7:00pm
Long Jump Women Final

TRACK EVENTS…………AFTERNOON……
6:30pm-6:45pm OFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONY
7:00pm 800M Men Heats
7:15pm 100M Women Semi-Finals
7:25pm 100M Men Semi-Finals
100M Men Semi-Finals
7:30pm PRESENTATION – Discus Women
7:35pm 5000M Men Final
8:00pm PRESENTATION – Triple Jump Men
8:20pm 400M Hurdles Women Final
8:30pm 400M Hurdles Men Final
8:35pm PRESENTATION – Long Jump Women
8:40pm 1500M Women Final
8:50pm 1500M Men Final
8:55pm PRESENTATION – 5000M
Men
9:05pm PRESENTATIONS – 400M Hurdles Men &
Women
9:15pm 100M Women Final
9:20pm PRESENTATIONS – 1500M Men & Women
9:25pm 100M Men Final
9:30pm PRESENTATIONS – 100M Men & Women

Tony Parker guides San Antonio to Western Conference title, NBA Finals

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MEMPHIS (Sporting Alert, Box Score) — All-Star point guard Tony Parker scored 37 points and dished out six assists and the San Antonio Spurs swept the Memphis Grizzlies 4-0 with a 93-86 win on Monday night to win their fifth Western Conference title.

Leading 3-0 heading into Monday’s Game 4, the Spurs, a four-time NBA champion, were determined to close out the series on the road as they seek more time to recover from travels and nagging injuries.

“It’s a great feeling,” said a delighted Parker as he held the Western Conference trophy.

Tim Duncan, who finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, wanted another trip to the final after missing out so many times when they were big favorites.

“We want to get back there,” Duncan said about making the finals. “We’ve had some really close years where we fell right on the verge of getting back.

“It feels like forever since we’ve been there.”

Defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder last year was hurtful to stand and Parker revealed that he promised his good pal Duncan that he would get him back into the championship game.

“Since last year, I promised to him (Tim Duncan) that we will go back, go back to the Finals and get an opportunity to win the whole thing and I’m trying to do my best, try to be aggressive every night,” Parker said.

“I think everybody on the team, we really want to do it for him. We win the West and now it’s one more step. This is the hardest one.”

Quincy Pondexter paced the Memphis Grizzlies with 22 points, while Marc Gasol was held to just 14 points and five rebounds and Zach Randolph ended with 13 points and eight boards.

“We just never could gain control of the paint,” Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. “They controlled the paint.”

Hollins also praised Parker for his outstanding performances throughout the series.

“He was outstanding the whole series, and he controlled the series with his penetration,” Hollins said.

“He made shots, made plays. One game he has 18 assists, today he has 37 points.

“He was huge. But their team played well. You’ve got to give them credit.”

The San Antonio Spurs are the first team to sweep the Western Conference finals since Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers did so in 2001.

FINAL: Connecticut beat Louisville 93-60; wins 8th national title

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NEW ORLEANS (Sporting Alert, Box Score) — Freshman Breanna Stewart scored 23 points and led Connecticut to a 93-60 victory over Louisville in the NCAA Women’s basketball national Championship game on Tuesday night.

The win was the most one-sided contest in a championship game, as the Huskies, which dominated the game, led 48-29 at half-time.

Stewart, who scored 18 of her total points in the first half, also pulled down nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals for the for UConn (35-4) which secured its eighth national championship title

Head coach Geno Auriemma also tied with Pat Summitt and Tennessee for the most national women’s basketball titles in history.

Auriemma also stated perfect in national championship games after tonight’s blowout win.

K Mosqueda-Lewis collected 18 points and nine rebounds, Kelly Faris added 16 points, nine rebounds, while Bria Hartley had 13 points and Stefanie Dolson, 12 points, six boards and five assists for Connecticut.

Meanwhile, Sarah Hammond paced the Louisville Cardinals (29-9) with 15 points in the defeat.

Louisville knocked off top seed and defending champions Baylor Bears on their way to making the final.

Baylor wins first-ever NIT title, beats Iowa 74-54 – Result

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NEW YORK (Sporting Alert, Box Score) — Cory Jefferson scored 23 points and Baylor led from the opening minutes on their way to winning the school’s first-ever NIT title with a 74-54 win over Iowa at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.

Jefferson, who shot 8-of-11 from the field, also pulled down seven rebounds in his 25-minutes of action, while senior Pierre Jackson added a double-double of 17 points and 10 assists for the Bears (23-14).

Jackson, who averaged 19.8 points and 7.1 assists per game and recorded his fourth successive double-double in the tournament, received praise from his coach after being named Most Outstanding Player in the NIT tournament.

“You can put his numbers up with any guard in the country,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said.

“The bigger the stage, the bigger the moment, the bigger — better — he performs.”

Isaiah Austin collected 15 points, nine rebounds, five blocks, four assists and two steals in the win for Baylor.

Mike Gesell paced Iowa (25-13) with 13 points, while Aaron White added 12.

Star forward Roy Devyn Marble shot just 3-of-12 from the field, including 0-for-4 from three-point range and was held to six points in the defeat.

The Hawkeyes went 18-of-69 from the field for a disappointing 26.1 percent.

“We’re a driving team, we get to the free throw line more typically, and we just didn’t do that tonight,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said.

NCAA NIT Tournament Results

(2) Baylor 74, (3) Iowa 54

Indiana Wesleyan beat Davenport, wins NAIA DII title

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa – (Box Score) Indiana Wesleyan claimed its second national championship by defeating Davenport (Mich.), 61-43, in the Championship game of the 2013 State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship.

Behind Tournament MVP Paige Smith, the Wildcats went on a 22-1 run late in the second half to win its second national championship. They capped the season with a 61-43 victory to raise their second banner in school history.

“It’s such a great victory for our team and to see our team do something so special together that is what matters the most to me,” said Tournament MVP Paige Smith.

“The fact that this team came together and fought together and stayed together the entire year. That is the biggest blessing out of all of this.”

Taylor Goshert got the scoring going in the first half as she hit a layup in the first minute of the contest. After that bucket the Panthers and Wildcats continued to trade buckets and at the first media time out the game was tied at six.

Both teams continued to keep the game close as neither team held a lead over two points in the first seven minutes of the contest. Tiesha Stokes gave Davenport the first lead over two points after hitting a three pointer. Stokes extended the Panthers lead to 15-10 after hitting a layup.

Davenport would extend its lead to seven points, 17-10, with nine minutes to go in the first half, as Indiana Wesleyan went five minutes without a basket. However, after they broke the scoreless drought, Claire Ray hit a three pointer to put the Wildcats down two, 17-15.

With the game tied at 21, Shaina Johnson scored on a layup to put the Panthers ahead by two with two minutes left in the first half. This happened to be the last field goal and points of the first half and Davenport took a two point lead into halftime, 23-21.

The second half started like the first half as both teams started trading baskets. During the first eight minutes of the second half, the Panthers and the Wildcats saw four lead changes and three ties.

After Paige Smith hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 34, the Wildcats clicked the offense and defense into gear. After falling down by two points to Davenport with 11:51 to go in the game, the Panthers did not make a field goal for the next 11 minutes and 24 seconds.

During this stretch the Wildcats went on a 22-1 during an eight minute stretch. Indiana Wesleyan found themselves down two, 36-34, before the run and ended the run leading the Panthers by 19 points, 56-37.

The Panthers continued to score only from the free throw line, and could not get any closer than 17 points for the remainder of the game. Davenport finally broke their field goal drought after Staci Stadler hit a three-pointer, to break an 11 minute and 24 second field goal drought.

“I can’t say enough about Paige and Claire,” said coach Brooks. “Claire did an amazing job on Karli Harris tonight. She just shut her down. Those two seniors have been our inspiration and leaders all year on the floor and off the floor. If you want to have a team like this you need seniors that step up and take responsibility and those two did.”

Taylor Goshert led the Wildcats with 15 points, while Claire Ray and Paige Smith followed with 14 points apiece. Tiesha Stokes led the Panthers with 12 points off the bench.

The Panthers lost its second national championship game in three years and are still looking for its first national championship. The loss for Davenport snapped the team’s streak of 11-straight wins.

All-Tournament
First Team:
Paige Smith, Indiana Wesleyan
Taylor Goshert, Indiana Wesleyan
Karli Harris, Davenport (Mich.)
Kendra De Jong, Northwestern (Iowa)
Ashlynn Muhl, Morningside (Iowa)

Second Team:
Tiesha Stokes, Davenport (Mich.)
Sloane Masters, Briar Cliff (Iowa)
Laura Johnson, Bethel (Ind.)
Kayla Drake, Saint Francis (Ind.)
Brooke Randall, Eastern Oregon
Most Valuable Player:
Paige Smith, Indiana Wesleyan: 17.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 38/69 FG (55.1%) in 5 games

Hustle Award:
Karli Harris, Davenport (Mich.)

No. 7 Northwestern opens NAIA title defense with easy win

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa – (Box Score) No. 7 Northwestern began its defense of its three-straight national championships by cruising to a 92-66 victory over Mayville State (N.D.) on Wednesday in the first round of the 2013 State Farm-NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championships.

Red Raider All-American forward Kendra De Jong continued her dominant play on the national stage with 16 points and 10 rebounds despite leaving the game in the first half with an apparent injury.

The Comets stayed close early on until Northwestern surged in the latter part of the second half. The Red Raiders stretched their lead to 41-23 in the first half and led by as many 28 points with Alli Dunkelberger Mackenzie Small and Karen Hutson leading the way. They made up for De Jong’s absence with a combined 46 points.

Head coach Chris Yaw’s squad used its usual stout defense and rebounding to mow down Mayville State. Northwestern limited the Comets to 29 percent shooting while out-rebounding the Association of Independent Institutions foe, 61-38.

Mayville State placed three scorers in double-figures: Hailey Longtin (17), Samantha Heier (14) and Angela Tauer (13). The Comets close the season with an overall mark of 20-6 after making their first appearance at the national championships in school history.

The Red Raiders have not lost at the national tournament since a 63-58 semifinal defeat to GPAC rival Morningside (Iowa) in 2009. Northwestern is aiming for its sixth national title in school history.

The Raiders advance to Friday’s second-round game, where they will challenge No. 10 Concordia (Mich.) in a battle of top-10 teams. Tipoff is set for 10:15 a.m. Concordia defeated Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 90-80 in a first-round game earlier on Wednesday.

Djokovic beats Murray; wins Australian Open title

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MELBOURNE (Sporting Alert) — World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has defeated Andy Murray to claim another Australian Open title at the Melborne Park on Sunday.

Djokovic came into the contest as the pre-favourite, and the Serbian backed that up with some excellent plays on his way to beating Murray in four sets and win his third successive Australian Open crown.

The top seed rebounded from a set down to win the title with a 6-7 7-6 6-3 6-2 result. Djokovic, with the win, also avenged the defeat he suffered against Murray in last year’s US Open final.

“I have to thank Andy for his kind words,” Djokovic said.

“We have played so many thrilling matches over the last few years. Bad luck tonight and I wish you luck for the rest of the season.

“What a joy. It’s an incredible feeling winning this trophy again. It’s definitely my favourite grand slam, my most successful grand slam. I love this court.”

Murray came into the game full of confidence, but the Great Britain star was graceful in his defeat, as he suffered a fifth Grand Slam final loss.

“I would like to congratulate Novak. His record here is incredible. Very few people have managed to do what he has done here. He is a very well-deserved champion,” he said.

“To his team… I know you can’t do this on your own and he has great people around him.

“I’d like to thank my team – they’ve done a great job with me.”

The Briton who won the Olympic title in London last August had hoped to rediscover his late season form, which also saw him beating Djokovic in New York weeks later.

That, however, was never to be and Murray suffered his third defeat in four years at the Australian Open.