NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Breanna Stewart scored 21 points and Stefanie Dolson added 17 points and 16 rebounds to help UConn beat Notre Dame 79-58, giving coach Geno Auriemma and the Huskies a record ninth national championship.
Auriemma passed Pat Summitt for the most titles all-time and capped off the school’s fifth undefeated season in unprecedented fashion. The game was the first title matchup between two unbeatens in the history of college basketball.
The victory also makes the University of Connecticut the center of the college basketball world with both the men’s and women’s teams winning the championship this year. The men beat Kentucky on Monday night. The pair of victories come a decade after the Huskies became the only school to accomplish the feat.
The loss was Notre Dame’s third in the title game in the past four years.
The Irish (37-1) were looking for their first championship since 2001.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina State sophomore T.J. Warren is taking his high-scoring game to the NBA.
In a statement released by the school, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s player of the year said he had “a fun ride” but was ready to enter the NBA draft.
“Playing in the NBA has been a lifelong dream of mine, and playing at N.C. State has prepared me well to achieve my dream,” Warren said.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Wake Forest is hoping Danny Manning can turn around its slumping basketball team. No miracles needed.
The former Kansas star is taking over the project of rebuilding the Demon Deacons, and he thinks his new team is closer than recent results might indicate.
“We have aspirations of being a championship team,” Manning said during his formal on-campus introduction. “We want to cut down nets, and we have to put forth the work. … I’m willing to roll up my sleeves, and let’s go get it.”
The centerpiece of the Jayhawks’ “Danny and the Miracles” 1988 national title team was hired last week to replace Jeff Bzdelik, who resigned under intense public pressure three weeks ago following four mostly unremarkable seasons.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Oregon has hired Kelly Graves of Gonzaga as the new Ducks women’s basketball coach.
Graves has led Gonzaga to the NCAA tournament for the past six seasons, and the Bulldogs advanced to the Elite Eight in 2011. The team was a No. 6 seed this past season, the highest seeding in school history, before losing to James Madison in the opening game and finishing at 29-5.
NHL
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - The Vancouver Canucks fired president and general manager Mike Gillis on Tuesday, a day after being eliminated from playoff contention.
Gillis took over as general manager from the fired Dave Nonis after the 2007-08 season. The Canucks advanced to the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals under Gillis before losing to Boston, and since then the team has been in a steady decline.
The Canucks lost in the first round of the playoffs for two straight seasons before missing the post-season entirely for the first time since 2008.
NBA
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has agreed to a multiyear contract extension late in one of the worst seasons in franchise history.
Los Angeles announced its new deal for Kupchak late in the fourth quarter of a 145-130 loss to the Houston Rockets.
Kupchak had one year left on his current contract.
The Lakers’ latest defeat was their 53rd of the season, matching the franchise record set in 1958. Kupchak has a wholesale rebuilding job in store with the Lakers, who will miss the playoffs for just the third time since 1976.
Kupchak has been in the Lakers’ front office since the three-time NBA champion center’s playing career ended in 1986. The longtime apprentice to Jerry West largely took charge of the Lakers’ basketball operations after West’s departure in 2000.
BASEBALL
CLEVELAND (AP) - For the second time, veteran major league umpire John Hirschbeck has lost a son.
Michael Hirschbeck died Tuesday of unknown causes in Poland, Ohio. The Indians said he was 27. No other details were immediately available.
John Hirschbeck had been scheduled to work the interleague series between Cleveland and the San Diego Padres, but was with his family.
TRACK AND FIELD
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Jamaican Olympic sprinter Sherone Simpson was banned from her sport until Dec. 20 after testing positive for a banned substance.
The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission on Tuesday said Simpson was “negligent in all the circumstances.” The 18-month ban began from the date of her sample collection on June 21, 2013.
The commission also banned Jamaican Olympic discus thrower Allison Randall for two years. She will not be able to compete until June 2015. Her ban also started June 21, 2013.
Simpson, an Olympic 4x100-relay gold and silver medalist, has said she was not a “cheat” and never intentionally took the stimulant oxilofrone.
TENNIS
HOUSTON (AP) - Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt beat Canada’s Peter Polansky 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in gusty conditions to advance to the second round of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.
Also advancing were Americans Donald Young and Michael Russell. Young routed countryman Ryan Harrison 6-0, 6-1, and Houston-based Russell eliminated Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-3, 7-6 (2). Harrison was plagued by a back injury that later forced him to pull out of the doubles.
Top-seeded John Isner, ranked a career-high ninth, begins his title defense Wednesday night against Germany’s Dustin Brown.
LONDON (AP) - The United States will host Slovakia in the Davis Cup World Group playoffs on Sept. 12-14.
The International Tennis Federation held the draw Tuesday.
In other matchups to be played right after the U.S. Open, India hosts Serbia, Brazil hosts Spain, Israel hosts Argentina, Canada hosts Colombia, Australia hosts Uzbekistan, Netherlands hosts Croatia, and Ukraine hosts Belgium.
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