Sports News-March 4, 2013
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Kobe Bryant scored eleven of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and hit the go-ahead layup with nine seconds left, leading the Los Angeles Lakers back to .500 for the first time in more than two months with a 99-98 victory over the Atlanta Hawks last night. Steve Blake stole Josh Smith's final pass in the waning seconds for the 30-30 Lakers, who blew a 16-point lead in the second half before Bryant scored their last six points. After Bryant scored the Lakers' final basket while driving directly at Smith, Blake swiped Smith's desperation pass from underneath Los Angeles' basket. Bryant threw the ball high in the air to run out the clock on Los Angeles' seventh straight home victory over the Hawks since 2006. Al Horford scored 24 points and Smith had 19 for the Hawks.
The Miami Heat needed a strong second-half comeback to tie the longest winning streak in franchise history. The Heat trailed 59-43 in the final minute of the second quarter before pulling out their 14th straight victory, a 99-93 downing of the Knicks in New York. LeBron James overcame a third-quarter leg injury to finish with 29 points, eleven rebounds and seven assists. Dwyane Wade chipped in 20 points and Chris Bosh added 16 as the Heat ended the Knicks' three-game winning streak.
Maggie Lucas scored 34 points to lead seventh-ranked Penn State women’s basketball team to an 82-67 victory over 20th ranked Nebraska yesterday, clinching the Lady Lions' second straight outright Big Ten championship and ending the Cornhuskers' ten-game win streak. Penn St. Improves to 24-4 overall and 14-2 in the Big Ten while Nebraska drops to 22-7 overall and 12-4 in the conference. Lindsey Moore led three players in double figures with 23 points. Emily Cady had 15 points, ten rebounds, and two steals. Jordan Hooper added 14 points, nine boards, and blocked two shots.
The Northeast Hawks women’s basketball team has qualified for the National Tournament in Salina, Kansas starting on March 18. The NJCAA Division I 17th ranked Hawks beat 16th ranked Iowa Western 70-64 in the Region XI Championship in Council Bluffs on Saturday night to qualify for at least an area selection into the tournament. Northeast can earn an automatic selection with a win over 15th ranked 27-5 Crowder College of Missouri on Saturday night in Neosho, Missouri in the District ‘K’ Championship. In the Saturday win, the Hawks’ AJ Johnson led four players in double figures with 18 points and two steals. Teammate Raveen Murray had 15 points and five rebounds while Ivana Vuletic added 13 points and nine boards. Alison Klostergaard had ten points and eight rebounds in the win. The Reivers led 32-30 at halftime. Northeast improves to 28-3 on the season. They’ve won 17 of their last 18 games. It’s the first time that the Hawks have qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament in program history.
The Omaha World Herald & Lincoln Journal Star have posted their final high school girls basketball rankings. In the Lincoln Journal Star, Norfolk Catholic re-enters the Class “C-1” rankings at number five while appearing in the Omaha World Herald rankings at number seven. The Lady Knights finished the season at 15-10 after an opening round loss in the State Tournament to Kearney Catholic 39-31. The Omaha World Herald also updated their boys rankings. Lutheran High Northeast jumps from tenth to sixth. The 21-5 Eagles have won three games in a row and will play 21-3 Southern Valley in the opening round of the State Tournament at 3:45 at Lincoln High on Thursday. Norfolk Catholic dropped out of the Class “C-1” rankings after a 14-11 season.
The Omaha World Herald & Lincoln Journal Star have posted their final high school girls basketball rankings. In the Omaha World Herald, Class “A” Champion Lincoln Southeast is the new number one in the “Nebraska Top 10” & Class “A”. Class “B” Champion Northwest of Grand Island is the new number one. In Class “C-1”, Champion Pierce is the new number one after moving up from fifth and Norfolk Catholic enters the rankings at number seven. In Class “C-2”, Back-to-Back Champion Crofton remains first and is tenth in the “Nebraska Top 10”. Also in Class “C-2”, Homer drops from second to fourth. In Class “D-1”, Champion Pender is the new number one after moving up from second, O’Neill St. Mary’s jumps from fifth to second, West Point Guardian Angels falls from first to third, Emerson/Hubbard slips from third to fourth, and Howells/Dodge falls from fourth to fifth. In Class “D-2”, Three-time Defending State Champion Wynot is the new number one after moving up from sixth, Osmond jumps from fifth to second, Lindsay Holy Family falls from first to fifth, Humphrey High slips from second to sixth, and Humphrey St. Francis remains eighth. In the Lincoln Journal Star final high school girls basketball rankings, Class “A” Champion Lincoln Southeast is the new number one. Class “B” Champion Northwest of Grand Island is the new number one. In Class “C-1”, Champion Pierce is the new number one after moving up from second and Norfolk Catholic enters the rankings at number five. In Class “C-2”, Back-to-Back Champion Crofton remains first, and Homer moves up from sixth to fifth. In Class “D-1”, Champion Pender is the new number one after moving up from second, O’Neill St. Mary’s jumps from sixth to second, West Point Guardian Angels falls from first to third, Emerson/Hubbard moves up from ninth to fourth, and Howells/Dodge falls from third to fifth, and Randolph remains tenth. In Class “D-2”, Three-time Defending State Champion Wynot is the new number one after moving up from second, Osmond jumps from sixth to second, Lindsay Holy Family falls from third to fifth, Humphrey High slips from first to sixth, and Humphrey St. Francis drops out of the rankings.
The Omaha World Herald updated their high school boys basketball rankings. Omaha Central remains first in the “Nebraska Top 10” & Class “A” while Scottsbluff is the new number one in Class “B”. In Class “C-1”, Wahoo stays at number one, Boone Central/Newman Grove jumps from fifth to second, Wayne slips from second to fourth, and Columbus Lakeview & Norfolk Catholic fall from the top ten. In Class “C-2”, Sutton is once again first, Lutheran High Northeast moves up from tenth to sixth, Hartington Cedar Catholic drops from sixth to eighth, and Twin River falls from the rankings. In Class “D-1”, Paxton stays at number one, Howells/Dodge remains second, O’Neill St. Mary’s slips from fourth to sixth, and Clearwater/Orchard drops out of the rankings. In Class “D-2”, Spalding/Spalding Academy is the new number one, Wynot jumps from sixth to fifth, Wausa slips from fifth to sixth, Bancroft/Rosalie drops from third to eighth, Lindsay Holy Family falls from eighth to ninth, Humphrey High enters the rankings at number ten
Local Schedule: WSC Vs. Notre Dame (OH) at Davenport, FL (Bsbl-2:00); WSC Vs. Felician College (N.J.)-11:00; Vs. Gannon Univ. (PA)-1:00 (SB at Clermont, FL).
Local Scores: Nebraska 3 New Mexico 0 (Bsbl); Penn St. 3 Nebraska-Omaha 0 (Bsbl); WSC 9 Ohio Dominican 1 (Bsbl); (7) Penn St. 82 (20) Nebraska 67 (WBB); Creighton 67 Drake 66 (WBB); Nebraska 3-14 Oklahoma St. 0-5 (SB DH); Texas-Arlington 3 Creighton 0 (SB); WSC 5 West Virginia Wesleyan 4; Grand Valley (MI) 4 WSC 3 (SB DH).
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Miami 99 New York 93
Final Oklahoma City 108 L-A Clippers 104
Final Sacramento 119 Charlotte 83
Final Memphis 108 Orlando 82
Final Washington 90 Philadelphia 87
Final Houston 136 Dallas 103
Final San Antonio 114 Detroit 75
Final Indiana 97 Chicago 92
Final L-A Lakers 99 Atlanta 98
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final 2OT Chicago 2 Detroit 1 (SO Chicago 1-0)
Final OT Columbus 2 Colorado 1
Final 2OT N-Y Islanders 3 Ottawa 2
Final Dallas 4 St. Louis 1
Final Carolina 3 Florida 2
Final 2OT N-Y Rangers 3 Buffalo 2
Final Montreal 4 Boston 3
Final Minnesota 4 Edmonton 2
Final Calgary 4 Vancouver 2
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final ( 4) Michigan 58 ( 9) Michigan St. 57
Final Purdue 69 (17) Wisconsin 56
Final OT (23) Pittsburgh 73 Villanova 64
TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final ( 5) Duke 65 (15) North Carolina 58
Final ( 7) Penn St. 82 (20) Nebraska 67
Final (10) Kentucky 78 ( 8) Tennessee 65
Final ( 9) Maryland 88 Wake Forest 61
Final (11) Georgia 55 Vanderbilt 50
Final (12) Dayton 73 Saint Joseph's 66
Final LSU 67 (13) Texas A&M 52
Final (14) South Carolina 67 Florida 56
Final (17) UCLA 68 Arizona 57
Final (18) Delaware 62 Drexel 57
Final OT (19) Colorado 66 Oregon St. 63
Final Virginia 72 (24) Florida St. 60
Final (25) Purdue 76 Illinois 65
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