SPORTS WRAP
BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
PHOTOS BY MARVIN CHAMBERS
The NCAA tournament is winding down, with the conclusion of the regional finals.
In the women’s tourney, the defending women’s champion LSU Tigers had a comeback victory over UCLA to advance from the Sweet 16 by the final 78-69. LSU star Angel Reese had 16 points and Lauren Betts had 14 points and 17 rebounds. Iowa beat Colorado 89-69 to reach the regional final thanks to 29 points from superstar Caitlin Clark. In a rematch from last year’s National Title game, Iowa got revenge in a 94-87 win over LSU to reach the Final Four. Clark scored 41 points and dished out 12 assists while Reese had 17 points and 20 rebounds.
Baylor lost to Juju Watkins and USC 74-70 while the UConn women’s team beat Duke 53-45. UConn and USC would then clash, with the Lady Huskies sending Watkins and her team home in a USC 80-73 win. Undefeated South Carolina defeated Oregon State 70-58 and NC State upset Texas 76-66 to round out the ladies’ Final Four.
On the other side, the defending men’s NCAA champion Connecticut is headed back to the Final Four after a 77-52 rout over Big Ten favorite Illinois to capture the East Regional Final. They will take on West Regional Final was won by Alabama, who took down Clemson 89-82. Midwest Regional winner Purdue beat Tennessee 72-66, and will take on South Regional winner NC State, who stunned ACC rival Duke 76-64. The last time the #11 seeded NC State got this far in the tournament, they won it all in 1983.
Although they were snubbed by the NCAA tourney committee, the Seton Hall men’s basketball team has had a decent season and made improvements under head coach Shaheen Holloway. The Pirates have worked their way through the National Invitational Tournament, with an opening round win over St. Joseph 75-72, and a quarterfinal win against UNLV 91-68. Both wins came at Walsh Gym in South Orange. Leading SHU was the usual crew of Kadary Richmond, Newark native Al-Amir Dawes, and Dre Davis.
Next week, we will have the results of the NIT tournament, with Seton Hall taking on Georgia, and the winner taking on the winner of Indiana State and Utah.
Finally, NBA guard Rajon Rondo is calling it a career after 16 years in the league and one title with the Celtics in 2008. In MLB, Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco tossed a no-hitter in a 10-0 win over the Blue Jays. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees have gotten off to one of the best starts in franchise history thanks to newly acquired Juan Soto.
