Chris Clemons dominated with 37 points, 15 rebounds and 14 assists as the Maine Celtics held on for a 121-117 G League victory over Wisconsin on Thursday night at the Portland Expo.
After trailing by one point at halftime, Maine outscored Wisconsin 30-19 in the third quarter and held on for win. Deonte Burton finished with 29 points for Maine. John Bohannon added 16 while Eric Demers and Deng Adel had 14 each.
Tremont Waters led Wisconsin with 26 points.
WNBA: Breanna Stewart felt for a short time like she was back in high school, being recruited by several WNBA franchises curious if she would take advantage of her first dip into free agency.
Stewart said she knew all along her destination would be a return to Seattle, where she was the No. 1 pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft.
“From what I’ve heard, free agency hasn’t always been like that. We don’t always have meetings and go see places and things like that,” Stewart said during a press conference. “But it was just an opportunity for me to kind of see what other organizations are doing, whatever franchise, and then compare it back to Seattle.”
Stewart ultimately opted to stay with the only WNBA franchise she’s every played for after signing a one-year, supermax deal worth $228,094 with the Storm last week. But her decision to return wasn’t without trepidation among fans after word leaked of Stewart taking meetings, especially one with New York.
Stewart said the deal is only for one year in part to keep options open – balancing her WNBA career with opportunities and a desire to play overseas while maximizing her earnings and marketing potential. The league’s collective bargaining agreement has prioritized players focusing on the WNBA and less on overseas opportunities in the future.
COLLEGES
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Abby Cavallaro hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 21 points to lead five players in double figures as the University of New England rolled to an 83-54 women’s basketball win over Salve Regina on Thursday in Newport, Rhode Island.
The Nor’easters (14-8, 12-3 Commonwealth Coast) took control with a 25-9 second-quarter run and pulled away from the Seahawks (9-11, 8-6). Kaylee Beyor had 18 points for UNE, Jordyn Franzen added 13 and Allie Goodman and Juliana Tracey had 11 apiece.
Ashley Rourke had 19 points for Salve Regina.
• Paige Ollivierre hit a 3-pointer with 2:20 play in regulation and UMass Boston hit six free throws down the stretch en route to a 65-58 win over Southern Maine in Boston.
The Beacons (7-11, 6-6 Little East) got 19 points from Meg Dixon had 19 points. Ollivierre finished with 16 while Jasharee Greene added 12.
Victoria Harris and Franny Ramsdell had 14 apiece for Southern Maine (6-13, 5-5).
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Syracuse center Jesse Edwards has a fractured left wrist and will miss the rest of the season, the school said.
Edwards, who has had a breakout junior season, apparently injured his non-shooting hand in Tuesday night’s win at Boston College. He wasn’t immediately aware of the seriousness of the injury and continued to play. Late in the game, he collided with Jaeden Zackery attempting to block a shot and tumbled facedown along the baseline. He was called for his fifth foul and went to the bench.
An X-ray and subsequent MRI confirmed the break, the school said. Treatment has not been decided, although typically it’s an injury that requires surgery.
• The Indiana Hoosiers should be at full strength when they visit No. 17 Michigan State on Saturday.
Coach Mike Woodson announced that the five players who were suspended for Tuesday night’s loss at Northwestern will be reinstated this weekend.
Starting guards Xavier Johnson and Parker Stewart were joined on the bench by backup guards Tamir Bates and Khristian Lander and center Michael Durr. All five are in Woodson’s regular rotation but sat out after an apparent curfew violation. Indiana lost to the Wildcats, 59-51.
FOOTBALL: Amid an investigation into Coach Bryan Harsin, Auburn University has implemented a new policy stating that employees can be fired for not cooperating with an investigation or review.
The new policy, which went into effect on Tuesday, states that violations “may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.” It was titled the “Employee Duty to Cooperate Policy.”
The university is looking into the football program, which has lost 18 players and five assistant coaches since the end of Harsin’s first season. The defections came after the Tigers lost their final five games and finished with a 6-7 record.
SOCCER
MLS: Dallas traded veteran defender Ryan Hollingshead to Los Angeles FC for left back Marco Farfan.
Hollingshead played in 193 regular-season matches and 11 playoff games since joining Dallas in 2014. The defender had 20 goals and 12 assists over his eight seasons.
Farfan joins Dallas after one season with LA, where he started 21 of his 29 matches.
• The LA Galaxy signed former Bayern midfielder Douglas Costa as their third designated player.
The Galaxy announced the long-planned move for the speedy veteran on a six-month loan from Gremio in his native Brazil. The 31-year-old Costa is already on loan to Gremio from Juventus, but he is expected to sign a new deal with the Galaxy later this year.
Costa had eight goals and 13 assists in 50 appearances over two seasons with Bayern from 2015-17.
GOLF
PGA: Sahith Theegala, a 24-year-old former Pepperdine star who got into the event on a sponsor exemption and played in the last group off the 10th tee Thursday in his first WM Phoenix Open start, was 7 under with two holes left when the round was suspended because of darkness to hold the lead.
K.H. Lee was second after a 6-under 65.
“The big key for me, like always in my game, is just putting my driver in the fairway,” Theegala said. “I was able to do that early and often.”
Brooks Koepka was two strokes back after a 66. Adam Hadwin and Harry Higgs matched Koepka, also the 2015 winner. Scott Stallings also was 5 under with a hole left. Top-ranked Jon Rahm topped the group at 67.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Ryan Fox shot 9-under 63 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Ras Al Khaimah Classic, the latest stop on the “Desert Swing” on the European tour on Thursday in Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates .
The 211th-ranked New Zealander’s lowest round on the tour contained 10 birdies at Al Hamra Golf Club. Ricardo Gouveia of Portugal was in outright second place after a 65, which started with five birdies in his opening seven holes.
Among the nine players in a tie for third place on 6 under was Richard Bland, who lost to Viktor Hovland in a playoff at the Dubai Desert Classic two weeks ago.
• The Indian Open was canceled and the China Open was postponed as restrictions associated with the pandemic continued to cause problems on the tour. The Indian Open had been postponed from its original scheduled date of Feb. 17 -20 but now will not take place at all in 2022. Tour officials said the event is expected to return next year.
The China Open was scheduled for April 28-May 1 but will now take place either later in 2022 or early in the 2023 season, the tour said, “due to ongoing restrictions” related to COVID-19.
LPGA: Hannah Green’s first tournament appearance since November saw her tied for the lead after one round of the Vic Open tournament at 13th Beach Golf Links in Barwon Heads, Australia.
The West Australian won the Women’s PGA tournament on the LPGA tour in 2019. She shot a six-under 67 on the par-73 Creek course on Thursday and was tied for first with Gyu Rin Kim and Karis Davidson.
Kim and Davidson shot 66s on the par-72 Beach course. The trio have a one-shot lead over Australian Whitney Hillier, who shot 67 on the Beach course.
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