Knights Fall Short in Final Home Game to WVU, 74-62 — and more

The final home game of the year for UCF Knights Women’s Basketball on Wednesday was an occasion not only because they were hosting the #17 West Virginia Mountaineers, but it was also senior night. After celebrating Jacorriah Bracey and Kristol Ayson’s final appearance at Addition Financial Arena during pregame, the Knights fought hard in a 74-62 loss.

Strong First Quarter

On February 11th, UCF lost to the Mountaineers in a 50-point blowout on the road. The start of this rematch at home was much stronger for the Knights, who led after the 1st quarter, 16-14. Ayson made her impact early, scoring four of her 12 points on the night in that time. However, it was Mahogany Chandler-Roberts dropping six of her nine points while Khyala Ngodu led UCF’s effort to dominate on the glass with six of the nine UCF rebounds to WVU’s three in the quarter.

Perhaps more impressive of all for the Knights was their ability to break the full-court press early. Throughout the first and second quarters, the Mountaineers covered UCF the length of the court. However, UCF broke through by minimizing mistakes. . . at first

However, as the game wore on and subs rotated in, West Virginia was able to sneak in a few easy baskets on mistakes with 10 points off turnovers in the first half. Despite that, the Knights held on to the lead after the first half, 27-25.

Third Quarter Crumble

As WVU persisted in defending the length of the hardwood and wore the Knights down to pull away. They forced eight points off turnovers in the third quarter alone. This was a key factor in their winning that period 31-9 for a 56-36 lead heading into the 4th quarter. The Mountaineers also hit 13 of their 17 shot attempts in that time including hitting all three of their three-point attempts beyond the arc.

Gia Cooke was West Virginia’s top scorer with 19 points, including four of her seven shots connecting from three-point range. However, Jordan Harrison may have been the force that did the Knight in ultimately with her 16 points and seven assists, sinking six of her seven attempts from the floor.

The Knights outscored their visitors 26-18 in the final quarter with Ngodu leading the charge with multiple continuations scoring in the paint. She finished with 21 points with nine rebounds in a performance where she hit all seven of her free throws in the contest.

UCF won the first and fourth quarter while tying in the second with the17th-ranked team in the nation — and it still wasn’t enough to overcome the struggles of the third quarter.

The Final Road

The final game of the regular season before the conference tournament has the Knights traveling to battle the Houston Cougars on Sunday at 3 pm ET. A win there would have UCF matching last year’s win total heading into postseason play.

When asked what her squad needed to do to head out on a high note, head coach Sytia Messer’s message was clear. “Defense travels — so we are going to take our defense and travel with the intensity we had defensively. And in Houston we have to take care of the ball; so it was good to see the pressure we have tonight and coming up because against Houston, because [the Cougars] do a good job of making you take quick shots. . .”

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kevin Porter Jr. had 20 points, Ryan Rollins added 18 and the Milwaukee Bucks held off the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 118-116 on Wednesday night for their fifth victory in six games.

The Cavaliers appeared to tie it on Jarrett Allen’s basket underneath at the buzzer, but it was ruled that time had expired. Allen had 27 points and 11 rebounds.

Cleveland was without James Harden after he broke his right thumb Tuesday night in a home victory over New York. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley also sat out, with Mitchell nursing a strained right groin. Giannis Antetokounmpo missed his 13th consecutive game for the Bucks because of a strained right calf.

Jaylon Tyson pulled the Cavaliers to 116-114 with two free throws. After Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma missed a 3-pointer, Dennis Schroder scored from the right side of the lane to tie it 116 with 35.6 seconds left. Porter hit a free-throw line jumper to put the Bucks up 118-116 with 20.2 seconds remaining.

Schroder, acquired from Sacramento on Feb. 1, had 26 points, his most in nine games with the Cavaliers.

Cleveland lost for the second time in 10 games to drop into fourth place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind New York.

Up next

Cavaliers: At Detroit on Friday night.

Bucks: Host New York on Friday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

St John's misses final 24 FGs in UConn's 32-point rout originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Rick Pitino might have a thing or two to tell his team on Wednesday night. 

The St John's coach witnessed a terrible second half, which included his team missing the final 24 shots from the field in a 72-40 blowout by No. 6 UConn. It was the worst shooting performance in a game by a ranked team in eight seasons, according to ESPN insights. They also missed 12 consecutive shots in the first half.

The Huskies (26-3) took a 41-26 halftime lead and didn't let up off the gas in the second half. Tarris Reed Jr. had 20 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks in the contest.

The 15th-ranked Red Storm (22-6) was held to just 11-56 (20 %) shooting on the night. The last field goal came with 17:28 left on a layup by Zuby Ejiofor. Joson Sanon was the only St. John's player in double figures with 10 points all in the first half.  

Before the game, Pitino and his team were riding a 13-game winning streak. However, this was a far cry from the 81-72 win over UConn at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 6. 

More:Rick Pitino's 'boomer hot take' about his St John's players didn't land well

This was the largest defeat by a Pitino-led St. John's squad during his tenure. It was also their fewest points in a game since a 66-40 loss at Notre Dame in March 2013.

As for the starting five, UConn outscored the Red Storm 61-28. One night to forget but likely will be front and center come tournament selection time. 

More college basketball news:

• Adrian Autry buyout, contract details as Syracuse Orange coach
• Darryn Peterson situation not alarming to NBA teams, ESPN insider says
• AJ Dybantsa makes college basketball history never done by NBA stars
• John Calipari says college athletics is broken — Here’s his plan to fix it
• Bill Self sends clear message to Darryn Peterson over ducking out of games

Why Connor Hellebuyck isn't playing tonight for Jets after Olympics originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Connor Hellebuyck is now officially a gold medalist.

The Team USA hero in goal made 41 saves in the gold medal game against Canada, only allowing one puck to cross the line.

Now, he's set to return to NHL action with the Winnipeg Jets. Well, almost.

Hellebuyck isn't playing on Wednesday night against the Vancouver Canucks.

MORE: Sidney Crosby breaks silence on injury, Olympics and rest of Penguins' season

Why isn't Connor Hellebuyck playing tonight?

Reports have indicated that Hellebuyck will meet the Jets in California, where they play the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night. This might've been the plan all along.

Hellebuyck is getting some extra rest.

He was in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday night, where he was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Donald Trump.

It's a rare honor that has only been given to 15 athletes.

Hellebuyck's play in net to stave off the Canadians and earn the gold medal apparently earned him that medal, too.

The Jets didn't want to rush him back and likely figured it made more sense to keep Hellebuyck fresh for the stretch run. They'll need to lean on him a lot, so a day or two more to recharge might be crucial in the long run.

More NHL news:

• Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs now forced to face tough reality
• Jack Hughes has forever changed his value
• Zach Werenski made 'the play before The Play'
• Connor Hellebuyck has changed his story forever
• Alex Ovechkin has shared an update on his retirement plans
• Evgeni Malkin gets big news on a possible future