CALLOWAY GIRLS SEASON ENDS IN REGION 1 SEMIFINALS
Calloway County’s quest for a spot in the Girls Region 1 Championship game ended last night with a 64-54 loss to McCracken County. Skylar Waller poured in 33 points to pace the Lady Lakers with Elle Carson adding 11 points. Calloway ends the season with a record of 19-7 while McCracken County improves to 15-7. In the early game, Marshall County breezed to a 51-29 win over Graves County. The Lady Marshals improved to 21-2 while the Lady Eagles season ended at 19-4. Cayson Conner led Marshall County with 13 points. McCracken County and Marshall County will play at 3 pm tomorrow for the Region 1 girls championship.
MURRAY HIGH BOYS BATTLE TILGHMAN IN R1 SEMIS
Tonight, the 16-7 Murray High boys will try to advance one step closer to the Sweet 16 when they face 18-5 Paducah Tilghman at 5:30 in semifinal action at the CFSB Center. In the only meeting of the season back on January 19, the Tigers edged the Blue Tornado 56-52. In the nightcap, 20-6 McCracken County battles 12-9 Marshall County at 8 pm. Tonight’s winners meet in tomorrow night’s 6 pm championship game.
BOYS REGION 2 TOURNAMENT
Madisonville 66, Hopkinsville 65
RACERS READY FOR IMPROVING EASTERN ILLINOIS
The 17th-ranked Murray State football team welcomes Eastern Illinois to Roy Stewart Stadium at 2 pm Sunday, as the Racers look to start the season 5-0 for the first time since 1995. 1-3 Eastern Illinois picked up its first win of the season last week, holding off a late surge from Tennessee Tech for a 28-20 win. The Panthers boast one of the nation’s best rush defenses allowing just 92 yards per game on the ground while true freshman Otto Kuhns has started each of the past two games at quarterback where he has tossed four touchdown passes and two interceptions. Racer head coach Dean Hood sees a Panther team that has improved each week this season. Airtime for Sunday’s game is set for 1:30 pm on FROGGY 103.7. In other OVC games on Sunday: Austin Peay visits #7 Jacksonville State, Tennessee Tech is at Southeast Missouri, and UT Martin travels to Tennessee State.
RACER SOCCER,BASEBALL, AND VOLLEYBALL ON THE ROAD; SOFTBALL AT HOME
Murray State soccer plays at SIUE tonight at 7. The Racers are 6-1 and leading the OVC with 18 points, while the Cougars are 5-0-1 and tied in second place with Southeast Missouri with 16 points…Racer softball opens a three game home series with 3 pm and 5 pm games today against Tennessee State. The series concludes with a noon game tomorrow at Racer Field…The Racer baseball team steps out of league play when they play at Memphis tonight at 6 in the first of a three game series. The teams also play Saturday at 2 pm and Sunday at 1 pm…Racer volleyball wraps up the season at Southeast Missouri with matches Sunday night at 7 and Monday afternoon at 2.
FLETCHER HONORED BY OVC
Murray State’s Meghan Fletcher is the OVC Female Field Athlete of the Week after taking first place in the high jump event at SIU’s Bill Cornell Classic. Fletcher set a new personal-record in the event with a mark of 1.73 meters in the first outdoor meet of the 2021 season and the mark is first in the OVC. To add to her accomplishments over the weekend, Fletcher sits in fifth place overall in the NCAA East Region. Fletcher and the rest of the Racers will host their annual Margaret Simmons Invitational this weekend on the Marshall Gage Track inside Stewart Stadium with throwing events taking place at Hamilton Field.
MEMPHIS ADVANCES, WKU OUT IN NIT
The Memphis Tigers nipped Boise State 59-56 in the NIT quarterfinals. Memphis will meet Colorado State in the semis tomorrow. The championship game is Sunday. Western Kentucky lost its quarterfinal game 72-65 to Louisiana Tech.
LOUISVILLE VS OREGON IN NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNEY
Louisville will meet Oregon on Sunday night in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tourney in San Antonio. The 25-3 Cardinals beat Northwestern to advance.
AREA HOCKEY ROUNDUP
Rocco Grimaldi scored four Nashville goals in a 7-1 win over the Red Wings at Bridgestone Arena. He entered the game with three goals this season and without a point in 15 games. The Preds play tomorrow night and Sunday in Chicago. The Blues failed to scored on 37 shot attempts in a 2-0 loss to the Wild in St. Paul. St. Louis dropped its second game in a row and seventh in nine games. They host the Ducks tonight.
MEMPHIS AT UTAH TONIGHT
The Grizzlies play tonight and tomorrow at Utah. Memphis beat Oklahoma City Wednesday on the road for its third straight win. The Grizz are 21-20 and will also play Monday at Houston before returning home.
CARDINALS LOSE
The Cardinals were shutout, 3-0, by the Astros in West Palm Beach, Florida. Daniel Ponce de Leon was tagged with the loss after giving up three runs in four and a third. Tommy Edman and Nolan Arenado recorded St. Louis’ only two hits. The Cards host the Marlins tomorrow. Following last night’s game, the St. Louis Cardinals announced that they have optioned or re-assigned eight players, reducing the number of players in Major League camp to 36. The team optioned pitcher Johan Oviedo and re-assigned pitchers Jesũs Cruz, Evan Kruczynski, Matthew Liberatore, Zack Thompson and Tommy Parsons, infielder Nolan Gorman and outfielder Matt Szczur.
KENTUCKY DERBY TICKETS ON SALE TODAY
Kentucky Derby tickets go on sale today. COVID precautions and restrictions will be in place for both the Derby and Kentucky Oaks. All seats this year are all inclusive, meaning they include both drinks and food so people don’t have to stand in line or exchange money. They go on sale at noon on Ticketmaster.
SALTER SUSPENDED
A highly regarded quarterback in Tennessee’s 2021 recruiting class isn’t participating in spring practice. Texan Kaidon Salter is serving an indefinite suspension and didn’t participate in practice yesterday. Salter is among four Vols suspended following an alleged drug-related offense at a residence hall earlier this month. Salter was the only one not identified in a police log due to being a minor.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
The Heat are adding Victor Oladipo from Houston. ESPN reports Miami has agreed to acquire the guard in a trade with the Rockets. Houston will receive Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk, and 2022 first-round swap rights that includes Brooklyn’s pick.
The Bulls are adding an All-Star center to their lineup. Chicago has acquired Nikola Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu from Orlando for Wendall Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., and two first-round picks. Vucevic is averaging a career-high 24.5 points per game this season.
Veteran guard Rajon Rondo is heading back to Los Angeles, but this time to the Clippers. ESPN reports LA is acquiring Rondo from Atlanta in exchange for former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams. The Hawks also get two future second-round picks from the Clippers.
The NCAA Tournament resumes tomorrow with the start of the Sweet 16. Top-seeded Baylor battles Villanova, Houston plays Syracuse, Arkansas meets Oral Roberts, and Loyola Chicago faces Oregon State. Four more games are on Sunday. The Elite Eight starts on Monday.
The White Sox may not have slugger Eloy Jimenez this season. He ruptured a pectoral tendon while leaping for a ball at the fence in Wednesday’s spring game against the A’s. GM Rick Hahn says Jimenez needs surgery, which is expected to sideline him five-to-six months.
THURSDAY’S SCOREBOARD
NBA
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Portland Trail Blazers 125, Miami Heat 122
New York Knicks 106, Washington Wizards 102
LA Clippers 98, San Antonio Spurs 85
Philadelphia 76ers 109, Los Angeles Lakers 101
Sacramento Kings 141, Golden State Warriors 119
NHL
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New York Islanders 4, Boston Bruins 3 (OT)
New York Rangers 8, Philadelphia Flyers 3
Washington Capitals 4, New Jersey Devils 3
Carolina Hurricanes 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 3 (OT)
Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Ottawa Senators 2 (OT)
Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Buffalo Sabres 0
Chicago Blackhawks 3, Florida Panthers 0
Nashville Predators 7, Detroit Red Wings 1
Minnesota Wild 2, St. Louis Blues 0
Dallas Stars 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 3
Colorado Avalanche 5, Vegas Golden Knights 1
MLB Grapefruit League
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Atlanta Braves 5, Tampa Bay Rays 2
Minnesota Twins 7, Boston Red Sox 4
Philadelphia Phillies 13, New York Yankees 12
Baltimore Orioles 10, Pittsburgh Pirates 9
Houston Astros 3, St. Louis Cardinals 0
Miami Marlins 7, Washington Nationals 3
Detroit Tigers 3, Toronto Blue Jays 3
MLB Cactus League
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Kansas City Royals 10, Arizona Diamondbacks 1
Chicago White Sox 9, Cincinnati Reds 4
Oakland Athletics 8, Seattle Mariners 5
Colorado Rockies 6, Los Angeles Angels 5
Los Angeles Dodgers 5, Chicago Cubs 2
San Diego Padres 11, Texas Rangers 10
Milwaukee Brewers 2, San Francisco Giants 2
NCAA Tournament
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No Games Scheduled
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
NBA
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7:00 p.m. – Brooklyn Nets at Detroit Pistons
7:30 p.m. – Phoenix Suns at Toronto Raptors (at Tampa, FL)
7:30 p.m. – Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks
8:00 p.m. – Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets
8:00 p.m. – Portland Trail Blazers at Orlando Magic
8:00 p.m. – Houston Rockets at Minnesota Timberwolves
8:00 p.m. – Denver Nuggets at New Orleans Pelicans
8:30 p.m. – Indiana Pacers at Dallas Mavericks
9:00 p.m. – Memphis Grizzlies at Utah Jazz
10:00 p.m. – Atlanta Hawks at Golden State Warriors
10:30 p.m. – Cleveland Cavaliers at Los Angeles Lakers
NHL
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7:00 p.m. – New Jersey Devils at Washington Capitals
8:00 p.m. – Anaheim Ducks at St. Louis Blues
10:00 p.m. – Winnipeg Jets at Calgary Flames
10:00 p.m. – San Jose Sharks at Arizona Coyotes
MLB Grapefruit League
——
1:05 p.m. – Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays
1:05 p.m. – Detroit Tigers at Pittsburgh Pirates
6:05 p.m. – Atlanta Braves at Minnesota Twins
6:05 p.m. – Miami Marlins at Houston Astros
6:10 p.m. – Washington Nationals at New York Mets
6:35 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
6:37 p.m. – Philadelphia Phillies at Toronto Blue Jays
MLB Cactus League
——
4:05 p.m. – Colorado Rockies at Cleveland Indians
4:05 p.m. – San Francisco Giants at Chicago Cubs
4:10 p.m. – Chicago White Sox at Milwaukee Brewers
4:10 p.m. – Cincinnati Reds at Arizona Diamondbacks
9:05 p.m. – Kansas City Royals at Texas Rangers
9:05 p.m. – Oakland Athletics at Los Angeles Dodgers
9:40 p.m. – Seattle Mariners at San Diego Padres
NCAA Tournament (Sweet 16)
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No Games Scheduled
PGA
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WGC – Dell Technologies Match Play (at Austin, TX)
