Sports

By The Associated Press The National Women’s Soccer League is close to expanding by three teams in Boston, Utah and the San Francisco area. That’s according to a Friday report in the Wall Street Journal. The women’s pro league previously indicated it would expand by at least two teams by 2024. The WSJ says that

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP Associated Press IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark had 33 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 10 Iowa held off Nebraska for an 80-76 win on Saturday. It was the 10th double-double of the season for Clark, who came into the game second in the nation in scoring at 26.8 points

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Led by Davonte Sweatman’s 20 points, the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils defeated the Saint Francis (PA) Red Flash 88-74 on Saturday. The Blue Devils moved to 6-17 with the win and the Red Flash dropped to 8-13.

NEWARK, Del. — Led by Jameer Nelson Jr.’s 21 points, the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens defeated the Northeastern Huskies 81-78 on Saturday. The Fightin’ Blue Hens improved to 12-11 with the victory and the Huskies fell to 8-13.

By JOHN RABY AP Sports Writer MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Erik Stevenson scored a career-high 31 points and West Virginia withstood a furious late rally from No. 15 Auburn to beat the Tigers 80-77 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday. The Mountaineers have won two straight for the first time in a month and

By STEVE BEIDECK Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Arthur Kamula scored 20 points, Creighton’s four other starters finished in double-figures and the Bluejays toppled No. 13 Xavier 84-67 for their fourth straight Big East win. Creighton steadily built a double-digit lead throughout the game and made 34 of its 60 field goal attempts before

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Robin Duncan scored 20 points in Vermont’s 74-68 win over UMBC. Duncan also contributed seven rebounds for the Catamounts. Aaron Deloney scored 13 points and Kameron Gibson added 11. The Retrievers were led in scoring by Yaw Obeng-Mensah, who finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds and two steals.

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Chase Audige scored 24 points and Northwestern beat Minnesota 81-61 on Saturday for the Wildcats’ third straight win. Their 15th win matched last season’s total for the Wildcats and moved them into a tie for second place in the Big Ten with Rutgers. Audige shot 9 of 14 with three 3-pointers.

By DANIELLA MATAR AP Sports Writer MILAN (AP) — Lautaro Martínez has continued his rich vein of scoring form with two goals to help Inter Milan win at bottom club Cremonese 2-1 and move into second spot in Serie A. Cremonese took a surprise lead with a stunning strike from David Okereke but Martínez scored

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — While they are fighting for survival in the English Premier League, Leeds, Leicester and Southampton are advancing in the FA Cup. Securing top-flight status remains the priority for all three but the cup is providing some welcome relief from their battles against relegation. Leeds won

PARIS (AP) — Second-place Lens has extended its unbeaten run to 10 games in the French league thanks to a late equalizer from new signing Adrien Thomasson in a 1-1 draw at Troyes. The attacking midfielder netted from close range in the 88th minute after good work from striker Wesley Said.

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Pedri has scored to help Barcelona eke out a win 1-0 at Girona and increase its Spanish league lead. The Spain midfielder made his 100th club appearance at just 20 years old. Girona stymied the visitors until fellow substitute Jordi Alba found Pedri with a low

By MITCH STACY AP Sports Writer CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has two major offensive players at his fingertips in receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The two are the first pair of Bengals wideouts to gain 1,000 yards in back-to-back season since Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh in 2006 and 2007.

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports have selected Jimmie Johnson, Mike Rockenfeller and Jenson Button will drive the special Garage 56 car that will race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. Johnson has lobbied for the seat and Rockenfeller has done all

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Top-ranked Rory McIlroy and rival Patrick Reed are two shots off the lead at the halfway point of the Dubai Desert Classic. Richard Bland, Thomas Pieters and amateur Michael Thorbjornsen all reached 10-under overall at Emirates Golf Club for a share of the lead after two rounds. The weather-impacted

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — DeMeco Ryans might be in San Francisco, but he still has some influence in Philadelphia. He finished his player career there and four teammates who are still with the Eagles say they learned a lot from him. Ryans has helped put together the

By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer BERLIN (AP) — Union Berlin fans brought fire to the city derby as their team closed the gap on Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich to one point by beating Hertha Berlin 2-0. Bayern was later held 1-1 at home by Eintracht Frankfurt for its third consecutive draw. Goals either side

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer If Vegas oddsmakers are correct — and there’s a reason those casinos are huge and luxurious — then football fans are in for a treat this weekend. The NFL’s conference championship weekend is here: The Philadelphia Eagles will host the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC title while the