No.1 Stanford crushes No.5 Missouri State 89-62

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Stanford Cardinal women advance to the Elite 8 the opponent to be determined on Tue Mar 31, 2021 (@StanfordWBB image)

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the NCAA Women’s Sweet Sixteen saw the top-ranked overall Stanford Cardinal (28-2) take on the No. 5 Missouri St. Lady Bears (23-3). Both teams were looking to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight. The Lady Bears had a huge task trying to contain the offense of the Cardinal. It wasn’t even close as the Cardinal won it by 27 points 89-62 to advance to the next round on Tuesday.

The Stanford offense, an ever evolving team thanks to the legendary Tara VanDerveer, presented the biggest problem for Missouri St. VenDerveer never settles, and continues to become better and better striving for excellence year after year.

The Stanford offense took an eight point lead after the first quarter 23-16. The Lady Bears fought hard trying contain the lethal offense of the Cardinal but they would be overwhelmed in the first half. Stanford’s offense and defense was up for the task managing the game beautifully.

The second quarter saw the Cardinal amp it up yet another level in complete control of this game. As the clock ran down on the quarter the Cardinal were firing on all cylinders knocking down three’s left and right. Stanford led 49-26 at the half. We have seen Missouri fall behind in past games only to come back and win but the stellar offensive and defensive execution of the Cardinal would challenge the Lady Bears in the second half.

Both Kiana Williams and Anna Wilson, little sis of quarterback Russell Wilson, scored ten points in the first half. Haley Jones had eight points and Lacie Hull with nine points. It was a great offensive effort for Stanford in both quarters.

Stanford was a runaway freight train in the third quarter pushing their lead to 71-37 denying Missouri at every turn. The Lady Bears had only allowed 45 points in their previous game but they were facing the best of the best, something they had not faced all tournament. This was total domination by the Cardinal.

A game is not typically called to start a fourth quarter but the writing was indelibly carved on the wall in this one. The final score was 89-62. To their credit, the Lady Bears continued to fight in this game and actually outscored Stanford in the fourth quarter 25-18.

Stanford’s Hannah Jump had an amazing 17 points off the bench with Williams finishing with 16, Wilson with 13 and Jones with 11.

Stanford now moves into the Elite Eight Tuesday, March 30, their opponent TBD.

Sacramento Kings game wrap: Kings win 5th out 6th game; Fox scores 36 in Kings 100-98 victory

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Harrison Barnes foreground middle who scored a buzzer beater to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers gets mobbed by his teammates on Sat Mar 27, 2021 at Golden One Arena in Sacramento (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Saturday night in Sacramento. The Kings had a off day on Friday night after playing the Golden State Warriors. They beat the Warriors on Thursday 141-119. On Saturday, the Cleveland Cavaliers came to town against the Kings. The Kings managed to pull out a thriller at the buzzer 100-98.

Flashback Thursday: The Kings took care of business on Thursday against the Warriors. The Warriors really never had a chance as the Kings dominated on both ends of the court. Granted, the Warriors were missing significant fire power with Steph Curry and others out. It was the Kings third win in a row.

Saturday recap: The Kings were set to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday at 7 PM PST in Sacramento.

In the first half, it was a first evenly played game. The Kings managed to outscore the Cavs 31-29 in the first quarter as neither team was playing great defense to start out the game. In the second quarter, both teams picked up their defensive effort.

The Kings were outscore by the Cavaliers 19-18 in the second quarter as neither team was able to reach 20 points in the quarter. The Kings would take a 49-48 lead into halftime as Buddy Hield had ten points in the first half.

In the second half, the game would prove to be very close until the end. The Cavs came out of the locker room and out scored the Kings 26-22 in the third quarter to take a 74-71 lead into the final quarter. If the Kings wanted to win the game they would need to do it in comeback fashion. That’s exactly what happened.

The Kings outscored the Cavs 29-24 in the final quarter to take the win by a final of 100-98. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story. The Kings were down 98-97 with 1.6 seconds left on the brink of defeat.

Thankfully for the Kings, Harrison Barnes was able to hit a buzzer beating 3-pointer to beat the Cavs at the end of regulation. The Kings have now won four games in a row and will look to continue their success in their next game.

Up Next: The Kings will spend the next week in Texas playing their first game on Monday against the San Antonio Spurs at 5:30 PM PST.

Sharks Shut Out 4-0 by Coyotes

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Arizona Coyotes right winger Phil Kessel scored a hat trick in the third period and goes for the victory skate in front of the Arizona bench on Sat Mar 27, 2021 at Gila River Arena in Glendale (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The Arizona Coyotes beat the San Jose Sharks 4-0 Saturday, thanks to a hat trick from Phil Kessel, a goal from Clayton Keller and a 34 save shut-out from Adin Hill. Devan Dubnyk made 23 saves for San Jose. The game was Patrick Marleau’s 1,756th, tying him with Mark Messier for second all-time in NHL games played.

Curtis Gabriel took a five minute major at 7:02 of the third period, with an open ice hit that was called for interference. He was also given a game misconduct. That was his third penalty of the game, and the Sharks’ second penalty of the period. In addition to those, the Sharks started the period killing most of a late second-period penalty . They killed off all of those and two more penalties in the third.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said that the game really hinged on those third period penalties:

“We held them to 13 shots after two periods, albeit we were down 2-0. I think that, you know, defensively we had a couple breakdowns and they had a bunch as well. We couldn’t capitalize on ours. But then, you spend the whole third period killing, it’s very tough obviously to catch up.”

The first period was scoreless. The Sharks had one power play and managed 6 shots with the man advantage. Overall, the Sharks outshot the Coyotes 17-9.

The Sharks out-shot the Coyotes in the second period as well, 9-5, but gave up two goals. The first came at 5:49 after Clayton Keller jumped on a neutral zone turnover. He skated to the other end and had a clear lane to shoot at Dubnyk.

Phil Kessell scored his first of the game on the power play at 14:16. He caught Oliver Ekman-Larssen’s pass at the point and then skated in, taking a shot from just above the face-off circle. Christian Fischer was right in front of Dubnyk creating an excellent screen. Assists went to Ekman-Larssen and Keller.

The Coyotes had two power plays in the second period, but got credit for just one shot in those power plays.

Phil Kessel’s second goal of the game came just as the third Sharks penalty expired. Kessel caught a rebound and then pushed it past Dubnyk’s leg. Assists went to Christian Dvorak and Alex Goligoski.

The Sharks used a coach’s challenge on the goal, arguing that Kessel pushed Dubnyk’s leg out of the way with his stick before pushing the puck in. The NHL did not see it that way and allowed the goal. That unsuccessful challenge triggered the Sharks’ fourth penalty of the period.

After the game, Dubnyk talked about that call:

“I was told that that was Phil Kessel’s follow-through, continued motion of a follow through. Which, you guys watched the play, I watched the play a bunch on the jumbotron. If you’re going to sit here and honestly tell me that’s the guy’s follow-through, that’s tough. And if he would have shoved my pad into the net with the puck underneath it, would it have counted? If the answer is no then the answer is that shouldn’t have counted either.”

Kessell’s third goal came at 17:28 into an empty net. He got that puck after a failed neutral zone pass from Erik Karlsson. Assists went to Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz.

The Coyotes out-shot the Sharks in the third, 13-8. The Sharks won 53% of the face-offs in the game, and took a total of 29 penalty minutes to the Coyotes’ 6.

The Sharks next play Monday against the Minnesota Wild in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda struggling with Condors face them again on Tuesday night

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The San Jose Barracuda forward Jeffrey Viel has been recalled to the San Jose Sharks, Viel played 17 games with the Barracuda. (@ sjbarracuda photo)

#1 The San Jose Barracuda (6-6-4-1) had the opening volley against the Bakersfield Condors (11-6-0-1) in the first period to take a 1-0 lead but the Condors were able to overtake the Barracuda for a 4-3 win in a shootout last Wed Mar 24th at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield.

#2 Condors goalie Stuart Skinner owns the Barracuda with a career 10-2 record and 5-0 for the season the Barracuda are having a hard time figuring Skinner and the Condors out.

#3 The Barracuda goalie Sam Harvey while allowing four goals did save 37 shots on Wednesday do you see Harvey getting some starts from head coach Roy Sommer?

#4 Stefan Noesen long time in waiting scored his first AHL goal since Nov 2019 when he did it with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins it was Noesen’s first goal in seven games for the Barracuda.

#5 The Barracuda had a six day rest and get back to work against the Condors again at Mechanic Bank Arena in Bakersfield on Tue Mar 30th. Seeing how the Cuda have struggled against the Condors all season how do you see this match up on Tuesday night at 6:00pm.

Join Marko for the Barracuda podcasts each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Jose Sharks podcast with Matt Harrington: Sharks need to improve from last meeting with Yotes

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The Arizona Coyotes Christian Dvorak center (18) puts one on net against the San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones . Dvorak scored twice in Fri Mar 26, 2021 game at Gila River Arena in Glendale (AP News photo)

#1 The San Jose Sharks (13-4-4) after getting out of their last four game losing streak have now lost two of their last four games and head coach Bob Boughner says that the team is just simply not competing.

#2 The Arizona Coyotes (14-14-5) and Sharks in a 2-2 tie in the third period but once again like some the most recent games the Sharks defense opened the flood gates and the Coyotes ended up scoring three goals in the third period.

#3 . Patrick Marleau scored his 564th goal, tying him for 23rd all-time in NHL goal scoring. Friday’s game was also Phil Kessel’s 1100th NHL appearance.

#4 The Sharks made a poor showing in the first period, registering just four shots on goal. Their second period showed some hope, starting with an early short-handed goal from Tomas Hertl, but then came unraveled in the third.

#5 Sharks will try it all over again as they face the Coyotes in game 2 of this two series at Gila River Arena in Glendale tonight at 7:00pm can the Sharks make it a closer game than Friday night’s game?

Join Matt for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Lose 5-2 to Coyotes

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 5-2 to the Coyotes in Arizona Friday. Coyotes goals came from Nick Schmaltz, Christian Dvorak (2), Dryden Hunt and Phil Kessel. Their goaltender, Aiden Hill, made 20 saves for the win. Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau scored for San Jose and Martin Jones made 23 saves in the loss. Patrick Marleau scored his 564th goal, tying him for 23rd all-time in NHL goal scoring. Friday’s game was also Phil Kessel’s 1100th NHL appearance.

The Sharks made a poor showing in the first period, registering just four shots on goal. Their second period showed some hope, starting with an early short-handed goal from Tomas Hertl, but then came unraveled in the third. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“I didn’t like our compete in the offensive zone, I didn’t like our compete all over the ice to be honest with you. I didn’t think it was good enough for a game like this. I thought that we weren’t physical enough, we didn’t stop them, we didn’t stop their feet enough.”

The first period saw just one goal scored, from Christian Dvorak at 6:20. Christian Fischer passed the puck behind the net to Conor Garland, who sent it up front for Dvorak. Assists went to Conor Garland and Christian Fischer.

The Coyotes outshot the Sharks 12-4 in a penalty-free first period.

Tomas Hertl’s short-handed goal came at the end of the Sharks’ first penalty of the second period. Hertl broke away with Evander Kane backing him up. He made a beeline for the net and no one got in his way. The assist went to Erik Karlsson.

The Coyotes took the lead back at the end of the period with a goal from Nick Schmaltz. Ilya Lyubushkin sent the puck to the net from the point and Schmaltz was able to tip it in as he arrived in front of the net. Assists went to Lyubushkin and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

The teams were dead even in shots during the second period, with 10 each. The Coyotes had two power plays, but the Sharks penalty kill allowed just one shot.

Christian Dvorak scored the Coyotes’ third goal of the night, at 7:48 of the third. Dvorak intercepted a pass from Brent Burns and no one could catch him as he made his way to the net.

Dryden Hunt made it 4-1 at 9:08. Hunt took advantage of a rebound off a Lawson Crouse shot. Assists went to Crouse and Derick Brassard. Boughner challenged the goal for goaltender interference. Crouse’s stick did touch Jones’ leg as he skated by and it may have caused Jones to spin the wrong way. In any case, the goal was allowed and that put the Sharks on the penalty kill.

Phil Kessel made it 5-1 at 9:59, during the ensuing power play. Clayton Keller’s pass from near the goal line found Kessel in the slot. Assists went to Keller and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Patrick Marleau scored on the power play at 12:30. Coyotes goalie Aiden Hill had gone behind the net to gather up the puck but he lost it. He was still trying to get back into the net when Marleau snatched the puck up and put it over the line. Assists went to Mario Ferraro and Timo Meier.

Each team took two penalties in the third period. The Sharks got one shot in their power plays and scored on that one. The Coyotes got two shots on their power plays and scored with one. The Sharks held a small lead in third period shots, 8-6. The Sharks won 52% of the face-offs in the game.

Radim Simek was pushed into the boards midway through the third period. He was able to skate back to the bench but he went to the locker room after that. The hit was penalized as boarding. There was no update after the game.

The Sharks next play on Saturday against the Coyotes in Arizona, at 7:00 PM PT.

Hawks cruise to an easy 124-108 win over the Warriors

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The visiting Atlanta Hawks displayed a potent offense as they sent the Golden State Warriors down to their fourth straight defeat 124-108. For the second night in a row, the Warriors had no answers to stop the Hawks’ attack.

It seemed as if it were deja vu all over again as the Hawks scored 70 points in the first half to lead by 18 points 70-52. The Sacramento Kings scored 71 points Thursday night against Golden State. The Warriors could not get anything going on either end of the court. The Hawks shot a blistering 65% from the floor. They were 6-for-11 from the three-point arc. They outrebounded the Warriors 29-14. The Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins was the only player in double figures with 17 points. The Hawks were paced by power forward John Collins and point guard Trae Young, and each had 16 points. 

The Warriors played better in the second half. They outscored the Hawks 56-54, but it was not enough to overcome the 18-point halftime deficit. The Hawks scored 30 or more points in the first three quarters. The Kings scored 30 or more points in all four quarters against the Warriors Thursday night. The streak ended when the Warriors held the Hawks to 24 in the fourth quarter. 

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors are now 22-24 for the year. Atlanta improved to 23-22.

Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors with 29 points. He made four threes. Rookie James Wiseman played much better Friday night. His stat line was 18 points and five rebounds. Jordan Poole had 15 points, Kelly Oubre had 14 points, and Nico Mannion had 10 points. In his first game in a week, Eric Paschall recorded eight points in eight minutes on the court. Draymond Green recorded nine assists. Draymond, for some unknown reason, did not attempt a shot.

The Warriors shot 50% from the floor and made 12 threes in 28 tries. 

The Hawks outrebounded them 52-38. The Hawks’ defense forced 14 Warrior turnovers, and the Hawks scored 22 points due to the miscues.

The Warriors’ defense could not stop John Collins. The big forward had a double-double with a career-high 38 points and 12 rebounds. He connected on four threes in five attempts. Two other Hawk players finished the night with a double-double. Their big center, Clint Capela, recorded 18 points and 15 boards. Capela was 8-for-10 from the floor. Trae Young had 21 points and 15 assists. Former Sacramento King, Bogdan Bogdanovic, had 11 points. Danilo Gallinari added 12 points.

The Warriors are 1-6 without Steph Curry in the lineup and are 3-9 in their last 12 games.

Up Next: The Warriors are off until Monday night when they play the revamped Chicago Bulls. The game will start at 7 pm PST.

Kings Acquire Harkless, Silva and Wright

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Photo credit: heatnation.com

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings got right to work with some trades that could help them with a playoff push.  They are currently in 11th place behind 10th place Golden State after beating them Thursday 141-119.  

The Heat acquired Nemanja Bjelica hoping to provide some front court shooting and rebounding.  Many feel that this is a strong move for the Heat, but just what will it do for the Kings? In this trade, the Kings got Moe Harkless and Chris Silva. Both of these players have not played a lot of games with the Heat. Each of them has only played 11 games apiece.  Harkless started at power forward on opening night, but has been out of the rotation since then for the most part.  Kind of leaves you scratching your head. The Kings need a lot of help from the bench and the hopes are that Harkless can provide that help.

So with this trade, Harkless could possibly help the Kings biggest weakness and that is their defense.  The Kings also got five years younger in this transaction.

The Detroit Pistons have sent Delon Wright to the Kings for Cory Joseph and two second-round picks.  Wright will turn 29 in a month and thought to be the better player of the two.  He is averaging 10.4 points a game.  He is also shooting at almost35 percent from three point range.  So we have Wright as a defender off the bench, again where so much help is needed.  

So we will see if these trades can do anything for the anemic defense that Sacramento has exhibited all season as well as more productivity off the bench.  Improvement in these two departments will make a nice difference in the King lineup. 

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Gausman to open in Seattle Apr 1; Cueto to start home opener Apr 9

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Kevin Gausman gets the call to start against the Seattle Mariners on Apr 1, 2021 in Seattle is seen here throwing against the Colorado Rockies on Aug 4, 2020 (AP file photo)

#1 San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler will be going with starter Kevin Gausman for opening day in Seattle on April 1st. Gausman this spring is 0-1 with an ERA 5.63. Gausman made 12 appearances with the Giants and had an ERA of 3.62 last season.

#2 Kapler said that Guasman has had some lights out performances in spring and is honored to name him as the starting pitcher for opening day.

#3 Kapler also named pitcher Johnny Cueto as his starting pitcher for the home opener on April 9th. Kapler realizing Cueto has been with the team the longest deserved to have a conversation as to why Kapler went with Gausman on April 1st.

#4 Heliot Ramos the Giants outfielder may not be all the way there yet according to Kapler but don’t be surprised to see Ramos back on the parent club’s roster early in the regular season. Ramos this spring is hitting .387 with six RBIs.

#5 Giants first baseman Brandon Belt has been through the mill in the off season with Covid and Mono and has had only one at bat this spring. What will be expected for Belt in his return and has his recovery been slow?

Join Michael Duca for the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings game wrap: Fox can’t be stopped by Golden State in 141-119 win

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The Sacramento Kings De’Aaron Fox (5) defends against the Golden State Warriors Andrew Wiggins (right) laying up for the score at Golden One Arena in Sacramento on Thu Mar 25, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

Sacramento Kings beat writer

The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Thursday night which would be the second night of a back to back. The first night was against the Atlanta Hawks in which the Kings came away with a win. On Thursday, the Kings beat the Golden State Warriors by a final of 141-119.

Flashback Wednesday: The Kings took on the Atlanta Hawks a day prior on Wednesday. The Kings and Hawks played a seemingly evenly matched game that saw both sides shine and both side struggle. The Kings offense was fairly consistent throughout the game as De’Aaron Fox scored 37 points. The defense was not as consistent and almost cost the Kings the game in the end. The Kings were able to defeat the Hawks by a final of 110-108.

Thursday night recap: The Kings were set to take on the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night at 7 PM PST in Sacramento. 

Neither team came into the game as a playoff team. The Warriors are on the fringe if the season ended today they would get a chance at the play in tournament. They are low on momentum having gone 3-7 in their last ten games. The Kings however have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games and appear to be showing a little life. The Kings would look to keep that momentum going against a team two spots above them in the standings. 

In the first half, both teams had up and down quarters. The Kings were outscored by the Warriors in a high powered first quarter 37-37. At this point neither team seemed they wanted to play any defense. In the second quarter, the Kings offense took off and the defense was better. The Kings outscored the Warriors 37-24 in the second as De’Aaron Fox finished the half with 25 points. The Kings led at halftime 72-61.

In the second half, The Kings took off with the game. The Kings scored 34 third quarter points compared to the Warriors 25. That would vault the Kings into a 20 point 106-86 advantage heading into the final 12 minutes. In the fourth, the Kings were able to seal the deal.

They outscored the Warriors 35-33 in the final quarter and were able to take the game by the final of 141-119. De’Aaron Fox continued his tremendous play of late finishing as the games leading scorer with 44 points. Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors in defeat with 26 points. The Kings will look to continue this winning formula at home in their next game.

Up Next: The Kings will stay home to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday at 7 PM PST in Sacramento.