Wednesday April 3rd Local Sports

TODAY:
AM-1300 KGLO — Minnesota Twins at Milwaukee — pre-game 11:30, first pitch 12:10

 

CLEVELAND — Iowa coach Lisa Bluder says experience has allowed her team to handle the pressure of a postseason run. The Hawkeyes beat defending national champion LSU 94-87 Monday night in Albany to advance to their second straight Final Four, They play UConn Friday night in Cleveland in the national semifinals.

The national spotlight has been bright on the Hawkeyes this season and Bluder feels that has helped them handle the pressure of the tournament.

Bluder says the crowds the Hawkeyes have played in front of this season have prepared them for the big stage.

Bluder says the experience of being in the Final Four last season will allow them to handle the atmosphere surrounding the event.

Bluder feels her team got worn down last year by attending so many of the events at the Final Four.

The Hawkeye women’s team has shifted their focus to the next challenge and that is perennial power UConn in the Final Four in Cleveland.

That’s Iowa senior guard Caitlin Clark, who finished with 41 points and 12 rebounds in the win over LSU. The Hawkeyes will be looking to take the next step after falling in the title game last year.

The trip to the Final Four will put Clark’s Olympic dream on hold for the time being. Last week she was added to the roster of the U-S squad that will take part in training camp in Cleveland beginning Wednesday.

For now Clark is focused on winning a national title.

Friday’s game will feature Clark against UConn star Paige Bueckers. UConn legendary coach Geno Auriemma says in the past stars of the women’s game were lauded for ‘playing like a man”. Now they are appreciated for being talented.

Auriemma will try to draw up a game plan against Clark, who had 41 points and 12 assists in a Monday night victory over LSU.

The first of two national semifinals on Friday night finds top ranked South Carolina against North Carolina State.

 

 

ALBANY, NEW YORK — Caitlin Clark can claim another record — the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history. Iowa’s 94-87 victory over LSU averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen. Clark scored 41 points as the Hawkeyes avenged last year’s loss to the Tigers in the national championship game. It was one of the most-viewed games in any sport other than NFL football over the past year. Iowa-LSU outdrew all but of the five games in last year’s NBA Finals, along with the clinching game of last year’s World Series. The previous biggest audience for women’s college basketball was the 1983 national title game between Southern California and Louisiana Tech.

 

 

 

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jackson Chourio singled in a run in his first American Family Field plate appearance, Christian Yelich homered and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 to open a season with four straight wins for the first time since 2006. Chourio stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the third inning after consecutive one-out singles by Rhys Hoskins, Oliver Dunn and Brice Turang. The 20-year-old responded with an RBI single into shallow right field. Chourio, who signed an $82 million, eight-year contract in the offseason before making his big league debut, is hitting .375 (6 for 16).

 

 

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Naz Reid had 25 points and six rebounds, Anthony Edwards scored 19 points, and the Timberwolves kept up their push for the Western Conference’s No. 1 playoff seed with a 113-106 win over the Rockets on Tuesday night. Houston had a seven-game road win streak snapped. The Rockets have dropped two in a row following 11 straight victories that brought them back into the playoff picture. Houston is now two games out of the Western Conference’s final play-in position. Jalen Green led the Rockets with 26 points, five rebounds and six assists. Fred VanVleet finished with 22 points for Houston.

 

 

 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Vinni Lettieri scored the winning goal with just under seven minutes to play and the Minnesota Wild beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 to earn a crucial two points and keep their faint playoff hopes alive. Mason Shaw scored for the first time in more than a year, Matt Boldy also had a goal, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves for the Wild, who are six points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second Western Conference wild-card spot with eight games to play. Ottawa’s Drake Batherson and Jakob Chychrun each had a goal and an assist and Joonas Korpisalo made 17 saves.