Nneka Ogwumike sealed the Los Angeles Sparks’ 85-83 win over the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday, sinking the putback after her own missed shot to give her side the lead with eight seconds left on the clock.

Ogwumike finished the night with 16 points, five rebounds and two assists, while Liz Cambage added 15 points and three rebounds to the Sparks’ tally.

Chennedy Carter led all scorers in her first start with Los Angeles, notching an impressive 20 points behind 53.3 percent shooting, six rebounds and four assists.

Kayla McBride led the Lynx with 19 points, while Sylvia Fowles and Aerial Powers each added 15 points for Minnesota.

The Sparks, however, were able to hold off Minnesota down the stretch to improve to 4-6 on the season as the Lynx fell to 1-7.

 

OL Reign extended its unbeaten streak to five games, logging its second straight win with a 1-0 victory over first-place San Diego Wave on Sunday.

The match was gridlocked until late in the second half, when an OL Reign set-piece provided the home team the go-ahead goal.

Sofia Huerta lined up over the ball for a free kick on the flank, just outside the box. The Reign outside back whipped in a well-placed service, with Rose Lavelle making the diving header to power the ball past Wave keeper Kailen Sheridan and put her side up 1-0.

Sunday’s matchup also marked reigning MVP Jess Fishlock’s 150th regular-season appearance. She is closing in on teammate Lauren Barnes, who holds the Reign record for games played.

OL Reign’s shutout is the club’s fourth clean sheet in a row, a streak it will look to build on when it travels to Toyota Park to take on the Chicago Red Stars next Saturday.

Lyon added more hardware to its growing trophy cabinet, claiming the French league title with a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.

The victory marks Lyon’s 15th French league championship. The club reclaimed the top spot after PSG upset Lyon last season for the title.

USWNT star Catarina Macario scored the game-winning goal for Lyon, opening her account in the third minute. The American striker made a darting run up the flank to get in behind the PSG backline before beating the goalkeeper with a far-post rocket.

Macario finished the 2021-2022 league campaign with 13 goals and five assists in 18 matches played. Her goals tally is the second-most in the league behind PSG’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who logged 18 and four assists in 20 games played.

Lyon’s league title comes after the French side defeated powerhouse Barcelona for the Champions League trophy on May 21.

Northwestern is heading to the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2007 after taking down Arizona State Sunday in a thrilling comeback victory.

The Wildcats rebounded from a five-run deficit to charge to an 8-6 victory over the Sun Devils in Sunday’s Super Regional matchup.

Northwestern got off to a slow start, trailing 5-0 at the end of three innings before the Wildcats’ offense got going in the fourth. Scoring four runs followed by one in the fifth and sixth, Northwestern took the late lead. The Wildcats secured their win with two additional runs in the seventh.

Jordyn Rudd led the team’s offense, hitting three RBIs, while Hannah Cady slammed her 10th home run of the season.

The Wildcats will face defending champion Oklahoma in the opening game of the WCWS on June 2 at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The North Carolina women’s lacrosse team held off a persistent Boston College squad in a drama-filled final to clinch the national lacrosse championship.

The 12-11 victory against the Eagles caps off an undefeated season from the Tar Heels (22-0), making North Carolina the first undefeated champions since 2017.

Sunday’s final was a back-and-forth affair, with Boston College and North Carolina trading goals. The teams were knotted 8-8 heading into the fourth quarter.

The third frame was all BC, with goalie Rachel Hall notching eight saves in the second half to swing the momentum in the Eagles’ favor. Charlotte North led all players in goals with four, pulling Boston College to an 8-7 lead before the Tar Heels responded at the end of the quarter.

North Carolina, though, captured the momentum down the stretch.

The Tar Heels took the lead with five minutes and 26 seconds on the clock before adding another goal with 2:20 remaining. That marked the first time in more than twenty minutes that either team had led by more than a goal.

The Tar Heels’ late advantage endured despite a crafty offensive maneuver from BC’s Cassidy Weeks to pull the eagles within one goal with 14 seconds left on the clock.

North Carolina, however, won possession on the ensuing faceoff to deny Boston College of back-to-back titles.

The national championship marks the Tar Heels’ third title since 2013 and their first since 2016.

The Connecticut Sun went on a 17-5 run through the last five minutes of their Saturday night matchup with Washington to clinch a 79-71 win over the Mystics.

DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas and Courtney Williams all notched 14 points to overpower the Mystics down the stretch.

Connecticut, led by assistant Chris Koclanes as coach Curt Miller is out due to COVID-19 protocols, outshot Washington 49.1 percent to 40 percent from the field while also outrebounding the Mystics 41-19.

“I think rebounding has always been our identity,” Thomas said. “We’ve kind of been lacking to start the season, so definitely one of the things we want to pick up, and it’s been a huge emphasis for us. We played good defense, and we were allowing teams to get offensive rebounds, so it was important for all of us … to come in and secure the rebounds when we’re working that hard.”

Off the court, Connecticut and Washington joined forces, using their platforms during the game to bring awareness to gun violence after the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX.

Saturday’s victory lifts the Sun atop the Eastern Conference standings, improving to a 6-2 record, while the Mystics fall to second with a 6-3 start to the season.

The Portland Thorns and Chicago Red Stars played to a 2-2 draw Saturday, with USWNT forwards Sophia Smith and Mallory Pugh inking their names on the scoresheet.

Pugh kicked off the back-and-forth affair, putting her side up 1-0 in the fifth minute in a stunning individual effort. Charging at Portland’s backline, Pugh beat her defender before letting off a clinical finish.

Portland responded just one minute later with Hina Sugita firing a shot off a poor clearance by the Red Stars, converting on the Thorns’ corner kick.

Chicago reclaimed their lead in the 20th minute, with Rachel Hill getting in behind Portland’s defense to one-time the ball past the Thorns’ keeper.

The Red Stars’ lead lasted only until the 47th minute, with Sophia Smith notching the equalizer off a set-piece. Controlling a bouncing corner, Smith volleyed the ball over Alyssa Naeher to put the game at 2-2.

Saturday’s tie puts Portland’s record at 1-3-1 on the season, while Chicago logs a 2-1-1 start.

Arizona softball finished off its sweep of Mississippi State, downing the Bulldogs 7-1 Saturday to clinch the Super Regional win.

The Wildcats scored all seven of their runs in the fourth inning, cruising past Mississippi State after Friday’s extra-innings battle between the two schools.

Arizona’s unlikely 5-0 postseason run re-writes a slow start to the year in which the Wildcats posted an 0-8 record to kick off their Pac-12 campaign and finished 8-8, tied for last place in the conference.

Hanah Bowen and Devyn Netz have been stellar from the mound for the Wildcats, throwing two shutouts and five complete games during their postseason run.

“Always knowing the light at the end of the tunnel because we knew how good we were. We knew how good we were at practice and not a lot of people saw it,” said coach Caitlin Lowe. “We had to choose each other and believe that we were gonna get it done. … But we figured out a way and I think that’s what makes me the most proud is that they didn’t give up on each other.”

Saturday’s victory advances the Wildcats to their 25th Women’s College World Series, where they will face off against No. 7-seeded Oklahoma State in their first game.

Reigning champions Oklahoma also clinched a spot in the WCWS Saturday, taking out UCF 7-1. Texas also continued their postseason bid, downing Arkansas 3-0 to book their tickets to Oklahoma City. Oregon State clinched their WCWS berth, too, bouncing Stanford 2-0.

Super Regionals wrap up Sunday, with spots in the WCWS still up for grabs.

Iga Swiatek extended her winning streak to 31 matches, downing Danka Kovinic in the third of the French Open on Saturday.

The No. 1 seed is now just one victory away from tying Justine Henin’s 32 straight match wins in 2007-08.

“For sure, I felt like she used my power in some moments, so I had to adjust a little bit more to what she was playing, and for sure played a little bit more smart,” Swiatek said of the matchup.

The 20-year-old will next take on Qinwen Zheng in the Round of 16.

The other two remaining top-10 seeds were bounced from Paris on Saturday, with No. 3 Paula Badosa retiring in her second set due to a right calf injury, handing Veronika Kudermetova the walkover victory.

No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka was upset as well, with Camila Giorgi of Italy besting the 24-year-old 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 in their third-round matchup. The No. 28 seed has now won five of her last seven matches against top-10 players.

With both sides deploying an aggressive strategy, Giorgi ultimately played a cleaner game, logging three more winners and five fewer unforced errors than Sabalenka.

Giorgi will take on No. 20 Daria Kasatkina in the Italian’s first French Open Round of 16 appearance.

Jessica Pegula is the second-highest ranked player entering the fourth round after downing No. 24 Tamara Zidanšek Saturday. The American won 63 percent of her first serve points and boasted a 74 percent win percentage on her second serve to take out last year’s semifinalist.

Another American advanced Saturday, with No. 22 Madison Keys bouncing No. 16 Elena Rybakina in a three-set thriller.

The 27-year-old dropped the first set 3-6 before charging to a 6-1 second set and capturing the third 7-6 (10-3) to move on to her first fourth-round appearance at Roland Garros since 2019.

Interim Fever head coach Carlos Knox was embraced by his team after Indiana defeated the Sparks 101-96 Friday night at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The victory marked Knox’s first win as interim coach, in the same arena where he used to compete as an IUPUI player.

“I had a lot of family members here, I had a lot of people that respect me at a high level and respect my coaching ability, that support me, that support me and the city of Indianapolis,” Knox said. “It was one of those situations that was touching to everybody. So me personally, I was very emotional behind it because it felt so heartwarming. It’s felt so much like a great, beautiful situation.”

Knox replaced coach Marianne Stanley after the team announced her firing on Wednesday.

Five fever players finished in the double figures Friday, led by Kelsey Mitchell, who notched 22 points behind 50 percent shooting, draining three of her six attempted three-pointers.

Danielle Robinson helped on both sides of the ball, logging ten points and 11 rebounds, while NaLyssa Smith and Victoria Vivians each recorded 17 points.

Indiana was able to pull out the win despite Nneka Ogwumike’s dominant performance, notching 30 points behind 66.7 percent shooting while pulling down ten boards.

The Fever improves to 3-7 on the season, while Los Angeles falls to a 3-6 record.