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Midwest Sports Headlines: 2/26/21

Sports

February 26th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Hunter Dickinson gave Luka Garza fits around the basket, and Franz Wagner scored 21 points to lead No. 3 Michigan to a 79-57 victory over No. 9 Iowa. The Wolverines passed yet another test against a highly ranked opponent after beating No. 4 Ohio State last weekend. Dickinson more than held his own against Garza in a much-anticipated matchup of two standout big men. Garza led the Hawkeyes with 16 points, but he shot 6 of 19 from the field. Dickinson scored 14 points.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark hit seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points, plus nine assists and Iowa rolled past No. 12 Michigan 89-67 in a game delayed five hours. The game, featuring the Big Ten’s top two scorers in Michigan forward Naz Hillmon (25.9 points per game) and Clark (27.3), was originally scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. CT. It ended at almost 10:18 p.m. Hillmon scored 24 points. The Hawkeyes led 49-30 at the half, hitting 10 of 16 from 3-point range and shooting 65.5%. The lead reached as much as 34 points early in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines shot 35.6% while Iowa was going 16 of 27 from 3-point range (59.3%).

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Kofi Cockburn scored 24 points, freshman Adam Miller added 18 and No. 5 Illinois beat Nebraska 86-70. Illinois played without star Ayo Dosunmu, who broke his nose against Michigan State on Tuesday and is expected to miss at least two more games. Freshman guard Andre Curbelo narrowly missed a triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Trey McGowens led Nebraska with 18 points. Kobe Webster and Shamiel Steveson added 12 each for the Cornhuskers.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nika Muhl scored 15 of her season-high 19 points in the first quarter and No. 1 Connecticut won the outright Big East regular-season championship with an 81-49 victory over Creighton on Thursday night. The Huskies are 19-1 overall and 16-0 in league play. They never lost a league game in their seven years in the American Athletic Conference, and now they’re two wins away from being perfect in their return to the Big East. Temi Carda had a season-high 24 points for Creighton.

UNDATED (AP) — Second-ranked Baylor begins a brutal four-game stretch as it attempts to complete a perfect regular season when the Bears head to Allen Fieldhouse to play No. 17 Kansas on Saturday night. The No. 14 Texas faces the No. 18 Texas Tech in the other marquee game Saturday, which could go a long way toward Big 12 and NCAA Tournament seedings.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Rennia Davis scored all 26 of her points in the second half, with 20 in the fourth quarter, to help No. 20 Tennessee beat Missouri 78-73. Davis made a pair of 3-pointers during an 8-0 run that opened the fourth quarter and gave the Lady Vols the lead for good. Davis scored all but three of Tennessee’s fourth-quarter points. Her 26 points matched a season high. Rae Burrell scored 18 of her 23 points in the first half for the Lady Vols. Haley Troup and Aijha Blackwell had 16 points each for the Tigers.