IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Cassius Winston scored 23 points, Nick Ward had 21 points with 10 rebounds and sixth-ranked Michigan State blew past No. 19 Iowa 82-67 on Thursday night, extending its winning streak to 13 games.

Matt McQuaid added three second-half 3-pointers for the Spartans (18-2, 9-0 Big Ten), who used a 24-2 run just after halftime to secure a school-record 21st consecutive league victory. Tyler Cook scored 11 points in the first four minutes of the second half to give Iowa a 50-42 lead. But he was soon matched by the unflappable Winston, who hit three 3s in a row to help the Spartans retake the lead, 53-50.

Ward’s three-point play pushed the run to 14-0 and put Michigan State ahead 56-50. McQuaid’s 3 and three more points from Winston, this time at the foul line, gave the Spartans a 66-52 edge.
Luka Garza scored 20 points and Tyler Cook had 17 for Iowa (16-4, 5-4), which won its previous five games. The Hawkeyes entered leading the nation in free throw attempts and makes, but they hit just eight. Michigan State went 20 of 21 from the line.

The Hawkeyes blew a golden opportunity to knock off one of the best teams in America. But Michigan State is one of the best teams in America in part because of its resilience, and the Spartans showed plenty of that with their second-half rally. The Hawkeyes now know exactly how they would match up with a Final Four contender, and they didn’t get the answer they were hoping for.

UP NEXT: Iowa plays at Minnesota on Sunday.

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The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released the Regional pairings for Classes 1A, 2A, and 3A on Thursday.

In 3A Atlantic will open at Shenandoah in Region 8 on Feb 9th.

In 1A CAM is in Region 7 and will face Audubon vs Coon Rapids-Bayard winner on Feb 12th. Griswold is also in Region 7 and will host East Mills in an opening round game on Feb. 7th. Exira-EHK is in Region 8 and will face the winner of a Glidden-Ralston vs Woodbine game on the 12th. Riverside plays at ArWeVa on the 7th in Region 8.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs fans who turned to Twitter to berate Dee Ford after his offsides blunder also made a slip-up. The Kansas City Star reports that their rage-filled messages went not to the linebacker, but to a 47-year-old woman from Kent, England, with the same name. One sent to her @dee_ford handle read: “You ruined my whole year.” She wondered what happened. It turns out her name-twin’s mistake negated an interception that could have clinched a win against the Patriots and sent the Chiefs to the Super Bowl.

Five years earlier, she also received tweets intended for Ford when he was still a player at Auburn. She decided to learn a little bit about the game. She’s spoken to Ford on the phone, attended an Auburn game and watched the Chiefs three years ago when they played in London. She says Ford “doesn’t deserve” what people are saying.

(Radio Iowa) — The annual University of Okoboji Winter Games kick off today (Thursday), bringing a huge winter boost to the Iowa Great Lakes area. Tourism generated about 286-million dollars for the region in 2017. Blain Andera, C-E-O of the Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, says the summer season is the main tourism driver, but the winter games run a close second. “On a typical year, the winter games will draw between 20- and 30,000 people to the area toward the end of January, where we don’t usually have a lot going on,” Andera says. “We’re thought of a summer tourist destination, and there’s a lot more to do here than just the summertime.”

Andera says the games draw people from all over the country and they’ve grown a lot since first being held in 1981. “It started with some folks who had cabin fever, wanted to get outside, started a broomball tournament,” Andera says. “Now, we’re up to four days of fun events with everything from broomball, to flag football, to softball, to polar plunge.”

Events also include scavenger hunts, ice fishing and a kite festival, which is something new this year. Kiting professionals will fly 16 kites through the air, measuring from 20 to 100-feet long. The games run through Sunday.

Current Audubon elementary teacher, football coach, and baseball coach Sean Birks will take over the Activities Director position at Audubon High School for the 2019-20 school year. The Audubon school board recently approved his hiring.

Birks will be replacing longtime AD Randy Spies, who recently announced his retirement. Spies has been the AD for the past 15 years for the Wheelers.

Birks has been a teacher in the Audubon School District since 2012.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Chris Parks.

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CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Aaron Cook had 17 points and Sean Lloyd Jr. and Darius Beane each added 16 more as Southern Illinois beat Northern Iowa for the second time in 18 days, 70-62 in a Missouri Valley Conference contest on Wednesday night. The victory snaps a four-game losing streak for the Salukis, who had not won since its 58-51 win at Cedar Falls.

A.J. Green hit a 3 with 3:43 left to get Northern Iowa within 3, 53-50, but the Salukis pushed the advantage to 13 points before Green hit two 3s in the final minute to get the final deficit to single digits.
Southern Illinois (10-10, 3-4) shot 50 percent from the field (26 of 52), including 7 of 20 from long range.

Green hit 6 of 7 from distance and finished with 22 points for Northern Iowa (8-12, 3-4).

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Nick McGlynn has 20 points and 10 rebounds and Drake pulled away early in the second half for a 78-66 victory over Evansville on Wednesday night. McGlynn collected his fifth 20-point game and fourth double-double of the season. Tremell Murphy, D.J. Wilkins, and Garrett Sturtz added 11 points apiece, and Noah Thomas chipped in 10 for Drake (15-5, 4-3 Missouri Valley Conference). The Bulldogs have won three of its last four games and improved to 9-1 at home.

John Hall and Marty Hill scored 13 points each to lead Evansville (9-11, 3-4). K.J. Riley added 12 points. The Bulldogs took the lead for good midway through the first half and built a 35-31 halftime advantage. The Purple Aces stayed within single digits until a 9-2 surge made it 67-48 with about seven minutes left.

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

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Megan Gustafson scored 32 points and No. 17 Iowa made 12 of 15 free throws in the fourth quarter t to end Rutgers’ 10-game winning streak 72-66. There were 14 ties and 12 lead changes in the early going before the Hawkeyes scored 10-straight midway through the second quarter to take the lead for good.

UNDATED (AP) — Iowa was blown out last month at Michigan State. The Hawkeyes collapsed late in the first half, allowing the Spartans to reel off a 40-11 run in a d90-68 win. The 19th-ranked Hawkeyes have looked much better since then. They will host the sixth-ranked Spartans tonight (Thursday night). Michigan State is currently leading the Big Ten.

WACO, Texas (AP) — Lauren Cox had 22 points to lead all five Baylor starters scoring in double figures, and the No. 2 Lady Bears pulled away in the second half for an 84-69 victory over No. 20 Iowa State. Cox had a tying layup to start an 8-0 run that put 16-1 Baylor ahead to stay midway through the second quarter. She added a reverse layup early after halftime for a 10-point lead.

UNDATED (AP) — Purdue has won four straight, and next up is a showdown with No. 6 Michigan State. The Boilermakers lost by 18 at Michigan State earlier this season, but they get the Spartans at home this weekend. The winning streak for Purdue includes double-digit victories over Indiana and Ohio State.

UNDATED (AP) — The ninth-ranked Jayhawks travel to face the eighth-ranked Wildcats in the highlight of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Kentucky has hit its stride after some early struggles, beating Mississippi State 76-55 for its fifth straight win. The Jayhawks are tied for the lead in the Big 12 at 5-2, but they’re also just 1-3 on the road.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Sug Sutton scored 18 points, Joyner Holmes added 15 and No. 12 Texas defeated Kansas 62-43. The Longhorns (16-3, 6-1 Big 12) never trailed but didn’t put away the Jayhawks (11-6, 1-5) until a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter pushed the lead to 58-35 with 5½ minutes to go.

UNDATED (AP) — The head-spinning offenses NFL fans are enamored of and will watch in the Super Bowl in Atlanta share their explosiveness with the previous team to win the big game in the ATL. The Greatest Show On Turf. And the latest version of the Rams has made the NFL title game this season.