IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Drew Crawford scored 18 points as Northwestern beat Iowa 70-66 on Saturday, boosting the Wildcats’ hopes for their first NCAA tournament bid. Iowa’s Josh Oglesby missed a 3-pointer from the wing with 4 seconds left that would have given the Hawkeyes the lead. Northwestern (18-12, 8-10 Big Ten) needed this win after losing two of its last three games. The Wildcats overcame an early 15-point deficit and held on in their last game before the Big Ten tournament. Alex Marcotullio’s two free throws with 2 seconds left sealed the win for Northwestern.  Senior Matt Gatens scored 17 points to lead Iowa (16-15, 8-10).   Northwestern went on a 17-0 run late in the first half to lead 42-35 at halftime. Iowa failed to hit a field goal in the last seven minutes of the half. The Hawkeyes shot 53 percent in the first half, but committed 13 turnovers.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – Scott Christopherson had 23 points in his final home game and Iowa State rallied to beat No. 9 Baylor 80-72 Saturday night for its second win over a top-10 opponent this season. Melvin Ejim added 15 points for the Cyclones (22-9, 12-6 Big 12), who also secured the No. 3 seed for next week’s conference tournament. Baylor led by as much as nine late in the second half, but the Bears went nearly 5 minutes without a point down the stretch. Baylor pulled to 66-64, but Tyrus McGee drilled a 3 with 1:24 left and the Bears followed with a crushing offensive foul. Pierre Jackson had a career night with 35 points for the Bears (25-6, 12-6), who fell to the fourth seed for the Big 12 tournament.

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) – Lance Berkman thinks the St. Louis Cardinals will be just as dangerous this season without Albert Pujols in the lineup as they were with him batting third. The 36-year-old Berkman will replace Pujols at first base in his second season in St. Louis, moving in from right field. He says if he plays to his ability, no one will notice a drop off. Berkman had a revival while helping St. Louis win the World Series title last season. He hit .301 with 31 home runs, 94 RBIs and a .412 on base percentage, his best season since 2008. He was seventh in the MVP voting, two spots behind Pujols.

Class 3A State Tournament
 State Championship
     Davenport Assumption 59, MOC-Floyd Valley 32
 Class 4A State Tournament
 State Championship
     Iowa City West 61, Ankeny 56, OT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa City West regrouped after losing a double-digit lead and beat Ankeny 61-56 in overtime to win the Class 4A girls basketball championship, Saturday. Tatum Klein scored 17 points and hit a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 52. West (25-1) then scored the first eight points of the extra session and held on to win its first girls basketball title. Shelly Stumpff added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Women of Troy, who lost to Des Moines East in last year’s championship game. Ally Disterhoft scored 12. Maddie Manning led Ankeny (22-4) with 24 points, 18 in the second half. Ankeny, which has won nine state championships, lost in the title game for only the second time.

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) – St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright is one step closer to pitching in a game for the first time since being sidelined with an elbow injury that caused him to miss all of the 2011 season. Wainwright threw his final batting practice session Sunday before his scheduled start Friday at Minnesota’s spring training home in Ft. Myers, Fla. With Cardinals manager Mike Matheny watching, Wainwright said he approached the short session of around 30 pitches as if it were a real game and that his arm felt fine afterward. He also said that since camp began nothing has slowed his rehab process. While he said he is not usually a person to get butterflies, Wainwright acknowledged he wouldn’t be surprised if he had a few for Friday’s game.

Class 3A Championship:
6:00 p.m. — MOC-Floyd Valley (27-0) vs. Davenport Assumption (24-2)

Class 4A Championship:
8:00 p.m. — Iowa City West (24-1) vs. Ankeny (22-3)

Western Christian 67, Pella Christian 57

Western Christian kept finding answers when Pella Christian threatened. The result was the school’s first state championship in girls basketball.

All-tournament captain Brooke Wolterstorff scored 16 points and the fifth-ranked Wolfpack got a major contribution from freshman Jamie Gesink in beating No. 15 Pella Christian 67-57 to win the Class 2A state championship.

Gesink scored 14 points, hitting a pair of key 3-pointers in the second half and going 4-for-4 on free throws. Alissa Pollema and Shae DeJager each scored 12 points for Western Christian and DeJager and pulled 11 rebounds.

Western jumped to a 23-8 lead early in the second quarter and while Pella Christian never led, the Eagles got back into the game and kept pressure on the Wolfpack to the end.

Christina Nolte and Tayler Stursma scored 14 points each to lead Pella Christian. Jasmin Schelhaas added 12 points and six assists for the Eagles, while Sami Veenstra scored 10 points. Pella Christian stayed in it with outstanding free throw shooting, making 21 of 23.

In an impressive display of sportsmanship, the two teams posed for a group photo after the game. They played during the regular season, Western winning 74-72.

Western Christian won its last 12 games and 15 of the last 16 to finish 25-3. Pella Christian finished 23-4.

Down by 10 at halftime, Pella Christian started the second half with a 12-4 run to cut the lead to 37-35. Gesink, a 5-foot-8 guard, then hit a 3-pointer to start a 12-2 run that put the Wolfpack ahead 49-37.

But Pella Christian answered back. Schelhaas scored six points and fed Stursma for a layup during a 12-3 run that cut the lead to 52-49. Gesink stopped that rally with another 3-pointer and the Wolfpack finally pulled away for good.

Nolte, Schelhaas and Western Christian’s Kim Kroeze joined Wolterstorff on the all-tournament team, which also included Jessie Pauley of OA-BCIG and Tember Schechinger of IKM-Manning.

Western Christian won its title with a starting lineup of four juniors and a sophomore. The team had only one senior, so the Wolfpack should be a threat to repeat next season.