GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The way things started for Julie Wojta and Wisconsin-Green Bay, it was hard to fathom anyone would be talking about a career-best performance. As it turned out, Wojta and the Phoenix quickly turned things around to stay unbeaten.The senior forward scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the No. 23 Phoenix to a gritty 75-67 win over Northern Iowa on Sunday. She scored 16 of her points in the first half as Green Bay (7-0) bounced back from a sluggish start in which the Panthers jumped out to a 13-0 lead.

Green Bay (7-0) had survived seemingly the toughest part of its schedule with wins over Illinois, Georgia Tech and Marquette. But this was a scrappy Northern Iowa team coming off a Missouri Valley Conference title last season that nearly ended up facing the Phoenix in the second round of the NCAA tournament. So, while others may have looked past the Panthers, Bollant was relieved to escape with a win – especially considering his team’s early struggles. “I think Northern Iowa’s better than Marquette. I think they’re more dangerous, I think they’re better than Illinois and they might not be quite Georgia Tech but them and Toledo are two of the best teams we’ve played,” Bollant said. “You could see we didn’t have the adrenaline going, didn’t have the edge. So we’ll learn from that and hopefully not have that mentality because that will keep us from being the team we want to be in March.”

After their hot start the Panthers struggled, falling behind 42-28 at the half. They battled back in the second half, cutting the gap to 64-59 with only 3:56 left, but the Phoenix responded with eight straight points to put the game away.Katelin Oney had a stellar outing for the Panthers with 25 points. K.K. Armstrong added 14 points for the Panthers (5-2).Lydia Bauer scored 19 points and Megan Lukan added 13 off the bench for the Phoenix.Green Bay has won 27 straight regular season games.

CHICAGO (AP) – Tyler Palko shook off two miserable starts and threw for 157 yards and a touchdown even though he was briefly lifted for Kyle Orton, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat Chicago 10-3 Sunday on a day when the Bears lost Matt Forte to a right knee injury. Orton came on to start the second quarter and immediately left the game with an injured finger on his right hand. Palko connected with Dexter McCluster on a wild 38-yard pass to end the first half on a ball that got deflected by Brian Urlacher and Chris Conte, giving the Chiefs a 7-3 lead and their first touchdown in three games.

Kansas City (5-7) got a 21-yard field goal from Ryan Succop in the third quarter, and Jon McGraw intercepted struggling backup Caleb Hanie in the end zone in the fourth. The Chiefs also recorded seven sacks – three by Justin Houston.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – Northern Iowa will face fourth-seeded Montana in the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs on Friday. The fifth-seeded Panthers will play the Grizzlies in Missoula at 7 p.m., a game that will be broadcast on ESPN2. Northern Iowa (10-2) reached the quarterfinals by beating Wofford 28-21 on Saturday night. Montana (10-2) beat Central Arkansas 41-14 in its playoff opener. The Northern Iowa-Montana winner will face either top-seeded Sam Houston State or Montana State in the semifinals on Dec. 16 or 17.

BOYS BASKETBALL

A-D-M 63, Creston 60, 2OT

Guthrie Center 43, Panorama 37

Kuemper Catholic 70, IKM-Manning 52

Ogden 81, West Central Valley 52

POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS

Council Bluffs St. Albert vs. Atlantic, ppd.

Dunlap Boyer Valley vs. Oakland Riverside, ppd.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

IKM-Manning 52, Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 49

Panora Panorama 73, Guthrie Center 35

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Ben Simons scored 16 points, Rayvonte Rice added 15, and Drake survived a wild finish to beat Air Force 62-60 Saturday in a Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge game. Drake led the entire game, but almost found itself on the losing end after Air Force erased almost all of an eight-point deficit in the last two minutes. The Falcons (3-2) had two shots at potential game-winning 3-pointers in the final five seconds, but Todd Fletcher and Mike Fitzgerald both missed.

Before that, Fletcher and Fitzgerald had each converted two free throws to pull Air Force within 61-60 with 42 seconds left. With 15 seconds to play, Fitzgerald fouled Karl Madison, who made one of two foul shots to put Drake (5-3) up by two. Fitzgerald and Michael Lyons led Air Force with 13 points apiece. The teams had not met since 1981. Drake is now 6-0 all-time against Air Force.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – New St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny finalized his coaching staff, hiring John Mabry as assistant hitting coach working under Mark McGwire. The 41-year-old Mabry replaces Mike Aldrete, who was promoted to bench coach. Mabry had three stints with the Cardinals during his playing career and had his best season in 1996 with a .297 average, 21 home runs and 74 RBIs. Longtime trainer Barry Weinberg was hired as the senior medical adviser working out of Jupiter, Fla., and Chris Conroy was promoted from Triple-A Memphis as assistant trainer with the Cardinals.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – Tirrelle Rennie threw a pair of touchdown passes and fifth-seeded Northern Iowa rallied to beat Wofford 28-21 Saturday and advance to the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Jared Herring caught both TD passes for the Panthers (10-2), who will face Number 5 Montana on the road either Friday or Saturday. David Johnson’s 1-yard TD run put the Panthers up 21-14 to start the fourth quarter. Wofford fumbled the ensuing kickoff in the end zone, and Phil Wright’s recovery gave the Panthers a 14-point lead. Wofford (8-4) outgained the Panthers 478-238 but committed three costly turnovers.

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Bill Snyder wouldn’t bite when he was asked to compare this season’s Kansas State team to those of years past, Wildcats that won Big 12 championships and went to prestigious bowl games.

“I reserve the right to make those judgments until the end of the season,” the longtime coach said, “and then I’ll find a way to avoid the question.”

It’s going to be an inevitable one.

John Hubert ran for 120 yards and the go-ahead touchdown Saturday, helping the Wildcats (No. 11 BCS, No. 16 AP) beat Iowa State 30-23 and keeping alive their chances for a share of the conference title.

Picked to finish eighth in the Big 12, Kansas State (10-2, 7-2) instead put together one of the best seasons in school history. Led by the 72-year-old Snyder, the plucky Wildcats managed to beat everyone they faced except for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, the two teams who were to decide Saturday night whether they would share in a conference championship.

If the Sooners beat their rivals in Bedlam, there would be a three-way tie.

“It’s been a journey,” said Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein, who ran for a touchdown and threw for another against the Cyclones. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but over the course we’ve been able to make improvements so we’re a better team.”

Jeff Woody ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns for the Cyclones (6-6, 3-6), who became bowl eligible for the second time under Paul Rhoads when they knocked off the Cowboys a couple weeks ago.

They nearly managed another upset against the Wildcats.

Hubert scored the go-ahead touchdown on a tackle-breaking 26-yard run with 3:29 left, which gave Iowa State plenty of time to answer. Freshman quarterback Jared Barnett converted a pair of third downs to move into Kansas State territory, and then scrambled for eight yards on third-and-10.

Facing fourth-and-2 at the 31, Woody took the handoff and was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, the ball popping out. Kansas State recovered it to seal the victory.

“This is the No. 11 team in the BCS,” Rhoads said, “and with 1:07 to go, we’re driving down to tie the game and send it into overtime.”

Both teams now await their bowl destinations.

The Wildcats could be headed anywhere from one of the BCS games as an at-large selection to the Alamo or Cotton bowls, though Snyder said he won’t be campaigning before announcements are made Sunday night. The Cyclones, meanwhile, will be headed to a game for the second time in three years.

“K-State was only favored in four games and they won 10,” Woody said. “We were favored in two and we won six, so we’re two tremendously similar teams, and that showed.”

After lightning delayed the kickoff 90 minutes, the Cyclones jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Barnett threw a pass that wobbled so much it looked as if the ball was deflating, but Darius Darks managed to get the inside position on cornerback Nigel Malone and hauled in the 30-yard catch.

The Wildcats needed 15 seconds to answer.

Klein dropped back and floated a pass on a deep post route to Tramaine Thompson, one of the fastest players on the team. He caught it with his fingertips just past the outstretched hands of defensive back Ter’Ran Benton and raced the rest of the way untouched for the 68-yard touchdown, the longest play from scrimmage for Kansas State this season.

“We had a play called and Collin saw coverage he liked,” Thompson said. “So we switched it around. I was hoping he saw it. When he checked to it, I was so happy.”

Iowa State regained the lead moments later when Woody plunged in from a yard out, but Zach Guyer’s extra point was blocked by Raphael Guidry, his fourth blocked kick of the season.

Anthony Cantele kicked a 37-yard field goal for the Wildcats to get within 13-10.

Kansas State took over at its own 38 just before halftime, and Klein mixed in a couple of option keepers along with a pair of 14-yard completions to Hubert. The sophomore running back took the second of them down to the goal line, and Klein’s TD sneak gave Kansas State a 17-13 lead at the break.

Guidry’s second big play, this time an interception off a tipped ball, gave Kansas State prime field position early in the third quarter, and Cantele’s 47-yard field goal made it 20-13.

Iowa State responded by going 64 yards in 12 plays, converting three third downs, and Woody’s rumbling 13-yard scamper allowed the Cyclones to draw even with 4:25 left in the quarter.

Kansas State squandered a chance to take a touchdown lead, failing to score in three tries from the 3 before Cantele knocked through his third field goal of the game. The Cyclones matched it when they converted a pair of fourth downs and Guyer made a 43-yarder with 6:12 left.

The Cyclones finally ran out of answers, though, and they still haven’t beaten the Wildcats in Manhattan since 2004 — the last time they had a winning season.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Anthony James scored 28 points to lead Northern Iowa to an 83-77 victory against Colorado State on Saturday in a Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge game.

James had eight rebounds as the Panthers (7-1) never trailed en route to winning their sixth straight. Seth Tuttle added 16 points, Deon Mitchell 12 and Chip Rank 10.

Dorian Green had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Rams (5-3). Wes Eikmeier scored 19 points and Dwight Smith 17.

Northern Iowa ended the first half on a 9-0 run over the last 3:16, with James scoring seven points on two jumpers and a 3-pointer. That gave the Panthers a 41-30 lead at the break, and Colorado State got no closer than 11 in the second half.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Melsahn Basabe had 14 points and 10 rebounds to help Iowa beat Brown 75-54 on Saturday.

Roy Devyn Marble added 11 points off the bench for Iowa (5-3), which had lost three of its last four games.

Andrew McCarthy scored 17 points for Brown (4-5). The Bears missed 18 3-point shots and were outrebounded 56-37.

Basabe scored more points Saturday than he had in Iowa’s previous four games combined. The Hawkeyes made an effort to get the sophomore involved early, and he took eights in the first half. Basabe finished 5 of 12 from the field.

Iowa jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the first seven minutes and led 38-24 at halftime.

Matt Gatens, Zach McCabe, Andrew Brommer and Aaron White each added nine points for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa also won the only previous meeting between the schools, 109-61 in December 1988.