April 08, 2012|Sports Digest
Women's college lacrosse
No. 19 Towson outlasts host Old Dominion, 9-7
Andi Raymond scored four goals to lead No. 19 Towson past host Old Dominion, 9-7, in women's lacrosse Sunday. The Tigers (9-3, 3-0 Colonial Athletic Association) won their third straight game by outscoring the Monarchs 5-3 in the second half. Old Dominion (4-9, 1-2) tied the game at 6 with 17:25 remaining when Emily Austerberry scored her third goal of the game, but Towson took the final lead with a goal from Taylor Moore with 8:20 left.
Nation: No. 1 Northwestern led by as many as eight goals in the second half in beating host No. 13 Penn, 14-6. Shannon Smith, the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner, and Erin Fitzgerald each bohad a hat trick for the Wildcats (12-0, 3-0 American Lacrosse Conference). Maddie Poplawski had three points on two goals and an assist to lead the Quakers (6-4, 4-0 Ivy League). ... Host No.16 Vanderbilt scored five of the final six goals but could not overcome a six-goal deficit and fell, 13-11, to No. 15 Ohio State. The Buckeyes (9-3, 1-2 ALC) were led by five goals and five assists from Alayna Markwordt (Glenelg), who tied a season high for points. Ohio State scored the first four goals of the second half to build their lead to 12-6 before Alex Priddy's natural hat trick narrowed the margin for the Commodores (7-5, 1-3).
Men's college basketball
Ex-Aberdeen guard Branch picks Ore., eyes starting role
Former Aberdeen star Devon Branch committed to Oregon on Sunday night. The 6-foot-5, 175-pound shooting guard picked the Ducks over Kansas State, Rutgers and Virginia Tech, among others. Branch, who graduated from Aberdeen in 2008, has spent the past two seasons at Cloud County Community College in Kansas, where he averaged 25 points his sophomore year. "[The Oregon coaches] want me to come in and try to get a starting spot," said Branch, who visited Eugene over the weekend. "They said as long as I put the work in, put the hard work in every day, I should be starting. That's my mentality coming in — to start."
—Matt Bracken
Women's college basketball
Ex-Terp Mingo gets 6th year of eligibility at Purdue
Purdue forward Drey Mingo has been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA for next season. "To get this news is such an incredible feeling," Mingo said. "I can't even put how I feel right now into words. ... I feel like this is His sign to me for this to happen on Good Friday." I cannot wait to share another amazing year with an incredible Purdue family that has stood by me throughout this entire process." Mingo, who transferred from Maryland after her sophomore year, missed all of the 2011-12 season after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in a scrimmage Oct. 29. As a redshirt junior, the Atlanta native contracted a life-threatening case of bacterial meningitis in late November 2010 that resulted in partial hearing loss. Also, Mingo was named the recipient of the Giant Steps Courageous Student-Athlete Award by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports. Mingo missed four games that season and was limited in many more while recovering. Despite not playing at full strength for much of her junior season, Mingo averaged 12 points and led the Boilermakers in rebounding (5.8 per game) in 2010-11. Mingo shot 51.3 percent from the field, including a school-record mark of 48.2 percent (27-for-56) from 3-point range. Mingo is majoring in biology and plans to enroll in medical school to pursue a career as a pediatric cardiologist once her basketball career has ended.
Et cetera
Parker's single in 10th lifts Towson baseball past ODU
Junior catcher Andrew Parker lined a single to left field with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning as host Towson pulled out a 4-3 victory over Old Dominion (11-21, 3-9 CAA) in the deciding game of their three-game weekend baseball series Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Tigers (15-16, 9-6) maintained a share of third place in the CAA standings; they are tied with Delaware and George Mason. After both teams had squandered numerous opportunities, sophomore left fielder Kurt Wertz led off the bottom of the 10th inning by drawing a walk. After pinch hitter Mike Draper failed to bunt him over to second base, Wertz stole second base on an 0-2 pitch to Parker. On junior right-hander Erick Baker's next pitch, Parker lined a single to left field.
