Northwestern women take forfeits for not playing January games at UCLA, USC over wildfire concerns

Northwestern will be assessed two forfeits for not playing January road games at No. 2 UCLA and No. 4 Southern California, the Big Ten announced Wednesday. UCLA had offered to play at an off-campus location. The Bruins (26-1, 15-1) and Trojans (25-2, 16-1) each have been credited with a win in the conference standings and Northwestern (9-17, 2-15) was assessed two losses.

No. 8 UNC, No. 9 NC State, No. 16 Duke vying to give state’s ‘Triangle’ region 3 NCAA host sites

Kara Lawson is focused on the immediate challenge, the task of preparing her 16th-ranked Duke team to host eighth-ranked North Carolina. The Blue Devils, Tar Heels and No. 9 N.C. State — all located within a 30-minute drive of one another in North Carolina's “Triangle” region — have made their home state the only one in the country with three different programs cracking the top 10 of the AP Top 25 this season.