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Va Tech, Saint Joseph’s, James Madison and Colorado in Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament

Virginia Tech, Saint Joseph's, James Madison and Colorado headline the 32-team Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament field that was announced Sunday night. The four teams just missed out on making the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA created the 32-team WBIT as part of its response to an independent 2021 gender-equity report that found there were longstanding disparities between men’s and women’s postseason opportunities.

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Rangers allow go-ahead goal late in 3-1 loss to Oilers

NEW YORK (AP) — Viktor Arvidsson scored the tiebreaking goal just early in the third period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the New York Rangers 3-1 on Sunday night.

Corey Perry and Connor McDavid also scored for Edmonton, which won its second-straight to complete a four-game trip. The Oilers were coming off a 2-1 overtime win over the Islanders on Friday. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had three assists and Stuart Skinner finished with 21 saves.

Will Cuylle scored for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin had 20 saves. New York snapped a two-game win streak.

Arvidsson beat Shesterkin with high shot at 6:09 of the third for his ninth goal of the season to put Edmonton up 2-1.

McDavid made it a two-goal lead with his 25th with 3:25 remaining.

Perry scored a power-play goal off a goalmouth scramble with 43 seconds left in the first to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. It was the 39-year-old’s 15th of the season and 444th of his career.

Cuylle tied it with his 18th at the 5-minute mark of the second.

Takeaways

Rangers: New York lost its third straight at home to slip to 16-15-3 at Madison Square Garden.

Oilers: Edmonton improved to 19-13-2 on the road.

Key moment

Skinner stopped Rangers forward J.T. Miller at 9:40 of the third on the power play, then denied Adam Fox with 6:39 left.

Key stat

Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl also assisted on Perry’s goal. Draisaitl leads the Oilers with 101 points, including 52 assits. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon has 103 points to lead the NHL.

Up next

Oilers host Utah on Tuesday, and Rangers host Calgary.

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Miraculous Four-Goal Third Period Sends Islanders Past Panthers For 4-2 Win

With four goals in the third period, the New York Islanders defeated the Florida Panthers 4-2 to snap their three-game losing streak and keep alive playoff hopes. 

The big news entering the game was that defenseman Mike Reilly returned for the first game since Nov. 1 following a heart procedure he underwent on Nov. 19.

Reilly replaced Adam Pelech, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. 

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Here's how it happened:

The Islanders earned the first power play of the game at 8:16 when Eetu Luostarinen elbowed Alexander Romanov.

The Islanders were unable to convert, but Romanov was able to return without missing a shift.

After recording 11 of the first 12 shots of the game, the Islanders earned their second power play at 17:26 when Dmitry Kulikov was caught by Anthony Duclair’s speed and took a holding penalty.

Kulikov went to the locker room with an upper-body injury and did not return.

The Islanders could not beat Vitek Vanecek, concluding the period ahead in shots 12-1 yet without a goal.

After getting outplayed in the opening period, the Panthers found the scoresheet first when Aleksander Barkov recovered Gustav Forsling’s rebound and fed Sam Reinhart at 1:00 of the second period.

This was Reinhart’s 33rd goal of the season.

The Islanders went to the penalty kill for the first time at 2:49 when Kyle MacLean tripped Forsling.

The Panthers applied pressure, and with just one second remaining on the man advantage, Barkov tipped Reinhart’s shot which crept past Ilya Sorokin to put the Panthers ahead 2-0. It was Barkov’s 18th goal of the season.

After a strong second half in the period, the Islanders received a too many men on the ice penalty at 19:47.

The Islanders outshot the Panthers 10-9 in the second period.

Patrick Roy’s squad killed the minor penalty to start the third period then went to the power play on a Nate Schmidt hooking call at 2:48, but the score remained.

At 6:29, Marc Gatcomb put the Islanders on the board with a wraparound goal following Vanecek’s sprawling save: 

This was Gactomb’s fourth goal of the season.

The Islanders found the equalizer at 12:16 when Reilly sent a stretch pass to Max Tsyplakov who went five-hole on Vanecek:

This was Tsyplakov’s eighth goal of the season.

Just 17 seconds later, the Islanders took the lead for the first time in the game when Noah Dobson flew into the offensive zone and beat Vanecek glove-side:

This was Dobson’s seventh goal of the season.

The Panthers pulled Vanecek for an extra attacker in the final minutes, but a Simon Holmstrom empty net goal at 19:53 following multiple sprawling saves by Sorokin secured the comeback victory. 

The Islanders are in action again on Tuesday as they face the Penguins in Pittsburgh at 7 PM.

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Nets snap three-game skid with 122-114 win over Hawks

NEW YORK (AP) — Cam Johnson scored 28 points, Keon Johnson added 22 and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks 122-114 on Sunday night.

Tyrese Martin had 16 points for the Nets, who snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 12 games. Jalen Wilson and Trendon Watford finished with 13 points apiece.

Trae Young had 28 points and 12 assists for the Hawks, who have dropped two in a row after winning four straight. Onyeka Okongwu added 21 points and 15 rebounds.

The Hawks led by 10 in the third quarter, but the Nets had it down to one by the end of the period and outscored Atlanta 31-22 in the fourth.

Takeaways

Hawks: Dyson Daniels had five steals to extend his NBA lead and has 24 games with four or more, the most in an NBA season since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson had 24 in 2002-03.

Nets: Brooklyn put together an impressive finishing kick on the second night of back-to-back games after falling 115-113 to Boston on Saturday.

Key moment

The Nets led by one before a 10-0 surge in the fourth gave them a 109-98 lead on Keon Johnson’s 3-pointer with 6:56 remaining.

Key stat

The Nets have won six straight against Atlanta at home. The Hawks’ last win in Brooklyn was on New Year’s Day in 2021.

Up next

The Nets are in Boston on Tuesday after losing to the Celtics at home on Saturday. Atlanta visits Charlotte on Tuesday.

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Panthers surrender another late 2-goal lead, lose on Long Island 4-2

Mar 16, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; Florida Panthers goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) makes a save on a shot on goal attempt in the second period against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. (Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images)

For the second time in a week, the Florida Panthers saw a third period two-goal lead slip through their fingertips.

This time it was Sunday night, with Florida playing on the second night of a back-to-back and facing a desperate New York Islanders team trying to keep pace in a packed Wild Card race.

Holding a 2-0 lead entering the final frame, the Panthers couldn’t find their usual, aggressive form until it was too late, losing on Long Island 4-2.

If the Panthers weren’t happy with their performance on Saturday night, it sure didn’t show during the first period on Long Island.

Florida was lucky to get out scoreless after being outshot 12-1 in the opening frame, putting up only eight shot attempts and giving up a pair of power play opportunities.

An early shift in the second period by the Cats’ top line would lead to the game’s opening goal.

Standing at the side of the goal crease, Sam Reinhart first deflected a point shot by Gus Forsling before jumping on a quick pass by Sasha Barkov at the one-minute mark of the middle frame.

Exactly 3:48 later, Reinhart fired a shot from the right half wall that deflected off the backside of Barkov and up and over the shoulder of Ilya Sorokin to give Florida a sudden 2-0 lead.

The Islanders finally got a puck past Vitek Vanecek, and it came immediately after he made his latest impressive save.

Sliding to his left, Vanecek got his leg pad on a shot by Marc Gatcomb, but the feisty forward picked up the rebound and skated behind the net, wrapping the puck inside the far post to cur Florida’s lead to 2-1 with 13:31 to go.

The Islanders continued to put the pressure on, and eventually Mike Reilly found Maxim Tsyplakov behind the Cats defense and he beat Vanecek five hole to tie the game.

Just 17 seconds later, Noah Dobson picked up the puck in the neutral zone and quickly beat Seth Jones to the net, firing the puck over Vanecek’s glove.

Just like that, not only was Florida’s lead gone but they were also losing the game.

A couple big saves by Sorokin down the stretch pushed the Islanders over the finish line, as the puck dribbled across Florida’s vacated goal line with six seconds to go.

On to Columbus.

QUICK THOUGHTS

Barkov’s assist on Reinhart’s goal was his first point in four games.

Reinhart has logged eight points over his past six games, but he’s scored only two goals in a 14-game span.

Vanecek stopped the first 47 shots he saw as a Panther, a shutout streak that lasted 106 minutes and 29 seconds.

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Smoked meat: Panthers can't complete uphill climb, fall 3-1 in Montreal

Panthers road trip continues against Montreal squad fighting for playoff spot

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James Harden and Clippers dominate Hornets for third straight win

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden controls the ball during the first half.
Clippers guard James Harden controls the ball during a 123-88 win over the Charlotte Hornets at the Intuit Dome on Sunday. (William Liang / Associated Press)

The Clippers are trending in the right direction, and on top of it, they are becoming whole with leading scorer Norman Powell back and with James Harden sustaining his high level of play.

They've won six of their last seven games, with the Clippers’ 123-88 blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at the Intuit Dome pushing their winning streak to three.

“This was a good professional win,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.

For Lue, the shift began with the Clippers playing defense at a higher level while not forcing the action.

Read more:Clippers' strong third quarter leads to blowout of the Hawks

Before the game, Lue talked about how Harden has been a consistent force, something the All-Star proved against Charlotte with 31 points on nine-for-15 shooting. He also made four of seven three-point attempts, 10 rebounds and seven assists in just 31 minutes.

"We pretty much need to win these games,” Kawhi Leonard said after finishing with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes. “Obviously James has been playing at a great level. ... It’s just been a collective group [effort].”

Lue said the Clippers are comfortable playing through Leonard and Ivica Zubac more frequently. Zubac finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high eight assists in 28 minutes.

“It’s been great,” Leonard said about Zubac’s play, especially the center’s passing ability. “Like I said, if the other team is switching or if we need a basket, he’s able to relieve us and with his efficiency. The other team is seeing that and bringing two guys to him and he’s making the right play.”

In addition, Lue has integrated Bogdan Bogdanovic (seven points, four rebounds) and Ben Simmons (three assists, zero points) more into the fold. It has all added up to the Clippers playing with greater purpose.

“Just trying to fit all these pieces together,” Lue said. “We have [14] games to do it, which is more than enough time if we just lock in and understand what we’re trying to do. So I’m excited about that challenge.”

One player who struggled to put the pieces together Sunday was Powell. After missing 12 of the last 13 games because of knee issues and a right hamstring strain, he scored just seven points on three-for-13 shooting.

The next seven days will provide the Clippers with tougher challenges.

They face Cleveland, Memphis and Oklahoma City next. The Cavaliers have the best record in the NBA, the Thunder the second best and the Grizzlies are fourth in the Western Conference.

Read more:Kawhi Leonard's spectacular buzzer-beater lifts Clippers to OT win over Kings

But because the Clippers have found their groove — like when they built a 38-point lead against Charlotte — they are more prepared for the task ahead as they try to climb out of the No. 8 spot in the West.

“Getting guys back healthy, playing together, trusting each other, playing better defense than when we played in a stretch before that,” Zubac said about the Clippers' improved play. “And, that’s it. We’re kind of figuring it out. Defensively we’re better and we’re slowly getting guys back. ... We got a good squad when we’re healthy. So, just keep building, keep building. We’re in a final stretch of the season and we got to get as many wins as we can and everyone [has] got to be locked in.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.