Medina team has travel issue

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The bus carrying the Medina High School girls lacrosse team caught fire Thursday night as Bees were returning from a spring break trip to the Carolinas.

None of the 18 players on the team, three coaches or the bus driver were hurt. The charter company was from Alliance.

The driver reportedly pulled over around 7 p.m. Thursday on I-77 north of Sissonville after hearing noises from the engine. The bus filled with smoke and caught fire.

Another bus got the team back to Medina about 1 a.m. Friday.

The Bees split a pair of matches, losing to Oceanside Collegiate Academy (S.C), 11-6, on Monday and beating Charlotte Latin (N.C.), 10-8, on Wednesday.

Grand Valley State wins D2 title

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Freshman MacKenzie Bisballe scored 14 points and her sister Rylie Bisballe added 13 as Grand Valley State secured its second Division II women’s basketball championship with a 70-58 win over California State-Dominguez Hills on Friday night.

Grand Valley State (38-2) was appearing in the title game for the second time in program history, with the 2005-06 team beating American International 58-52 to finish 33-3. It was the winningest team in program history until the current squad.

California State-Dominguez Hills (36-2), which won 29 straight games to start the season, was in the championship game for the first time in program history.

Grand Valley State held a narrow 15-12 lead with 1:13 left in the first quarter before scoring 11 of the next 12 points to go ahead 26-13 midway through the second. The Toros struggled from the field in the first half, starting the game by making just 5 of 18 shots (28%).

Sparty still dancing

ATLANTA (AP) — Jace Richardson scored 24 points and Michigan State surged past Mississippi in the second half for a 73-70 victory on Friday night in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

Ole Miss (24-12) was denied in its bid for its first Elite Eight appearance despite leading by 10 points in the first half and by nine in the second half.

Michigan State (30-6), the South Region’s No. 2 seed, rallied to keep alive coach Tom Izzo’s bid for his ninth Final Four and second national championship. The Spartans will play either No. 1 seed Auburn or rival Michigan on Sunday.

Izzo, in his 16th Sweet 16, earned his 59th NCAA Tournament win, breaking a tie with Jim Boeheim of Syracuse for fourth all-time.

A drive and short jumper by Jaden Akins gave Michigan State a 65-63 lead. Following two misses by Rebels guard Dre Davis, Izzo called timeout with 57 seconds remaining and then pumped his fist as he welcomed his players back to the bench.

Following the timeout, Carson Cooper’s layup stretched the lead to 67-63, the Spartans’ biggest lead of the game. A floater by Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla, who led the Rebels with 24 points, cut the lead to two.

Ole Miss was making only its second Sweet 16 appearance after losing to Arizona 66-56 and failing to advance to the 2001 Elite Eight.

The Spartans scored the final six points of the first half to trail 33-31 at the break.

Michigan State took its first lead of the game at 51-50 on two free throws by Cooper and stretched the advantage to 53-50 on Frankie Fidler’s layup.

Duke beats rival

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Oluchi Okananwa had her third double-double of the season and Duke beat Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina 47-38 in a grind-it-out defensive battle on Friday, sending the Blue Devils to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

The second-seeded Blue Devils climbed out of an early 11-0 hole to advance to the 12th regional final in program history and first since 2013. Duke will play No. 1 seed and defending champion South Carolina, which beat Maryland 71-67.

“I’ll be honest. I was a little worried down 11-0 and we hadn’t scored at all in the game,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “But I don’t think there’s ever been a shutout. I felt pretty good we could score at some point.”

That didn’t come until the four-minute mark of the first, when Jordan Wood drew a foul and made one of two free throws.

Okananwa, a reserve, scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half and had 10 rebounds. Duke (29-7) got 26 points from its bench compared to North Carolina’s six.

Ashlon Jackson finished with 10 points, and Toby Fournier, Duke’s leading scorer this season who was sidelined for the Blue Devils’ second-round win over Oregon with an illness, was held to three points.

Vols punch Elite 8 ticket

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Zakai Zeigler had 18 points and 10 assists, and Tennessee outhustled and outplayed Kentucky on both ends of the court in a 78-65 victory Friday night that sent the Volunteers to a second consecutive Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

The second-seeded Vols (30-7) beat their border rival in the first all-Southeastern Conference Sweet 16 matchup since 1986 and will play Sunday against Houston or Purdue in the Midwest Region final.

Chaz Lanier added 17 points and Jordan Gainey had 16 for the Vols, who lost twice to Kentucky in the regular season but prevailed on a much bigger stage this time.

No one enjoyed the show at Lucas Oil Stadium more than Peyton Manning, who was back in the town where he spent 13 years and won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts. The Vols’ most famous sports alum was in a bright orange ballcap seated behind the bench as Tennessee ran off with a no-doubt victory in the “House Peyton Built.”

Lamont Butler scored 18 points to lead first-year coach Mark Pope’s third-seeded Wildcats (24-12), who were held 20 points under their season scoring average. Their 65 points matched their fewest in a game this season.