Gregory named Horizon League POTW

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State sophomore forward Sophia Gregory, a West Branch High School graduate, was named the Under Armour Horizon League Player of the Week for her performances against a pair of Mid-American Conference opponents in the final week of November, the league announced Monday.

It is the first Player of the Week honor for Gregory, who was a three-time Horizon League Freshman of the Week last season before earning the conference’s Freshman of the Year award. She follows teammate Casey Santoro, who won the award last week, giving the Penguins two honorees in the first four weeks of the season.

Gregory led the Horizon League in field-goal percentage last week, shooting 81.8% while ranking among the conference’s top four players in scoring, rebounding and blocks. She averaged 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocks as YSU split its two games and recorded its largest margin of victory at Akron in 46 years.

In Tuesday’s four-point loss to Toledo, which was picked second in the MAC preseason poll, Gregory went 8-for-9 from the field and finished with team highs of 16 points and eight rebounds. She added two assists, two steals and two blocks. In Sunday’s 90-63 win at Akron, she posted game highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 10-for-13 and going 4-for-4 at the line.

Through the first month of the season, Gregory ranks second in the Horizon League with 8.4 rebounds per game and third with 1.0 blocks per game. She is shooting 63.8% from the field while averaging 9.7 points.

Youngstown State opens a three-game Horizon League stretch on Friday at Milwaukee at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Brungard honored by MVFC

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State junior quarterback Beau Brungard was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year, the league announced Monday, becoming the first Penguin quarterback to earn the award since YSU joined the conference in 1997.

Brungard headlined a strong postseason showing for the Penguins, who landed four players on the All-MVFC first team. He was joined by wide receiver Max Tomczak, defensive lineman Michael Wells and return specialist Ky “Flash” Wilson.

Brungard put together one of the most dynamic dual-threat seasons in FCS history to secure the honor. He received 102 votes, outpacing North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton, who finished with 69. Brungard rushed for 1,378 yards and 24 touchdowns on 225 carries while completing 254 of 368 passes for 2,917 yards and 23 touchdowns with just three interceptions. His year included the first 300-yard passing, 200-yard rushing performance in FCS history, achieved at Illinois State, and seven 100-yard rushing games.

Panthers gain top seed

PITTSBURGH — The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday that University of Pittsburgh freshman and Crestview High School graduate Abbey Emch has been named the ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Week after a standout weekend. The honor is the first weekly ACC award of her young career.

Emch averaged 2.33 blocks per set and 1.75 points per set across two conference wins. She posted four blocks, two digs and a kill in Wednesday’s sweep of No. 7 Louisville, then followed with a career-high 10 blocks in three sets against Georgia Tech, helping hold the Yellow Jackets to a .051 hitting percentage. She also added two kills to her stat line on Saturday.

On Sunday, the Panthers earned the No. 1 seed for the third straight season in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.

With the top seed, the Panthers will once again have home-court advantage through the first four rounds, hosting back-to-back weekends of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Petersen Events Center.

Pitt opens postseason play at 7 p.m. on Friday against UMBC with the match streaming on ESPN+. A victory would set up a Saturday showdown at 7 p.m. against the winner of No. 8 seed Xavier/Michigan, with a berth in the regional semifinal on the line.

This year marks Pitt’s 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Panthers own a 26-20 all-time postseason record, while head coach Dan Fisher is 23-9 in NCAA Tournament play. Pitt enters the tournament riding a streak of four straight national semifinals and five consecutive Elite Eight appearances.

Crosby has 59 goals vs. Flyers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby scored his 58th and 59th career goals against the Philadelphia Flyers and his continued excellence in the cross-state rivalry helped lead the Penguins to a 5-1 win on Monday night.

Crosby, who has 18 goals this season, has dominated the Flyers like no other visiting player has done in Philadelphia’s franchise history. Crosby has 59 goals and 137 points in 92 games against Philadelphia, the most in both categories any opponent has ever put up on the Flyers.

He owns the Flyers.

The Flyers promoted the game all night as a Keystone Rivalry game but the series — even as fans voraciously booed Crosby with each touch — has never been much of a rivalry. Crosby has won three Stanley Cup titles while the Flyers have won only two in franchise history, in 1974 and 1975. Crosby wasn’t even born until 1987.

Crosby did enough damage to snap the Flyers’ modest three-game winning streak.

Rick Tocchet has the Flyers hopeful of a playoff berth in his first season since he returned to the franchise as coach. Tocchet knows how to win a Stanley Cup. He won one as a player and two as an assistant coach — both with the Penguins.

Crosby scored to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead — his 60th career road game-opening goal — and added a wrist shot through traffic on the power play for a 2-1 lead in the second period. Bryan Rust scored his eighth goal in the second for a 3-1 lead. Thomas Novak and Kevin Hayes scored in the third.

The 38-year-old Crosby has 1,716 career points and is close to eclipsing Mario Lemieux’s 1,723 for most in franchise history. Lemieux owned the team when Crosby captioned the Penguins to championships in 2009, 2016 and 2017.

Tyson Foerster scored his 10th goal for the Flyers. Foerster dropped to his knees and clutched his right arm on a shot later in the period and skated straight to the locker room. He leads the Flyers in goals.

Elks hoop shoot open to all

SALEM — The Salem Elks No. 305 basketball hoop shoot contest will be held on Dec. 6 at the Salem Memorial Building. Registration starts at 1 p.m. with the hoop shoot going off at 1:30 p.m. Boys and girls age groups are 8-9, 10-11 and 12-13. The event is free and open to the public.