Benton 11, Basehor-Linwood 1
Bishop LeBlond 9, South Nodaway 3
Lafayette 9, Cameron 1
Author: Dave Riggert
Kansas City signs LB Edgar Jones; releases Andy Studebaker
The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Monday that the club has signed linebacker Edgar Jones. Additionally, the club has released linebacker Andy Studebaker.
Jones (6-3, 262) has seen action in 57 contests in six NFL seasons with Kansas City (2012) and Baltimore (2007-11). He has primarily served as a special teams player, recording 39 career tackles, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries, including one returned for a touchdown. On defense, he owns nine tackles (five solo) and 1.5 sacks (-4.5 yards). While with Baltimore he saw action in 41 contests, contributing as both a linebacker and tight end.
Jones originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent of the Ravens from Southeast Missouri State University in 2007. As a senior at Southeast Missouri, Jones was named a first-team All-American after leading Division I-AA with 12.0 sacks (-88.0 yards) in 2006. He was a two-time all-state selection as a defensive end at Rayville High School in Rayville, La.
Studebaker (6-3, 248) has played in 70 games (eight starts) in five NFL seasons with the Chiefs. He primarily served on special teams, recording 45 tackles and recovered a fumbled punt in the end zone for a touchdown. On defense his career numbers include 51 tackles (40 solo), 2.5 sacks (-5.5 yards), two interceptions, five passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
He originally entered the NFL as the third of Philadelphia’s three sixth-round (203rd overall) selections in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was signed by Kansas City from the Eagles practice squad on Nov. 19, 2008. He played collegiately at Wheaton College and prepped at Eureka High School in Eureka, Ill.
— Chiefs Media Relations —
Jayhawks’ McLemore named to Wooden All-America Team
Kansas redshirt freshman guard Ben McLemore was named to the 10-member John R. Wooden Award All-American Team announced Monday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
An All-Big 12 First Team selection, McLemore led Kansas in scoring in 2012-13 at 15.9 points per game, which broke the KU freshman record of 14.6 ppg average by Jayhawk legend Danny Manning in 1985. A 6-foot-5 St. Louis, Mo., native, McLemore’s 589 points and his 87.0 free throw percentage also broke KU freshman marks. During the 2012-13 season, McLemore was a three-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week and one-time league player of the week this season and had 10 games of 20 points or more, including three 30-point efforts. His 36-point effort against West Virginia (3/2) broke the KU freshman single-game scoring record.
Historically, this is the fourth-straight season and seventh time in the Bill Self era that a Jayhawk has been selected to the John R. Wooden Award All-American Team. McLemore marks the 13th overall KU player named to the team, which started in 1977. Manning was a two-time honoree in 1986 and 1988 and won the John R. Wooden Player of the Year Award in 1988.
— KU Sports Information —
Missouri Western baseball ranked in the top 15 in two different polls
The Missouri Western baseball team has moved into the Top-15 in the nation in two different polls.
The Griffons are 12th in the College Baseball Line-up weekly poll and 13th in the D2baseballnews.com weekly poll.
Western has won six games in a row and 23-of-24. They are 24-4 overall and 19-1 in MIAA play.
MWSU returns to action on Tuesday, April 2 in St. Joseph, Mo. for a single nine inning game with Southwest Baptist University. It will be a non-conference game that starts at 4:00 p.m. and will air live on ESPN 1550 AM.
— MWSU Sports Information —
Kansas adds DB Brandon Hollomon to 2013 football recruting class
Kansas football head coach Charlie Weis announced the signing of defensive back Brandon Hollomon Monday afternoon. Hollomon, who spent the 2012 season at Los Angeles’ Pierce College, is the 27th player to join the Jayhawks in their 2013 recruiting class.
Hollomon, who will be a sophomore in 2013, played in eight games for the Brahmas in 2012, helping Pierce to a 9-2 overall mark and a Patriotic Bowl title. He tallied 19 tackles, including 13 solo stops, on the season. He also recorded seven pass breakups, with three coming in the double-overtime Patriotic Bowl win over Mt. San Jacinto.
A native of Philadelphia, Pa., Hollomon attended West Catholic High School where he starred on both sides of the ball. He was a two-time all-state, all-city and all-catholic honoree after rushing for 2,985 yards and 33 touchdowns on 330 carries during his junior and senior seasons. Hollomon also caught 34 passes for 422 yards and three TDS on offense, while recording five interceptions on defense for West Catholic.
Hollomon, who is listed at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, is one of three players to sign with KU from Pierce, joining defensive lineman Marquel Combs and linebacker Marcus Jenkins-Moore. He is the fifth defensive back in the 2013 Kansas recruiting class and 19th junior college addition.
Kansas football will wrap up its 2013 spring season on Saturday, April 13 with its annual Spring Game. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m., in Memorial Stadium. KU will host its second annual “Train Like a Jayhawk” free kids clinic prior to the game. The one-hour clinic will take place from 10-11 a.m., on the KU football practice fields adjacent to Memorial Stadium on the southeast corner.
Following the clinic, the Hy-vee Hawkzone will be open from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., with the Spring Game kicking off at 1 p.m., at Memorial Stadium. The Hy-vee Hawkzone will also be located on the Kansas football practice fields.
— KU Sports Information —
MWSU softball annouces summer camp dates
The Missouri Western softball program has two camps lined up for the summer of 2013. The affordable camps meet the training needs for young women of all ages.
The Junior Griffon Fundamental Camp reaches out to the younger girls interested in learning the basic skill and fundamentals of the game and is open and available to all entrants ages 6-13. This camp is geared towards the younger, less experienced players who are either learning the game as a beginner or who want to improve their skills before trying our for varsity or travel teams. This camp will be on Thursday, May 30.
The Senior Griffon Advanced Camp is geared towards the older, more experienced young women who are interested in sharpening their skills in preparation for competitive softball and/or college and is open and available to all entrants ages 14-18. This camp is recommended for players who have experience on a high school varsity team, ASA traveling team, or All-Star team. College coaches around the area will be invited to watch drill work in the morning and scrimmage in the afternoon. This camp will be on Friday, May 31.
— MWSU Sports Information —
Griffons take two from Lincoln Sunday to complete series sweep
The Missouri Western baseball team had 18 extra base hits with six being home runs as they completed the series sweep against the Lincoln Blue Tigers. The Griffons won game one 11-1 behind 17 hits and came from behind in game two winning 16-9 scattering 19 hits. The Griffons improve to 24-4 overall and 19-1 in MIAA play.
Game 1
MWSU 11, LU 1
The Griffons scored runs in all seven innings in game one and got a strong pitching performance from Banks Born picking up the 11-1 victory. Born improved to 3-0 going five innings giving up just three hits while striking out two in five innings of work.
Offensively the Griffons had 17 hits with Michael Schulze and Spencer Shockley each getting three. The Griffons got two runs with two outs in the first. Kyle Simpson got hit by a pitch and later scored on a Nate Ramler single and a Blue Tiger error. Shockley then doubled in Ramler.
In the second the Griffons once again scored runs with two outs. Jake Schrader doubled and later scored on a Schulze two out double to left center. Bubba Dotson followed that up hitting his seventh homer of the season scoring Schulze giving MWSU the 5-0 lead after two.
In the third Grant Fink and Jimmy Smelcer hit back-to-back homers giving the Griffons the 7-0 lead. For Fink it was his team leading 11th while it was Smelcer’s 4th.
That would be all the Griffons would need as they scored four more runs in the 11-1 victory. Ramler, Smelcer and Jake Schrader all had two hits while Dotson had three RBI.
The Blue Tigers had five hits with Clint Cashen getting two. Scott Jones falls to 2-5 overall going six innings giving up 15 hits with nine earned runs.
Game 2
MWSU 16, LU 9
In game two the Griffons had to come from behind to get the 16-9 victory. Things started well for the Griffons in game two when Dotson hit his 8th homer of the season giving MWSU the 2-0 lead.
The Blue Tigers answered with four hits and three runs in the bottom of the first taking a 3-2 lead. In the top of the second MWSU got the scored tied up when Schrader got hit by a pitch and scored on a Schulze ground out to short stop.
Lincoln regained the lead scoring the next four runs taking a 7-3 lead into the fifth. The Griffons remained calm and exploded in the top of the 5th scoring eight runs on seven hits. Kyle Simpson had four RBI in the inning hitting his fourth homer of the season and then hit a two RBI single later in the inning. MWSU took an 11-7 lead after five.
The Blue Tigers kept battling back scoring two more in the seventh but MWSU got a run in the 8th and four in the 9th winning the third and final game of the series 16-9.
In the game MWSU had 19 hits with Fink getting four with two runs. Dotson, Ramler and Shockley all had three hits while Simpson had five RBI. Kyle Kelly picked up the victory going four innings giving up seven hits and four earned runs. Kelly improves to 2-1 overall.
Lincoln falls to 2-19 overall and 2-16 in MIAA play. The Blue Tigers had 15 hits with Colby Shepherd, Brad Wright, Jonathan Grishman and James Earlywine all getting three. Joe Jungmeyer went four innings in the no decision while Craig Jones falls to 0-1 going 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and five earned runs.
The Griffons return to action on Tuesday, April 2 when they play a single nine inning non-conference game against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. First pitch is set for 4:00 pm.
— MWSU Sports Information —
Western women sit in 7th after day one of MWSU Candlewood Suites Classic
A week after Mother Nature postponed the original date, the Missouri Western Women’s golf team along with nine other teams from the NCAA Central Region battled blustery, chilly conditions in the opening round of the MWSU Candlewood Suites Classic on Sunday at St. Joseph Country Club.
Western fired an opening round 355 which sits in 7th place in the 10 team field. Individually, senior Casi Webb leads
the Griffon lineup with an 85 while senior and lineup #1 player Natalie Bird finished with an 86. Two freshman rounded out the counting scores for the Griffons as Callie Wilson carded a 90 and Anna Kloeppel a 94.
Minnesota State fired a day one best team score of 328, while Arkansas Tech is 11 shots off the pace in second at 339 with Augustana in third place firing a team score of 340.
Individually, Kristina Weiszhaar of Southwest Minnesota State leads the 65 player field as she shot an opening round 77 on the par 72, 5855 yard layout.
The tournament concludes on Monday, April 1 with a 10 AM shotgun start.
— MWSU Sports Information —
Jayhawk women get dominated by No. 1 seed Notre Dame
Skylar Diggins was already having such a great day, her coach figured she might as well make it historic.
The Notre Dame point guard scored 22 of her 27 points by halftime Sunday and became the school’s career scoring leader, leading the top-seeded Fighting Irish to a 93-63 victory against Kansas in the semifinals of the Norfolk Regional.
Notre Dame will play No. 2 seed Duke on Tuesday for a berth in the Final Four.
Coach Muffet McGraw had forgotten all about Diggins’ pursuit of the school scoring mark until the game was well in hand. When she asked, she was told the senior was just two points away from passing assistant coach Beth Cunningham.
”I told her, ‘You’re coming out in 30 seconds. You might as well get one more,”’ McGraw said she told Diggins.
Moments later, with 7:48 to play, the lefthander in her trademark white headband swished a 12-foot jumper.
”Coach told me to score two more. I didn’t really know why, but I was like, ‘OK,”’ Diggins said.
It was that kind of the day for Diggins, who heard talk beforehand that the Norfolk Regional was full of great point guards, and quickly showed she might not have a peer, especially at this time of year with the stakes so high.
”We play in games that are so much like Sweet 16 or Elite Eight kind of caliber games in our conference,” she said. ”That helps all of us.”
So does having a leader that makes it all look so easy. Diggins added nine assists and three steals, scored nine straight during a 16-2 first-half run that put the Irish (34-1) ahead to stay, and six more to cap a 10-2 run into halftime.
”She’s what everyone says,” Kansas point guard Angel Goodrich, who finished with seven points and 13 assists, said. ”She’s the whole package. She can create for herself and she can create for her teammates.”
The victory was the 29th in a row for Notre Dame, and left the Irish one victory shy of a third consecutive trip to the Final Four. They have lost in the title game each of the last two years.
Carolyn Davis led the upstart Jayhawks (20-14) with 25 points on 11-for-17 shooting, but the second No. 12 seed ever to get this far in the women’s tournament since the seeding format began in 1994 didn’t stick around long.
Notre Dame led 40-27 at halftime and started the second half with a 22-9 run.
”We definitely let them play comfortable and confident,” Jayhawks coach Bonnie Henrickson said. ”I was disappointed our defensive effort wasn’t better.”
Goodrich’s head-to-head duel with Diggins never materialized. When Goodrich, like Diggins a senior, finally scored with 5:48 left in the first half, Diggins already had 16 points and her team was about to make another run before halftime.
It came in the final 4:30 of the half, a 10-2 burst capped by two 3-pointers by Diggins.
”When she starts hitting the 3, you’re in trouble,” McGraw said.
Natalie Achonwa added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Notre Dame, Jewell Loyd scored 15 and Kayla McBride 13 as the Fighting Irish shot 54.4 percent from the field, making 37 of 69 attempts.
Monica Engelman added 10 points for Kansas, but on just 4 of 16 shooting.
The Irish trailed 15-11 when Loyd made a 3-pointer with 14:37 to go and then Diggins took over. She hit a 16-footer, a 17-footer, a 3-pointer and then had a steal and layup, making it 23-15. After Davis’ stickback for the Jayhawks, Ariel Braker scored inside and Diggins did, too, posting up Goodrich.
The 16-2 run gave the Fighting Irish a 27-17 lead, and the spread stayed about the same until late in the half when Diggins hit a 3-pointer, then followed a turnover with another 3 from the right side.
— Associated Press —
Nebraska women fall short against Duke in Sweet 16
Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie is growing weary of people expecting the Blue Devils to roll over teams in the NCAA tournament.
”We don’t want to be pretty, we want to advance,” McCallie said after the Blue Devils struggled offensively but used a solid defensive effort for a 53-45 victory over Nebraska in the Norfolk Regional of the women’s NCAA tournament on Sunday.
”We want to advance. We want to find a way to keep going,” McCallie said.
Duke will play top-seeded Notre Dame on Tuesday night for a berth in the Final Four.
Tricia Liston had 17 points and eight rebounds and Alexis Jones had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Blue Devils shook off another slow start by using a 12-0 run to take the lead by halftime and then hang on with their defense.
”Somebody mentioned that we haven’t played a great game yet,”’ McCallie said. ”It’s about time we do. I’m kind of looking forward to that. We’ve had to gut some things out, handle some things differently.”
The Cornhuskers (25-9), in the round of 16 for just the second time in school history, shot 30.3 percent and hit just 3 of 24 3-point tries.
Nebraska arrived averaging 6.4 3-pointers and made eight last week in stunning Texas A&M on its home floor.
Duke also trailed Oklahoma State by 13 at halftime last week on its home floor before rallying.
”It can be frustrating at times,” Liston said of the offensive struggles, which have been made worse by the loss of All-American Chelsea Gray to a dislocated kneecap 10 games ago. ”That’s where our defense can come in.”
Duke’s Elizabeth Williams, a native of Virginia Beach, finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks, but missed 10 of her 15 shots as Duke made just 21 of 64 shots, 32.8 percent, and 4 of 16 3-pointers.
Lindsey Moore led the Cornhuskers with 11 points, but on 5 of 18 shooting. Nebraska’s leading scorer, Jordan Hooper, who averages 18.2 points, left with an ankle injury with 8 minutes left and scored just six points, missing 11 of her 14 shots.
”Obviously we struggled,” said Moore, a part of both round of 16 teams in Nebraska history. ”I think we’re a better shooting team than we showed. … We just had to keep shooting them and hope they would start dropping for us.”
Moore said Duke also confused the Cornhuskers by continually switching defensive looks.
”I hope it was confusing because we’re trying to be confusing,” McCallie said.
Hooper hit a foul-line jumper 30 seconds into the second half, sparking an 8-4 run that got them within 27-26, but Duke responded with a 13-4 run. Liston started it with a 3-pointer, and Haley Peters and Richa Jackson each scored four in the run.
Moore’s basket in the lane got the Cornhuskers within 44-38 with 3:53 to play, but Jones and Peters converted Nebraska turnovers with inside baskets.
After Katie Simon scored for Nebraska, two free throws each by Liston and Jones extended the lead to 51-40 with 1:04 left.
Duke made just four of its first 20 shots and trailed Nebraska 18-11 before turning it around. The Blue Devils outscored the Cornhuskers 12-0 in the last 5:46 of the half, with Jones scoring seven.
— Associated Press —