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  • Flyers continue to fight local hunger one assist at a time: ‘We needed to do more, plain and simple’

    Flyers continue to fight local hunger one assist at a time: ‘We needed to do more, plain and simple’

    The Flyers and Penn Medicine have partnered up to donate 13,750 pounds of food, which accounts for over 9,000 meals, so far this season as part of their Penn Medicine Assist program.

    The initiative, which started during the 2023-24 season, donates 50 pounds of food to local hunger-relief organization Philabundance for every Flyers assist — increasing last year’s amount by 20 pounds per assist. So far, the Flyers have tallied 275 assists.

    “We needed to do more, plain and simple,” said Todd Glickman, the chief revenue and business officer for Comcast Spectacor. “We felt like we needed to do more and give more because food insecurity is such a big thing in the region. It was important to Penn Medicine and it was important to us. And it was an easy thing to do.”

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    The program’s numbers continue to grow each year. During the 2023-24 season, the Flyers’ 396 assists donated 11,880 pounds of food. The following year, the Flyers’ 403 assists donated 12,090 pounds of food — making it over 37,000 pounds of food, and over 25,000 meals, that have been donated over the last three years.

    “I think we’ll see the numbers go up significantly from last year just by increasing the amount by 20 pounds per assist,” said Lori Gustave, the chief strategy officer of Penn Medicine. “I personally hope they get a lot of assists so that we can donate a lot of food.”

    The initiative will benefit Philabundance, which has been operating for 41 years, growing across two states in nine counties, with the mission to bridge the gap between a surplus of food and those in the community struggling with food insecurity.

    The foundation started from the back of Pam Rainey Lawler’s Subaru in 1984. Since then, it has grown tremendously — delivering over 40 million pounds of food to the community over the past year.

    Gritty at Philabundance last year, packing some of the meals donated from the Penn Medicine Assist program.

    “Of the nine counties, which includes Philadelphia, there are approximately 700,000 neighbors that are food insecure,” said Amy Galette, the director of corporate relations at Philabundance. “If you think about the amount of people we serve a week, it’s enough to fill five stadiums full during Flyers games. It’d be like selling out five Flyers games per week.”

    As part of last year’s Penn Medicine Assist program, Gritty and some of the Flyers players, including Jamie Drysdale and Bobby Brink, joined the assembly line at Philabundance to help package some of the meals.

    “It was fun,” Brink said. “I mean it was nice to get a little day-in-the-life kind of vibe and help out. The environment was great, a lot of great people, and it’s always nice just giving a few hours to help.”

    Drysdale added: “We are very fortunate to be in this position that we’re in. And I don’t think it takes a lot for us to give a few hours wherever we can to kind of help out and just show some love back to the community that treats us so well.”

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  • Imhotep is back in the Public League girls’ basketball final after beating Central

    Imhotep is back in the Public League girls’ basketball final after beating Central

    Business as usual.

    For the 14th year in a row, Imhotep Charter is headed back to the Public League championship. In Thursday’s semifinal, the Panthers eked out a 52-45 win against Central at La Salle’s John Glaser Arena. Imhotep led for the entire game, but Central kept it close until the final whistle. Taylor Linton’s team-high 17 points lifted the Panthers back to the final.

    “Out of all the teams throughout Imhotep history that have contributed to the streak, the commonality between all of those teams is that everybody is pushing,” said Imhotep coach David Hargrove. “Pushing to be better — number one. But then, pushing to be better teammates — number two. That allows us to keep that standard of competitiveness and championship-quality basketball.”

    Audenried will defend its Public League girls’ basketball title after blowout win over Lincoln

    Late in the fourth quarter, down by six, Central sophomore guard Ava Yancey stole the ball and passed to junior point guard Stevie Hall, who was fouled and sent to the line. She made both free throws.

    But Imhotep kept on pushing.

    Panthers junior guard McKenna Alston responded with a lay-in of her own to quiet Central’s fans. Alston then stole the ball on the next two Lancers possessions to swing the momentum back to the Panthers.

    “We challenge our kids about making connecting plays. A lot of people think that’s [just on offense]. But for us … it’s on defense too,” Hargrove said. “We were able to put pressure to the ball, be in passing lanes, and be active.”

    Linton added: “[The end] was very intense. I think what was important is that we kept our poise … and we stayed connected.”

    Imhotep senior point guard Anai Kenyatta controlled the pace for the Panthers. Whenever the Lancers gained momentum, Kenyatta answered the call, finishing with 13 points. Senior forward Crystal Hawthorne added 11.

    For Central, sophomore forward Janai Bellinger led with a game-high 18 points. After Imhotep took a quick nine-point lead behind a 7-2 run to start the second half, Bellinger kept her team within striking distance until the final whistle.

    Audenried trounced Lincoln 67-28 earlier Thursday, meaning Imhotep will meet Audenried in the Public League championship for the fourth year in a row on Sunday. The Panthers lost to the Shayla Smith-led Rockets in the championship the past three matchups. With Smith now at Penn State, Sunday’s results could look different from previous years.

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    “Sunday’s matchup — we anticipate it to be a classic. It’s what has become an Imhotep-Audenried matchup, which is always going to be a back-and-forth, competitive game,” said Hargrove. “Some players are going to step up, some might step down, but it’s going to be a competitive game, and our kids have really been building for this moment all season.”

    Before Imhotep prepares for Audenried, the Panthers celebrated in the locker room after Thursday’s win.

    “It was quiet at first when we all walked in because it was like, ‘Dang,’” Linton said. “And then the coaches started coming in, and it was like, ‘OK, we going to the chip.’ It was real. Everybody was cheering and everyone was really, really happy.”

  • Sixers’ losing streak reaches three after 117-107 loss to the Atlanta Hawks

    Sixers’ losing streak reaches three after 117-107 loss to the Atlanta Hawks

    Jalen Johnson had 32 points and 10 rebounds and CJ McCollum added 23 points as the Atlanta Hawks beat the 76ers 117-107 on Thursday night in the teams’ first game after the All-Star break.

    Dyson Daniels finished with 15 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 14, and Zaccharie Risacher and Jock Landale each had 10 as the Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak with their third win over the Sixers this season.

    Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points and Rising Stars MVP VJ Edgecombe added 20 for the Sixers, who were without center Joel Embiid, who missed the game due to right shin soreness.

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    Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 17 points and Quentin Grimes scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half for Philly. Andre Drummond contributed 10 points and 14 rebounds as the Sixers lost their third in a row and for the fourth time in five games.

    The Hawks built an 11-point lead with approximately six minutes remaining before the Sixers charged back and closed within 108-104 with less than three minutes left. Atlanta closed the game with a 9-3 run that included five points by Johnson, who shot 14-for-16 from the line.

    The 76ers said Embiid experienced soreness in his shin while participating in a right knee injury management program over the break. After consulting with doctors, Embiid has received daily treatment, while progressing through on-court work and strength and conditioning.

    Coach Nick Nurse said before the game against the Hawks that the plan is to get Embiid on the court on Friday and “see how he looks from there.” Nurse said he “don’t anticipate it being a long time.”

    Embiid is averaging 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 31 games this season.

    The Sixers will face the Pelicans on Saturday in New Orleans (7 p.m., NBCSP).

  • Audenried will defend its Public League girls’ basketball title after blowout win over Lincoln

    Audenried will defend its Public League girls’ basketball title after blowout win over Lincoln

    The Universal Audenried Charter girls’ basketball team entered the Public League semifinals Thursday night as three-time reigning champions, but the journey for its fourth title looks different.

    Guard Shayla Smith led the Rockets the last four seasons and became Philadelphia’s all-time leading scorer, but she graduated and moved on to Penn State.

    Against Abraham Lincoln, Audenried showed it still can win. Behind junior forward Nasiaah Russell and senior guard Heaven Reese, the Rockets are heading to their fourth straight Public League title game after beating Lincoln, 67-28, at La Salle’s John Glaser Arena. Audenried will face Imhotep on Sunday.

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    After a sluggish first four minutes, Audenried dominated the rest of the way. The Rockets outscored Lincoln by 19 points in the second half by forcing turnovers and scoring in transition. Four players scored in double figures, led by Reese’s 16 points and sophomore guard Chloe Kham’s 15 off the bench.

    “Us making it back to the championship after Shayla leaving is huge for me,” said Audenried coach Kevin Slaughter. “A lot of people were saying once Shayla left, we were done, and to get back is big for us.”

    Audenried found stability behind Reese, who has been part of the winning culture at Audenried and knows what it takes to bring home a Public League crown.

    The experience of Reese, a Coppin State commit; Russell, who’s committed to St. John’s; and guard Aniyah Cheeseboro made overcoming the loss of Smith easier.

    “The last three years, we have all been behind Shayla and the other seniors,” Reese said. “So for us to [go win without her], it just means a lot.”

    The Rockets ended the first quarter on a 16-1 run to take a 12-point lead. Kham hit back-to-back threes early in the second to push Audenried’s lead to 16. The sophomore was a significant factor for Audenried with her deep shooting and layups in transition.

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    “Chloe has been a person who’s been struggling a bit this season … and I think it was her first high school experience because she didn’t really play at Neumann Goretti last year,” Slaughter said. “So for her to come out and have 15 points is huge for us.”

    Audenried took a 40-18 halftime lead with another championship appearance in sight. Lincoln scored the first three points of the second half before the Rockets put the game away.

    They scored 27 straight points to enter the final eight minutes with a 67-21 lead. Reese and Russell led the charge with 12 during the run.

    Audenried girls’ basketball will have a rematch with Imhotep in the Public League title game on Sunday.

    The championship game will pit Audenried against Imhotep for a fourth straight year. The Rockets won, 65-52, last year behind 35 points from Smith. They may not have Smith, but their confidence in winning a fourth straight Public League title remains high.

    “Me personally, I always thought we were going to get back here,” Slaughter said. “Because a lot of the kids who were ninth and 10th graders when Shayla was there, they got to see it. … They have been in these wars.”

  • Jason and Travis Kelce helped U.S. hockey player’s family see the Olympic gold medal win

    Jason and Travis Kelce helped U.S. hockey player’s family see the Olympic gold medal win

    MILAN, Italy — As soon as U.S. hockey defender Laila Edwards skated onto the Olympic ice ahead of Thursday’s gold medal win against Canada, she scanned the stands for the real MVP: Her 91-year-old grandmother.

    Their shared ritual was on display before Team USA’s 2-1 triumph Thursday — made possible through an outpouring of donations to a GoFundMe drive, with by far the biggest individual contribution — $10,000 — coming from NFL brother tandem Travis and Jason Kelce, who also grew up in Cleveland.

    “As she comes in, she’s looking around,” her grandmother, Ernestine Gray, told the Associated Press earlier this week. “Then I say, ‘I won’t do anything to distract her.’ Then she did see me and I wave to her and then she waved back.”

    Edwards, the first Black female hockey player to represent the United States at the Olympics, fielded a team of her own in Milan. The fundraiser enabled 10 family members and four friends to travel to Italy. Still others paid their own way.

    After the semifinals game earlier this week, Edwards, a senior at Wisconsin, told the AP that her family’s presence in Milan “means everything to me.”

    “They helped me get here and make this team and achieve my dream, so it means a lot,” she said.

    Edwards had an assist for the first of the two goals that would win the game.

    ‘Queen of Cleveland’

    The Kelce brothers grew up in the same town as Edwards. They have been fans of hers since 2023, when she became the first Black player to make the U.S. senior women’s national team, and shouted her out on their popular podcast, New Heights.

    The top donation to the GoFundMe was $10,000, from someone remaining anonymous; Edwards has confirmed that it came from the Kelces. By Thursday, the Edwards family had raised more than $61,000.

    What’s more, Travis Kelce reached out to provide advice to the “Queen of Cleveland,” a nickname her teammates gave her following a U.S.-Canada game played there in November. And Jason Kelce and his wife, Kylie, were in the stands Monday to cheer on the U.S. team during their 5-0 win over Sweden. Edwards, a forward-turned-defender, had an assist then, too.

    Generosity from the Kelces and locals is another example of how the tight-knit town operates, her parents said, even though their daughter moved away at a young age. Edwards, considered the future face of women’s hockey, has also inspired the Black community in Ohio and beyond.

    While diversity is reflected in many sports such as soccer, it hasn’t made a dent in winter sports and there are very few Black athletes in the Milan Cortina Olympic Games. Men’s and women’s hockey globally, including in the U.S., remains predominantly white.

    “Just to hear all the people of color talking about, ‘I’ve never watched hockey before and I’m tuning in,’” said Edwards’ mother, Charone Gray-Edwards. “I would love to know what the ratings are. Because everybody at home, everybody is talking about it. All these people are trying to buy jerseys.”

    For Gray-Edwards, some of the most meaningful moments have been seeing little boys come up to her daughter for an autograph.

    “That means they’re not like, ‘Oh, this is a girl that plays hockey.’ They’re like, ‘This a good hockey player.’ So it doesn’t matter if she’s Black, a woman — she’s a good player,” Gray-Edwards said.

    But Gray-Edwards’ most treasured memories likely won’t be about Thursday’s gold medal win — they will stem from watching her 91-year-old mother and her 22-year-old daughter together at the rink.

    “You can just see them waving at each other. My mother’s like jumping and, oh, she just loves it,” Gray-Edwards said.

    ‘How would we afford it’

    Hours before the puck dropped for Monday’s semifinal, the Edwards family was ready.

    Gray-Edwards has strict rules about travel. She mandated that everyone meet in the hotel lobby 2½ hours before game time, dressed in their Team USA finest. They called a taxi van to fit the large group — including Edwards’ parents, grandmother, aunt, cousin, and older brother — and loaded up.

    Her parents weren’t sure the entire family would be able to make the journey when she called them a month before the Olympics to say she’d been chosen for the team.

    They could cover the costs for two people, but the full family roster — all of whom have supported her over the years — would have been far too expensive. And they hadn’t booked early flights or locked in cheaper hotel rates for fear of jinxing her.

    “We had to start talking about how to get money,” Gray-Edwards said. “Who would go? How would we afford it?”

    The family is accustomed to watching her from afar. When Edwards was 13, she left home to attend the Bishop Kearney Selects Academy in Rochester, N.Y., before moving on to the University of Wisconsin, where she is playing her senior season for the top-ranked Badgers.

    The consensus is that Edwards will be selected in the top three of the Professional Women’s Hockey League draft in June, along with Wisconsin teammate Caroline Harvey and Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy.

    Still, Edwards’ Olympic debut was something everyone wanted to see.

    Her father, Robert Edwards, started the GoFundMe drive “Send Laila’s Family to the Olympics to Cheer Her On!” He set an ambitious goal of $50,000 so they wouldn’t have to choose between a ticket to one of her games and paying the electric bill back in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

    “There’s a lot of ups and downs in playing hockey at this high level and so she’s going to need somebody there,” her father said. “So I was like, ’Well, pride be damned: We’re going to do a fundraiser.’”

  • Three Phillies starters are breaking their routine to pitch in the WBC during spring training

    Three Phillies starters are breaking their routine to pitch in the WBC during spring training

    CLEARWATER, Fla. — Most pitchers are creatures of habit and rely heavily on their routines. But every four years, some of those routines change for major league pitchers participating in the World Baseball Classic.

    The Phillies will send three members of their expected 2026 starting rotation to the tournament that starts on March 5: Cristopher Sánchez (Dominican Republic), Taijuan Walker (Mexico), and Aaron Nola (Italy).

    Next month, instead of the relaxed atmosphere of Grapefruit League games, they could be pitching in situations with higher stakes.

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    “It’s just a different feeling,” said Walker, who also pitched for Mexico in 2023. “The pride for you playing for your country, and the crowd is just different. The atmosphere is different because you get both crowds, both countries’ fans, and they got the instruments going. It’s loud. They never sit down. It’s just constantly going.”

    Mexico finished third in 2023 after being eliminated in the semifinals by Japan, which later defeated the U.S. in the championship game.

    Walker said he didn’t adjust his offseason training too much in preparation for the WBC. He completed the same weighted ball program that helped him add a tick to his fastball last offseason.

    Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker (center) will pitch for Mexico in the WBC. He also helped Mexico to a third place finish in 2023.

    The WBC’s limits on pitch counts for each round allow him to continue to ramp up at a fairly normal pace. Pitchers are limited to 65 pitches in the first round, 80 in the quarterfinal, and 95 in the championship rounds, though they can exceed that to finish a plate appearance.

    “You’re already maybe two or three spring training games into it when WBC games start,” Walker said. “The only [different] thing is intensity-wise.”

    The high-stakes atmosphere of WBC games can make it difficult for pitchers to experiment in ways they might in a typical spring training, such as through introducing a new pitch. In bullpen sessions so far in camp, Walker has been working on his slider. But when he pitches for Mexico, he’ll be relying more on his best weapons, his splitter and cutter.

    The Phillies’ Trea Turner was still the fastest man in the league at 32. And it’s not due just to ‘genetics.’

    “If I’m working on a slider, I get to go throw 20 sliders and work on it. WBC games, we got to get outs,” he said.

    Mexico and Italy are in Pool B, alongside the U.S., Great Britain, and Brazil. Their round-robin games will take place in Houston. The Dominican Republic is in Pool D with Venezuela, Netherlands, Israel, and Nicaragua, and will play in Miami.

    Nola will be pitching in his first WBC next month, representing the country his great-grandparents are from. He started his offseason work in mid-November, about a month earlier than normal for him, to ease into his training.

    “Just to kind of get the arm moving,” Nola said. “I know how fast spring training games come when you get here, we don’t have as much time as we used to, so it’s actually been kind of nice to kind of be a little bit more ready, bodywise over here.”

    Nola also did long toss, which is not typically part of his offseason regimen.

    He said he likely would have done that anyway, even if he wasn’t already committed to Italy. Nola was limited to 94⅓ innings in 2025 due to an ankle sprain and rib fracture, the fewest innings he’s thrown since the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.

    He decided toward the end of last season that he would commit to Italy, hoping to play with his brother. Nola pitched against Austin, a former professional catcher, who was with the Padres during the 2022 National League Championship Series against the Phillies.

    Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola will represent Italy for the first time in the WBC.

    Although Austin had to withdraw after accepting a role as bullpen coach for the Mariners, Aaron still wanted to play. He has never been to Italy, but is looking forward to teaming up with former Phillie Michael Lorenzen and current prospect Dante Nori, as well as the other new faces who play in the Italian Baseball League.

    “I wanted to experience it before I was done with baseball,” he said. “And every guy in here that has played in the past has loved it, said it’s a great experience. It’s gonna be fun to represent for Italy.”

    Of course, injuries are always a concern for any player. But the Phillies are optimistic that participating in the Classic could give Nola a head start on what they hope is a bounceback season.

    “Nola, I think, is going to benefit from playing the WBC, just to get the blood flowing a little bit earlier,” said manager Rob Thomson. “Nola’s always going to be ready; always going to work. But I think getting some competition is going to help him.”

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    Extra bases

    The Phillies unveiled a new video board at Baycare Ballpark on Thursday. Its display of 3,200 square feet makes it the largest at any spring training ballpark. … Zack Wheeler (thoracic outlet decompression surgery) is scheduled to throw out to a distance of 120 feet again on Friday and will start spinning the ball. “We don’t have a date for bullpen yet, but he’s doing very well,” Thomson said.

  • Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae is ‘doing everything he can’ to get himself back into the lineup

    Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae is ‘doing everything he can’ to get himself back into the lineup

    During the last stretch of February heading into the Olympic break, Rick Tocchet had a familiar refrain regarding defenseman Emil Andrae — “we’re trying to get him in.”

    But Andrae, 23, ultimately ended up sitting the final five games before the break, the odd man out thanks to his left-handed shot and lack of utility on the penalty kill. Is there a place for him in the Flyers’ lineup down the stretch?

    “We need his input from the blue line offensively and the things that he can do in terms of breaking pucks out,” assistant coach Todd Reirden, who runs the defense, said Thursday.

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    In the 40 games Andrae has played so far this year, he’s set career-highs in points and assists, with 11 points and 10 assists. The 2020 second-round pick is averaging 16 minutes, 54 seconds of ice time and is second on the Flyers with a plus-11 rating.

    In Andrae’s place, Tocchet reinstated Noah Juulsen into the lineup. The veteran Juulsen is a right-hand shot and kills penalties. Juulsen and Andrae played on a pair together early in the year with right-handed defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen injured. But since Ristolainen’s return on Dec. 16, Andrae has jumped in and out of the lineup.

    Reirden echoed a similar sentiment to Tocchet — the coaching staff likes Andrae, but situationally, they don’t think it makes sense to play him.

    “He’s been really sharp in these three practices that he’s been back for,” Reirden said. “I know he came back a little bit earlier and did some other skating. He’s doing everything he can to get himself in a situation where he’s fighting to be in that lineup every night.”

    With the trade deadline coming up, and the Flyers still on the outside looking in, the team might be looking to ship out some of their extra defensemen — especially with a glut of prospects coming up, like 2023 first-round pick Oliver Bonk, who got an extended look during the last two days of practice with Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen away in Milan.

    Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae is second on the team with a plus-11 rating, yet he’s found himself on the outside looking in of late.

    Andrae is no stranger to fighting for his place with the Flyers. He started the year in the AHL out of training camp, despite playing over 40 games for the Flyers in 2024-25. He put up five points in seven games before earning a recall to the NHL.

    “We sometimes forget what he’s gone through this year, by starting in the minors and going through that — it’s not easy, mentally and physically,“ Reirden said. ”To his credit, he came back and he’s been able to post those type of numbers.”

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    Whether Andrae finds himself back in the lineup come Feb. 25 in Washington or not, nearly a month after his last start, or on the Flyers beyond the March 6 trade deadline, he’s continued to take steps forward as the year progresses.

    “This is a player that definitely has improved, and continues to improve,” Reirden said. “Being able to just keep that level of consistency for us is important. Sometimes you need to take a step away and then take the break that he had.”

    Breakaways

    Sanheim, Tocchet, and Team Canada will take on Ristolainen and Finland in the Olympic semifinals on Friday at 10:40 a.m. … Team USA will face Slovakia at 3:10 p.m. The two winning teams will play for gold on Sunday and the losing teams will play for bronze on Saturday. … The Flyers loaned Bonk, Hunter McDonald, and Carson Bjarnson back to Lehigh Valley in order to play in American Hockey League games this weekend.

  • Villanova’s battle against No. 1 UConn brought fleeting flashbacks of the ‘old-school Big East’

    Villanova’s battle against No. 1 UConn brought fleeting flashbacks of the ‘old-school Big East’

    The Finneran Pavilion was the loudest it had been all season for Villanova women’s basketball as the Wildcats hosted No. 1 UConn on Wednesday night.

    The energy in the packed arena intensified at halftime when the unexpected happened: Villanova led the undefeated Huskies by three points. It was the first time all season that UConn trailed at the half.

    “The atmosphere that was created was tremendous,” said Villanova coach Denise Dillon. “I loved hearing [the fans]. They were here for us. That was the difference, and you felt it from the beginning of the game and carrying through.”

    What did Villanova learn in its loss to No. 1 UConn? The game truly is ‘four quarters.’

    The magic of Villanova’s first half eventually wore off, as UConn pulled away in the third quarter. The Huskies then held a double-digit lead to secure an 83-69 win. Villanova will be back in the Finneran Pavilion on Sunday to host Marquette, which stands fourth in the Big East (3:30 p.m., Peacock).

    However, Villanova’s tough stance against the nation’s top team was enough to remind the 41-year UConn coach Geno Auriemma of what he called the “old-school Big East.”

    The conference rivalry, which has dissipated since the advent of the NIL and transfer portal era, seemed to have been revived — at least for the moment.

    Looking back

    Auriemma reflected on the rivalry between Villanova and UConn over the years. Although UConn owns the all-time record 49-7, the longtime coach, who grew up in Norristown, suggested the competition intensified since UConn rejoined the Big East in 2000 after a seven-year stint in the American Confernce.

    Now, UConn (28-0, 17-0 Big East) and Villanova (21-6, 14-4) hold the top two places in the conference standings. But the gap between the two programs remains wide.

    Villanova’s Jasmine Bascoe finished wih 26 points in a loss to UConn on Wednesday.

    “Every mistake we made in the first half [tonight], we paid for it,” Auriemma said. “The crowd was great. The two best teams in the league are playing, it’s a great atmosphere. I love the way Denise does things with her team. As much as I enjoy coming [to Villanova] because a lot of friends and family are down here, I didn’t really miss it those seven years.”

    Wednesday’s game was a much different contest than the last time the two teams faced off just over a month ago. The Huskies bulldozed their way to a 99-50 victory on Jan. 15 on their home court.

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    “It honestly was a train wreck at their place,” Dillon said. “So the growth from a month ago is fantastic. That’s what you want, especially when you have younger players and [Jasmine Bascoe] leading the way, directing out there on the floor.”

    After being limited to just eight points in January’s matchup against UConn, sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe was all over the court on Wednesday night. Bascoe scored 18 of her 26 points in the first half. She also added nine rebounds and seven assists, while playing the full 40 minutes.

    Carter’s veteran view

    In each of Denae Carter’s three seasons at Villanova, a win over UConn was out of sight. UConn recorded 100 points against Villanova for the first time last season and went on to win the national championship. The Huskies were one point away from repeating that in January.

    Carter, a graduate forward who joined the Wildcats in 2023-24 as a Mississippi State transfer, is one of Villanova’s few veteran players.

    Against UConn, she recorded a career-high 21 points, shooting 8-for-9 from the field and 3-for-3 on three-pointers. She also notched three steals and three blocks while being matched up with Sarah Strong, the Big East’s top scorer.

    Villanova’s Denae Carter (left) scored a career-high 21 points agains UConn on Wednesday.

    “[Strong] is a great player, and our focus really was just stopping everybody and helping each other,” Carter said. “I think we did a really good job in the first half, and we just have to sustain that.”

    With two regular-season games remaining of her college career, Carter is a player the program will continue to lean on.

    “I think that maturity came through tonight and she’s tough to take off the floor at any point,” Dillon said. “We’re going to keep [Carter] out there longer as she finishes her career.”

    Villanova honors alumni and coach Harry Perretta during its win over Georgetown

    What was once an intense rivalry between UConn and Villanova may not be achievable in the current college sports landscape. But Villanova’s unprecedented first half on Wednesday showed that the program is hungry to change that.

    “We have such a great connection,” Carter said. “On the court, we’re able to display that a lot. We have fun together. We’re playing all five out there, and I think Sunday is just going to be a really great opportunity for us to get that one back.”

  • Bradley Carnell never doubted his untested lineup in the Union’s first game of the year

    Bradley Carnell never doubted his untested lineup in the Union’s first game of the year

    Whatever doubts Union fans had about the team’s starting lineup in Trinidad on Wednesday, it wasn’t surprising that manager Bradley Carnell had none.

    “We knew that at some point, with the type of intensity we could play at, it could be too much for them,” he said a day after his team’s 5-0 rout of Defence Force FC. “And that did prove to be the truth.”

    The biggest decisions were putting Stas Korzeniowski at striker in his first game with the Union’s first team, and attacking midfielder Jeremy Rafanello at right back. Both worked out fine, helped by their teammates’ cavalcade of goals.

    “We’ve been training a couple weeks with Stas alongside Bruno [Damiani], alongside Ezekiel [Alladoh],” Carnell said. “So, I mean, for us, that was a no-brainer. It didn’t even come into thought that there’s anything doubtful or risky going on there.”

    Stas Korzeniowski jumps to celebrate with Olwethu Makhanya after Makhanya scored the Union’s third goal of the game.

    He praised Rafanello for being “always ready for a game, and he can always run for days, and he always puts his best effort forward.”

    But while Carnell praised “a lot of good things” in Rafanello’s game, he also admitted that playing Rafanello in that position was in part “by necessity.”

    “We’ve been challenged over the last couple of days with a couple of … day-to-day type of scenarios,” he continued.

    Union open 2026 season with 5-0 rout of Trinidad’s Defence Force in the Champions Cup

    Those “scenarios” included minor injuries to midfielders Ben Bender and Jovan Lukić along with forward Agustín Anello. Carnell also confirmed that new centerback Geiner Martínez is temporarily on a visa status that makes it difficult for him to leave the United States and promptly return.

    But right back Olivier Mbaizo’s absence was Carnell’s choice, one he said he made “just basically through preseason performance. Nothing much to question there.”

    That choice left the manager with no outside backs on his bench. Both players with experience there started, Frankie Westfield on the left and Nathan Harriel at centerback. Westfield grabbed at a hamstring midway through the second half, but Carnell said he “should be good.”

    The Union won their season opener in a blowout, but Bradley Carnell won a gamble in it

    Praise for Alladoh and Sullivan

    As debut goals go, Alladoh’s was pretty impressive. He watched teammates circulate the ball to Westfield, then charged up the middle, split two centerbacks, and slammed in a leaping header from close range.

    “New environment, new teammates, he has to figure things out, wasn’t able to get on the score sheet in preseason, but he worked really hard,” Carnell said. “And then in the big games and in the games that matter most, he showed up. So I’m really happy for that, and hopefully he takes that energy and confidence into the next couple of games.”

    That was the second of three goals the Union put on the board before Carnell started a raft of substitutions. Cavan Sullivan was one of the entrants, and immediately started shredding Defence Force’s back line.

    The 16-year-old made multiple surging runs forward, including three that drew payoffs: a great assist to fellow substitute Bruno Damiani in the 69th minute, a penalty kick in the 78th, and a red card to former Seattle Sounders defender Joevin Jones in the 92nd.

    An analysis of the Union’s roster at the start of the season, with several new players in the mix

    “I’ve seen a lot more maturity from Cavan over the last couple of weeks, and he’s worked his way into being a contributor,” Carnell said. “I speak about the environment, just think about the young kid coming in there and running rings around Defence Force. So I was really happy with his performance.”

    Sullivan had some longer runs as a starter last year in the U.S. Open Cup, but quality-wise this might have been his best outing in a Union jersey so far.

    “It was a very mature performance, I would say,” Carnell said. “He kept it simple when he needed to, he accelerated and got on the dribble when he had to, and then he draws crucial moments and puts the opponents under pressure. … I thought that was his best performance over the last 12 months.”

    The Union’s next game is their MLS season opener on Saturday at D.C. United (7:30 p.m., Apple TV), headlined by an early reunion with former leading striker Tai Baribo.

    Then it’s back to Chester for the finale of the Defence Force series next Thursday (7 p.m., FS1), followed by a rematch of last year’s playoff loss to New York City FC on March 1.

    Cavan Sullivan on Instagram this afternoon:

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    — Jonathan Tannenwald (@jtannenwald.bsky.social) February 19, 2026 at 6:19 PM

  • U.S. beats Canada 2-1 in overtime to win Olympic gold in women’s hockey

    U.S. beats Canada 2-1 in overtime to win Olympic gold in women’s hockey

    MILAN (AP) — Megan Keller backhanded in a shot 4 minutes, 7 seconds into overtime and the United States won its third Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey, beating Canada 2-1 at the Milan Cortina Games on Thursday night to close another thrilling chapter of one of sports’ most heated rivalries.

    American captain Hilary Knight, in her fifth and likely final Olympics, forced overtime by tipping in Laila Edwards’ shot from the blue line with 2:04 remaining. The goal was the 15th of her Olympic career and her 33rd point to break the U.S. record in both categories.

    Captain Hilary Knight tied the gold-medal game for the U.S. with a late tip on a Laila Edwards point shot.

    With the sides playing three-on-three, Keller broke up the left wing and pushed past Claire Thompson. Driving to the net, the U.S. alternate captain got off a backhander that beat Ann-Renée Desbiens over her right pad.

    Aerin Frankel stopped 30 shots for the U.S.

    Kristin O’Neill scored a short-handed goal for Canada, and Desbiens finished with 31 saves.

    This was the seventh of the 12 Olympic meetings between the rivals to be decided by one goal and the third to go past regulation. Canada overcame a late 2-1 deficit to beat the U.S. 3-2 on Marie-Philip Poulin’s overtime goal at the 2014 Sochi Games. The U.S. won 3-2 in 2018 when Jocelyne Lamoureux scored in a shootout.