ins draining 6-of-7 attempts from 3-point range in a

ins draining 6-of-7 attempts from 3-point range in a

Postby lw789 » Sat Mar 17, 2018 10:46 pm

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Even in a Grand Slam as unpredictable as this years Australian Open, the names in the womens semifinals may still prompt head-scratching among casual followers of tennis. With the three biggest stars of the womens game falling one by one -- top-seeded Serena Williams, followed by Maria Sharapova and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka -- the door has opened for a first-time winner at Melbourne Park. Only fourth-seeded Li Na has won a Grand Slam before -- the 2011 French Open. Fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland was the 2012 Wimbledon finalist, but had never been beyond the quarters in Melbourne until she chipped, lobbed and sliced Azarenka off the court in a remarkable display of shot-making on Wednesday. Dominika Cibulkova, a diminutive Slovakian who dispatched Sharapova in the fourth round, has made just one Grand Slam semifinal before, while 19-year-old Eugenie Bouchard is a only playing her fourth major -- she didnt even make it out of qualifying at last years Australian Open. With such a golden opportunity for one of the four to now break through and capture a major, the deciding factor in the semifinals may be who can best handle the pressure. "Of course, a couple seeded (players) are out. Doesnt mean its going to be easier and you have a title right away," Radwanska said. "Its a bit more pressure. This is the semifinal of a Grand Slam." Radwanska should know. The draw opened up similarly at Wimbledon last year when Williams and Sharapova were upset early and Azarenka pulled out with an injury, leaving the Polish player as the highest remaining seed and the favourite to capture her first major. Radwanska, however, crumpled in the semifinals against Sabine Lisicki, blowing a 3-0 lead in the third set. She said its natural to feel nervous in these situations. "I think in the beginning of the match its always a little bit tough, especially its the first semifinal," she said. "But hopefully after few games Im going to be myself and play my best tennis." Radwanska faces Cibulkova in the semis -- a player shes beaten four times in five matches, including a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing in the Sydney International final last year. Cibulkova knows she doesnt have a great record against Radwanska, but she takes inspiration from Stanislas Wawrinkas upset of four-time mens champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals after 14 consecutive losses to the Serb. "You just want to prove it to yourself that you can do it, and thats what (Wawrinka) did," Cibulkova said. Li, a two-time finalist at the Australian Open, has the most experience of any of the semifinalists playing in the latter stages of slams, but shes also been susceptible to buckling under pressure. Li was up a set in the finals here against Kim Clijsters in 2011 and Azarenka in 2013, only to falter both times. She also nervously wasted four match points in a fourth-round loss to Clijsters in 2012, breaking down in tears afterward. The Chinese star was almost out of this years tournament, as well, saving a match point against Lucie Safarova in the third round. Since then, however, shes appeared more focused on court, dropping just six games in her last two matches. The wild card is Bouchard. Li, who will be 32 next month, is 12 years older than the Canadian and has won their only previous meeting, but Bouchard is a rising talent with nothing to lose. She likes her chances in a tournament as topsy-turvy as this one. "I think some players can still lose on any given day and it still makes it extremely interesting," she said. "Im feeling confident and just excited to play." Derek Carr Jersey . -- Brad Gushue of St. Giorgio Tavecchio Jersey . The Cottagers last victory came in a 2-1 home win over West Ham when Rene Meulensteen was still in charge. Since then, a miserable run of seven defeats and two draws has seen the club part with the Dutch coach and replace him with German Felix Magath. http://www.authenticraidersfansclub.com ... tt-Jersey/. Meanwhile, the Jets extended their winning streak to four and remain perfect under Paul Maurice. Its the Jets second four-game winning streak of the season, the other coming in mid-November. Marshall Newhouse Jersey . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. Willie Brown Jersey .com) - Roosevelt Jones had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead No.Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Devin Booker and Willie Cauley-Stein each scored 15 points as top-ranked Kentucky remained undefeated with an 84-70 victory over No. 21 North Carolina. Aaron Harrison added 14 points and the Wildcats shot 56.3 percent from the floor in a performance far more impressive then Wednesdays lethargic 10-point home win over heavy underdog Columbia. Kentucky (11-0) also asserted itself on the defensive end, forcing 18 Tar Heel turnovers that it converted into 24 points, and was never seriously threatened for the majority of this high-profile battle of basketball blue bloods. Brice Johnson led North Carolina (6-3) with 15 points, though most of that total came the games early stages. Marcus Paige finished with 14 points in the loss. Final Score: (3) Arizona 80, Michigan 53 Tucson, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Last season, Arizona traveled to Ann Arbor and won a two-point thriller. It was much easier this time around for the hird-ranked Wildcats, who dominated Michigan in every facet of the game in front of their home crowd and embarrassed the Wolverines, 80-53. Freshman phenom Stanley Johnson led a balanced scoring attack with 17 points for Arizona (10-0), which shot 58.2 percent from the floor while limiting the Wolverines to just 35.2 percent. Arizona improved to 31-0 with Ashley in the lineup since the start of last season. Zak Irvin had 14 points to lead the Wolverines (6-4), who were coming off consecutive home losses to NJIT and Eastern Michigan. Final Score: (5) Wisconsin 86, Nicholls 43 Madison, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - Sam Dekker scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds in No. 5 Wisconsins 86-43 win over Nicholls. Dekker scored 13 of those points in the first half for the Badgers (10-1), who led by as much as 45. Josh Gasser added 14 points for Wisconsin, and Nigel Hayes chipped in 12 points and eight boards. Amin Torres scored 14 points off the bench to lead the Colonels (1-5), and Sam McBeath netted nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. Wisconsin owned a 41-26 edge on the boards and outscored Nicholls 36-26 in the paint. The Badgers also scored 19 points off 21 Colonels turnovers. Final Score: (10) Kansas 63, (13) Utah 60 Kansas City, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Perry Ellis scored 14 points, the last two on a tie-breaking basket with 2:01 remaining, and 10th-ranked Kansas survived a stern challenge from No. 13 Utah to earn a 63-60 victory. The Jayhawks squandered a 21-point lead early in the second half, but came up clutch down the stretch to record their seventh straight win since a blowout loss to top-ranked Kentucky in Indianapolis in mid-November. Ellis big basket snapped a 55-55 tie, while Brannen Greene hit four critical free throws in the final seconds to enable Kansas (8-1) to hold on. Delon Wriight led the Utes near-comeback by netting 12 of his 23 points in the second half, but Utah (7-2) failed to score on five straight possessions after claiming a 55-53 edge on Jakob Poeltls layup with 4:36 left to play.dddddddddddd Final Score: (11) Wichita State 77, Detroit 68 Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Darius Carter had 18 points and 11 rebounds to guide No. 11 Wichita State to a 77-68 victory over Detroit on Saturday. Ron Baker had 19 points and seven rebounds while Fred VanVleet gave 11 points, eight boards and seven assists for the Shockers (7-1), who have won their past three. Juwan Howard Jr. scored a game-high 27 points while Matthew Grant and Paris Bass each had 12 for the Titans (6-4), who had won their previous two. Final Score: (12) Ohio State 87, Morehead State 71 Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Sam Thompson and DAngelo Russell each had 15 points as No. 12 Ohio State posted an 87-71 win over Morehead State at Value City Arena. Despite struggling on the defensive end for much of the game, Ohio State (8-1) still managed to record a third straight lopsided victory since falling to No. 4 Louisville on Dec. 2 behind a sharp shooting display. Thompson and Amir Williams both finished 5-of-6 from the field and the Buckeyes went 56.6 percent overall as a team. The Eagles (4-8) shot 55.3 percent, with Corban Collins draining 6-of-7 attempts from 3-point range in a 22-point effort, but committed 21 turnovers in their fourth straight loss. Williams ended with 12 points and nine rebounds, with JaeSean Tate also tallying 12 points for Ohio State. Final Score: (16) Oklahoma 87, Tulsa 68 Tulsa, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - TaShawn Thomas poured in a season-best 25 points as 16th-ranked Oklahoma cruised to an 87-68 victory over in-state foe Tulsa at the Reynolds Center. Thomas went 9-of-12 from the floor and Isaiah Cousins knocked down five 3-pointers in a 21-point effort for the Sooners. Cousins added eight rebounds to help Oklahoma (6-2) easily handle a struggling Tulsa team coming off a home loss to Division II Southeast Oklahoma State. Shaquille Harrison was one of the Golden Hurricanes few bright spots, finishing with 21 points and five assists. Rashad Ray tallied 11 points off the bench for Tulsa (5-5). Final Score: (19) Maryland 67, USC Upstate 57 College Park, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - Jake Layman scored 17 points and No. 19 Maryland rallied in the second half for a 67-57 victory over USC Upstate on Saturday. Melo Trimble had 14 points and 12 rebounds while Evan Smotrycz added 10 points and six boards for the Terrapins (10-1), who have won their past three games. Fred Miller gave 13 points, five boards and five assists and Ty Greene added 11 for the Spartans (8-3), who had a three-game winning streak broken. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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