COLLEGES
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament is close to expanding its field to 68 teams – equaling the men’s bracket.
Both the Division I women’s basketball committee and the oversight committee unanimously voted to approve a proposal to add four teams to the NCAA Tournament, starting this season. The proposal, which was announced Thursday, will now advance for consideration by governance committees. A final determination is expected by the middle of next month.
The expansion of teams was one of the recommendations stemming from an external review of gender equity issues of the tournaments. The report released in August was sparked by outrage at the disparities between amenities at the two tourneys, including weight rooms and other features.
FIELD HOCKEY: Chloe Arsenault broke a tie with 4:35 remaining, lifting Southern Maine (9-6) to a 2-1 victory over UMaine-Farmington (5-6) at Gorham.
Sage Drinkwater put USM ahead late in the third quarter. Alex Bessey tied it with about nine minutes left.
WOMEN’S SOCCER: Lily Houser scored twice in the first half and Shelby Howard added a goal and an assist to lead Bates (3-6-2) to a 5-0 win over Thomas (3-9) in Lewiston.
• Meghan Guarente’s goal in the 30th minute gave New Hampshire (5-6-2, 2-1 America East) a 1-0 win over Maine (3-6-2, 1-5-1) in Orono.
GOLF
PGA: Robert Streb had 10 birdies and an eagle on the way to an 11-under 61, which was only good for a one-shot lead over Keith Mitchell in the CJ Cup at Las Vegas.
A world-class field lit up a very pretty and mostly defenseless golf course overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. The result was the lowest average score – 68.95 – for an opening round on the PGA Tour this year.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Jon Rahm’s struggles at home continued with a 7-over 78 that matched his second-worst round ever as a professional and left him 11 shots off the lead at the Andalucia Masters in Sotogrande, Spain.
Rahm also shot 78 in the second round at the British Open in 2018. His worst score was an 82 in the third round of The Players Championship in 2017.
Julien Guerrier was the early leader after shooting 4-under 67. Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello, the winner at the Spanish Open last weekend, was one shot behind.
BASKETBALL
WNBA: Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart underwent surgery for a minor repair and reinforcement of the Achilles tendon in her left leg, the team announced.
Stewart had the surgery performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley in New York on Wednesday. Stewart injured her left foot on Sept. 7 against Washington and did not play in the final two regular-season games or Seattle’s playoff game. The Storm were eliminated by Phoenix 85-80 in overtime in the second round of the playoffs.
SOCCER
TORRES INJURED: Manchester City forward Ferran Torres has broken a bone in his right foot, the English club said, potentially ruling him out of Spain’s crucial World Cup qualifiers next month.
City said the injury was a “small fracture” and happened while Torres was on international duty. He played for Spain in the Nations League last week, first in a 2-1 win over Italy – when Torres scored twice – and then a 2-1 loss to France in the final on Sunday.
Spain is two points behind Sweden in their World Cup qualifying group heading into their final two games. They play each other in the last one, on Nov. 14, and only the first-place team automatically advances to next year’s tournament in Qatar.
NWSL: The National Women’s Soccer League is moving its championship game from Portland, Oregon, to Louisville, Kentucky, at the request of players.
The Nov. 20 title match was originally scheduled to kick off at 9 a.m. local time to fit the CBS broadcast window. But players objected to the early morning start.
The start time at Lynn Family Stadium, home of Racing Louisville, is at noon local time.
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