Dec 17, 2021 4 min read

Women’s basketball

Kasey Schipfer scored 19 points, Cierra Joiner had a double-double and Ohio Wesleyan rolled to a 69-39 victory over Waynesburg in a non-conference game Friday afternoon at Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.

After the first quarter ended tied 12-12, Ohio Weselayn (6-3) outscored Waynesburg 13-4 in the second quarter and 44-23 in the second half.

Joiner had 10 points and 12 rebounds and OWU’s Molly Delaney scored 11 points.

Waynesburg (1-8) shot only 27 percent from the field and committed 27 turnovers. Brooke Fuller scored 10 points, grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds and blocked four shots.

J-M tops Bentworth

A run of pins through the middle of the lineup pushed Jefferson-Morgan to a 42-24 wrestling victory over Bentworth.

Chase Framelli (145), Jim Gilbert (152), Grant Hathaway (160), Adam McAnany (172) and Braeden Barnhart (189) had pin for J-M (1-1).

Max Ivcic (120) and Chris Vargo (132) won by fall for Bentworth.

Meadows to reduce post time ‘drag’

In an effort to provide harness racing bettors a more consistent program, The Meadows has announced that beginning Jan. 5, it will institute a new policy in regard to post time “drag.”

As soon as the post time clock changes from “1” to “0,” the starting gate will begin to move from its position on the backstretch near the paddock. It will then roll continuously down the backstretch and through the turn, picking up the horses in the usual spot in front of the toteboard and releasing them on the backstretch.

“It’s difficult for people to know when to bet when a track sits on zero minutes to post for what seems like forever,” said Director of Racing Scott Lishia. “Our hope is that when bettors see the gate start to move, they’ll realize this is their final call, that once the gate starts rolling … it’s going to keep moving right to the start.”

The Meadows Racing’s TV crew will begin showing the gate car as soon as it moves from its position in front of the paddock, giving bettors a clear view so that they know the race is about to begin.

In the NHL

The league shut down two more teams. All games for the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers have been postponed through at least next weekend, and the hard-hit Calgary Flames had their shutdown extended through the Dec. 24-26 holiday break.

In another blow to a league that relies heavily on ticket revenue, four of the five Canadian provinces that are home to NHL teams are or will soon limit venue capacity to 50%. Only Alberta, home to Edmonton and Calgary, had not announced a similar restriction.

In college football

Penn State linebacker Brandon Smith declared for the 2022 NFL Draft and announced he won’t play for the Nittany Lions in the Outback Bowl.

• Freshman Nick Vattiato threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns, including a 59-yard scoring pass to Jarrin Pierce with 6:24 left, and Middle Tennessee beat Toledo 31-24 Friday in the Bahamas Bowl.
• Grayson McCall threw four touchdown passes and Coastal Carolina held off Northern Illinois 47-41 in the Cure Bowl.

In the NBA

Kyrie Irving is rejoining the Brooklyn Nets, who need help and will settle for it on a part-time basis.

The Nets decided Friday that Irving would come back to practice and play in road games, even though he remains unable to play at home because he doesn’t meet New York City’s vaccine mandate.