WEDNESDAY SPORTS, FEBRUARY 25, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Top-ranked Brandon Valley pulled away in the second half to defeat the Mitchell girls 54-34 on Tuesday night. Senior Alyvia Padgett led the Lynx with 25 points and became Brandon Valley’s all-time scoring leader with 1,477 career points. Mitchell was led by CeCe Morgan with 12 points and nine rebounds. The Kernels were within three points halfway through the third quarter before the Lynx went on a 25-2 run. Mitchell went nearly 10 minutes in the second half without a field goal and shot just 22% from the field for the game. Mitchell ends the regular season on Thursday at No. 2 O’Gorman. The Kernels are seventh in seed points and will be at home for next Friday’s SoDAK 16.
— Mitchell Kernels boys basketball lost on Senior Night to Brandon Valley 55-39 to fall to 8-10 on the season. Brandon Valley never trailed and have won nine of their past 11 games. Colton Smith led the Kernels with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Lincoln McInerney led the Lynx with 15 points, and Ayuel Deng added 14. Mitchell ends the regular season on Thursday at O’Gorman. The Kernels currently sit in 12th in seed points and will be on the road for next Saturday’s SoDAK 16.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— The NAIA has announced its Winter 2026 Scholar-Athletes, as 31 Dakota Wesleyan student-athletes earned the honor, which requires at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA and one full year at the school. Women’s basketball led the way with 14 selections, followed by men’s basketball with 11 and men’s wrestling with six. In total, more than 3,100 NAIA student-athletes nationwide received Scholar-Athlete recognition for the winter season.
— Dakota Wesleyan’s Avery Broughton has been named the GPAC Women’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Week for the fifth time this season. Broughton ended the regular season with 11 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks against Dordt, then set a career-high with 30 points along with 14 rebounds in a win on Saturday over Northwestern. For the season, Broughton leads the conference with 62 total blocks and ranks second in rebounding at 8.5 per game.
— Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball will take on Doane in the quarterfinals of the GPAC Tournament on Wednesday at the Corn Palace at 7 pm. The Tigers have defeated Doane twice this season, 72-45 at the Corn Palace on January 7 and 69-47 on the road on February 8.
— Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball will be at Northwestern on Wednesday at 7 pm for the quarterfinals of the GPAC Tournament. The Tigers lost at Northwestern on Saturday 97-65.
— Dakota Wesleyan softball, 6-4 on the season, will be at Mt. Marty on Wednesday for a single game at 3 pm.
— Dakota Wesleyan baseball will be at York (Neb.) for a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday starting at Noon.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State women’s basketball will be at North Dakota State on Wednesday at 7 pm. The Jackrabbits enter the week with a 22-6 overall record and 12-2 in the Summit League. SDSU has won five straight and are currently in second place in the conference. Meanwhile, NDSU is 25-2 on the season and a perfect 14-0 in the Summit League, including a 76-68 win in Brookings on January 17, to end SDSU’s 67 game conference winning streak.
— South Dakota State men’s basketball will be at Kansas City on Thursday at 7 pm. The Jackrabbits are tied with USD for sixth place in the Summit League with a 6-8 conference record. SDSU and USD will play on Saturday in Vermillion.
— South Dakota State softball, 12-4 on the season, head to Tulsa, Oklahoma, next weekend with two games on Friday and two on Saturday.
— South Dakota State baseball will be at Central Arkansas on Friday for the start of a four-game series.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD women’s basketball will be at North Dakota on Wednesday at 7 pm.
— USD men’s basketball host Omaha on Wednesday at 6 pm.
— USD softball travel to Miami this weekend for five games, starting on Friday at 9 am vs. Harvard.
OLYMPICS
— Jack Hughes’ overtime gold-medal goal for Team USA drew massive television numbers. The United States’ 2-1 Olympic men’s hockey win over Canada averaged 18.6 million live viewers on NBC and Peacock. With encore broadcasts included, the audience climbed to 20.7 million. At the moment Hughes scored the golden goal, the North American audience reached nearly 35 million viewers. It marks the most-watched U.S. sporting event ever to start before 9 a.m. Eastern and stands as NBC’s second-most-watched hockey game on record. Overall, this year’s Winter Olympics averaged 23.5 million U.S. viewers, the highest for the Winter Games since 2014.
NFL
— The Atlanta Falcons have informed quarterback Kirk Cousins they plan to release the 14-year veteran when free agency opens. Cousins played two seasons with the Falcons and started 22 of 34 games. He signed a $180 million contract before Atlanta drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in 2024. The 37-year-old Cousins is 88-77-2 as a starter with Washington, Minnesota and Atlanta.
— There appears to be conflicting information about communication between the Arizona Cardinals and quarterback Kyler Murray. General manager Monti Ossenfort said this week he has spoken with Murray about last season and the team’s future. However, a source tells ESPN the two have not talked since the season ended. Murray played just five games in 2025 before a foot injury landed him on injured reserve, and questions remain about his long-term future in Arizona. The Cardinals must soon decide on Murray’s status for 2026. If he remains on the roster into the new league year, he would be owed a $19.5 million guaranteed bonus for 2027.
— Contract talks are ongoing between the Dallas Cowboys and Pro Bowl kicker Brandon Aubrey. Both sides agree Aubrey should become the NFL’s highest-paid kicker, but they remain far apart on price. The Cowboys have offered more than the current top average of $6.4 million per year held by Kansas City’s Harrison Butker, while Aubrey’s camp is seeking closer to $10 million. The 31-year-old has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons and holds the NFL record with six field goals of 60 yards or longer.
GOLF
— Tiger Woods is approaching key decisions on both his playing future and a possible leadership role with Team USA. Woods says he has not ruled out competing in the Masters this April, though he has not played competitively in more than a year while recovering from injuries and back surgery. At the same time, the PGA of America wants Woods to decide before the Masters whether he will serve as U.S. captain for the 2027 Ryder Cup in Ireland. Woods says his heavy workload helping reshape the PGA Tour schedule is a major factor in the decision, adding he wants to be sure he can give the Ryder Cup role the attention it deserves.
NBA
— Anthony Edwards scored 34 points and made five 3-pointers to help the Minnesota Timberwolves hold off the Portland Trail Blazers 124-121, their fourth win in their last five games. Jaden McDaniels added 27 points, six rebounds, and five blocks for the Timberwolves, while Donte DiVincenzo had 19 points and made five 3-pointers. Minnesota was 17-of-35 from three. The Timberwolves face the Clippers in Los Angeles on Thursday night.
— Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points and James Harden added 20 as the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away in the second half for a 109-94 victory over the New York Knicks.
— Wendell Carter Jr. made a go-ahead putback with 6 seconds to play, while Paolo Banchero scored 36 points as the Orlando Magic defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 110-109.
— Derrick White scored 22 points, while Baylor Scheierman added 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Boston Celtics beat the Phoenix Suns 97-81.
— Cason Wallace matched his career high with 27 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Toronto Raptors 116-107 for their fifth win in six games. Oklahoma City is an NBA-best 21-7 on the road.
— Brandon Miller scored 23 points and Kon Knueppel added 21 as the hot-shooting Charlotte Hornets won a team record eighth straight road game, routing the Chicago Bulls 131-99. The Hornets shot 51% from the field and made 25 of 57 3-points attempts, one shy of the team record.
— Joel Embiid had 27 points in his return to the lineup after missing five games with right shin soreness and right knee injury management, while Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Indiana Pacers 135-114.
— Kevin Porter Jr. matched his season high with 32 points as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Miami Heat 128-117 for their fourth win in five games.
— Zion Williamson scored 26 points as the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Golden State Warriors 113-109.
— Marvin Bagley III scored 22 points and Naji Marshall had 21 as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets 123-114 after both teams arrived in New York earlier in the day. Both clubs played road games on Sunday and neither was able to fly into the New York area because of a blizzard. The Mavericks stayed in Indiana and the Nets remained in Atlanta. Both flew Tuesday and arrived in the early afternoon.
— Jonathan Kuminga scored a season-high 27 points in his debut for the Hawks, who blew out the Washington Wizards 119-98.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL – TUESDAY
No. 1 Duke 100, Notre Dame 56
No. 2 Arizona 87, Baylor 80
No. 3 Michigan 77, Minnesota 67
No. 4 Iowa State 75, Utah 59
No. 11 Virginia 90, North Carolina State 61
No. 21 Miami (Ohio) 74, Eastern Michigan 64- Miami improves to 28-0
REGION GIRLS TOURNAMENT – TUESDAY
REGION 2B
No. 5 De Smet 58, No. 4 Wessington Springs 51
REGION 3B
No. 1 Ethan 69, No. 8 Flandreau Indian 23 – Sadie Mueller with 24 points and six rebounds.
No. 2 Colman-Egan 53, No. 7 Howard 33
No. 3 Chester 50 No. 6 Bridgewater-Emery 33 – Oakley Weber with 18 points for the Huskies.
No. 4 Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 48, No. 5 Dell Rapids St. Mary’s 39 – Liz Boschee led SCW with 20 points.
REGION 4B
No. 1 Parkston 65, No. 8 Alcester-Hudson 31 – Keeara Oakley with 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals.
No. 2 Centerville 58, No. 7 Tripp-Delmont/Armour 46
No. 3 Gayville-Volin 55, No. 6 Avon 50
No. 4 Freeman 64, No. 5 Irene-Wakonda 40 – Cadence Hofer with 27 points.
REGION 5B
No. 1 Lyman 69, No. 8 Kimball/White Lake 14
No. 2 Corsica-Stickney 68, No. 7 Andes Central/Dakota Christian 22 – Sophie DeLange with 18 points, while Hadynn Johnson and Braylee Bordewyk with 17 points each.
REGION 5A
No. 4 Mount Vernon/Plankinton 44, No. 5 Scotland/Menno 41
No. 2 McCook Central/Montrose 53, No. 7 Parker/Marion 35
No. 3 Hanson 33, No. 6 Bon Homme 26 – Ava Doyle with 15 points.
No. 4 Mount Vernon/Plankinton 44, No. 5 Scotland/Menno 41
REGION 6A
No. 5 Platte-Geddes 51, No. 4 Chamberlain 48
AA BOYS BASKETBALL – TUESDAY
No. 2 Huron 61, O’Gorman 57
No. 3 SF Roosevelt 79, Aberdeen Central 53
SF Washington 66, No. 5 Tea Area 58
SF Jefferson 66, Pierre 47
Yankton 64, Brookings 28
AA GIRLS BASKETBALL – TUESDAY
No. 2 O’Gorman 59, Huron 36
No. 3 SF Washington 65, Tea Area 39
SF Roosevelt 46, No 5 Aberdeen Central 45
SF Jefferson 63, Pierre 31
Yankton 56, Brookings 24