WEDNESDAY SPORTS, FEBRUARY 4, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels girls basketball won its ninth straight game, 60-55 vs. SF Jefferson on Tuesday night. Mitchell went 8-of-10 from three and had three players in double figures. Addie Siemsen and Londyn Hajek had a team-high 15 points, while Nia Talley added 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Kernels improve to 10-3 on the season and will be at Sturgis on Friday at 7 pm CST.
— Mitchell Kernels boys basketball lost its fourth straight game, 67-61 at SF Jefferson on Tuesday night. Mitchell had a 13-point halftime lead. Colton Smith had a team-high 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Kernels. Mitchell falls to 5-7 on the season and will be at Sturgis on Friday at 8:45 pm CST.
— Mitchell Kernels Gymnastics will compete in a last-chance state qualifier on Saturday in Watertown, then return home to host the Class AA State Gymnastics Meet on February 13th and 14th at Mitchell High School.
— Mitchell Kernels Wrestling is at Pierre on Thursday with the girls dual starting at 6 pm, followed by the boys at 7 pm.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan’s Avery Broughton earned her fourth GPAC Defensive Player of the Week award this season on Tuesday. Broughton leads the conference with 52 blocks and ranks second in rebounding, averaging over eight boards per game. Last week, she scored 15 points with two blocks against Briar Cliff, then followed with 25 points and five blocks versus Hastings.
— No. 9 Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball, 19-4 overall and 15-2 in the GPAC, will be at Doane on Sunday at Noon.
— Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball, 12-11 overall on the season and 7-8 in the GPAC, will be at Doane on Sunday at 1:45 pm.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State women’s basketball will be at St. Thomas on Wednesday at 7 pm.
— South Dakota State men’s basketball host St. Thomas on Wednesday at 6 pm.
— No. 15 South Dakota State wrestling will host No. 14 Northern Iowa on Sunday at 1 pm.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD women’s basketball travels to Denver on Thursday at 7 pm CST.
— USD men’s basketball will be at Kansas City on Wednesday at 7 pm.
AA GIRLS BASKETBALL – TUESDAY
No. 2 O’Gorman 85, Tea Area 51
No. 3 SF Washington, Brookings
Huron 48, SF Roosevelt 38
Yankton 54, Pierre 33
Watertown 49, SF Lincoln 29
AA BOYS BASKETBALL – TUESDAY
No. 1 SF Lincoln 78, No. 3 Watertown 55
No. 2 SF Roosevelt 72, No. 5 Huron 65
SF Washington 74, Brookings 64 (OT)
Yankton 51, Pierre 43
Tea Area 65, O’Gorman 61
COLLEGE
— The Mountain West Conference has unveiled a new multi-year media rights deal starting with the 2026-27 season. The six-year agreement includes CBS Sports, Fox Sports, along with a five-year deal with The CW Network. CBS will continue to broadcast top football and basketball games, including the men’s basketball championship, while Fox will air the Mountain West football championship and numerous regular-season games.
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – TUESDAY
No. 2 Parkston 54, McCook Central/Montrose 46 – Keeara Oakley with 23 points, six rebounds and four steals.
No. 4 Wagner 71, Hanson 45 – Ashlyn Koupal had a game-high 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists and six blocks.
No. T4 Ethan 52, No. 7 Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 34
No. T4 Colman-Egan 62, Bridgewater-Emery 37
No. 10 Corsica-Stickney 65, Burke 34
Gregory 48, Mount Vernon/Plankinton 44
Wessington Springs 49, Iroquois-Lake Preston 31
Platte-Geddes 50, Chamberlain 39 – Kori VanDerWerff with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Avon 42, Scotland/Menno 33
Irene-Wakonda 55, Howard 40
Gayville-Volin 52, Tripp-Delmont/Armour 25
Wolsey-Wessington 58, Kimball/White Lake 44
Viborg-Hurley 45, Canistota 33
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL – TUESDAY
No. 2 Castlewood 42, No. 1 De Smet 39
No. 3 Viborg-Hurley 66, Canistota 26
McCook Central/Montrose 41, No. 7 Parkston 33
No. 8 Wessington Springs 62, Iroquois-Lake Preston 52
Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 58, Ethan 39
Wagner 75, Hanson 53 – Ky Arpan with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Mt. Vernon/Plankinton 65, Gregory 58 – Tyce Feistner with 30 points for MVP.
Corsica-Stickney 67, Burke 41
Scotland/Menno 53, Avon 50
Howard 59, Irene-Wakonda 41
Chamberlain 61, Platte-Geddes 46
Tripp-Delmont/Armour 41, Gayville-Volin 34
Winner 61, Miller 59 (2 OT)
NBA
— The Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to send the 11-time All-Star James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Harden is averaging 25 points this season, his most since averaging 34 points in 2020. The Clippers receive 26-year-old Darius Garland, a two-time All-Star, who’s averaging 18 points this season.
— Jaren Jackson Jr. has been traded to the Utah Jazz in an eight-player, multiple-pick deal with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies also receive three first-round picks. Jackson, a former defensive player of the year, averaged 19 points and 5.8 rebounds this season.
— The Boston Celtics are adding depth for the playoff run by acquiring Nikola Vucevic from the Chicago Bulls. The trade involves guard Anfernee Simons and a package of second-round draft picks. Vucevic, 35, is averaging 16 points and 9 rebounds this season. Simons, who joined Boston last summer, is averaging 14 points this season. Both players are set to be free agents this summer.
— Steph Curry is teaming up with LeBron James and Kevin Durant at the NBA All-Star Game. The NBA has announced the rosters for this season’s event, which has a new U.S. vs. The World format. The game is set for February 15 at the Los Angeles Clippers’ home in Inglewood, California. The U.S. teams are split by age into USA Stripes and USA Stars. Kawhi Leonard was added Tuesday to the USA Stripes squad.
OLYMPICS
— Lindsey Vonn is “confident” she can compete at the upcoming Winter Olympics despite a left knee injury she sustained in a crash four days ago. Vonn says she “completely ruptured” her ACL, has bone bruising “plus meniscal damage.” She’s had three days of physical therapy and consultations with doctors. Vonn has been skiing with a brace on her knee. She says, “It feels stable, it feels strong,” and is “confident” to race.
NFL
— Don’t add to the regular season as well as provide well-maintained natural grass surfaces for NFL players. That was a main message from the NFL Players Association to the league. NFLPA interim executive director David White pointed out that several teams had significant injuries in mid-December: Patrick Mahomes and Micah Parsons tore ACLs in Week 15. Last week, Patriots owner Robert Kraft made it seem inevitable that the league would eventually expand the regular season from 17 to 18 games. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pulled that back on Monday, saying it’s “not a given.” The current collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and its players’ union expires in 2030.
— New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been snubbed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame for a second year, according to reports. Kraft, a first-time finalist, was not selected for the Hall’s 2026 class announced Thursday in San Francisco ahead of Super Bowl LX. Patriots coach Bill Belichick was also passed over in his first year of eligibility. Both Kraft and Belichick face scrutiny partly due to past controversies, including the Spygate and Deflategate scandals.
NBA
— LeBron James scored 25 points, while Luka Doncic had 24 as the Los Angeles Lakers rolled to a 125-109 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Austin Reaves’ first game since Christmas. Reaves had 15 points in 21 minutes after missing the last 19 games with a strained left calf. Reaves averaged 26 points per game before he was hurt.
— Cade Cunningham had 29 points and 10 assists as the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 124-121. All-Star Jalen Duren added 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Duncan Robinson scored 20 for the Pistons, who have won five of six. Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 32 points and eight assists while Nikola Jokic had 24 points and 15 rebounds.
— Isaiah Hartenstein had his first career-triple double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 23 minutes as Oklahoma City defeated the Orlando Magic 128-92. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 20 points and nine assists as the Thunder (40-11), became the first team this season to reach 40 wins.
— Jaylen Brown had 33 points and 11 rebounds as the Boston Celtics beat Dallas 110-100. 19-year-old Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg scored 36 points in his third consecutive 30-point game, along with nine rebounds and six assists.
— Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points and 14 rebounds as the New York Knicks rolled to their seventh straight victory, 132-101 over the Washington Wizards. Mikal Bridges scored 23 points and Jalen Brunson added 21 for New York.
— Utah’s Isaiah Collier had a career-high 22 assists as the Jazz beat the Indiana Pacers 131-122 with just seven healthy players. Lauri Markkanen scored 27 points for the Jazz. The last NBA player with 22 assists in a game was Denver’s Nikola Jokic last March.
— Rookie VJ Edgecombe had 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Philadelphia 76ers won their fifth straight game, 113-94 over the Golden State Warriors, who were missing Steph Curry because of a right knee.
— Collin Gillespie scored a career-high 30 points as the Phoenix Suns defeated Portland 130-125. Gillespie tied a career high with eight made 3-pointers and also had 10 assists.
— Jalen Johnson had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, while CJ McCollum added 26 points off the bench as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Miami Heat 127-115.
— Kyle Kuzma matched a season high with 31 points as the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a five-game losing streak, beating the Chicago Bulls 131-115.