Friday’s Sports In Brief

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Mark Emmert acknowledged the glaring failures to give the coaches and players in the women’s tournament the same attention the NCAA gave the men was a result of a lack of communication between the two basketball staffs along with focusing on trying to tip off both events safely during a pandemic.

The NCAA president said the oversights resulted in overlooking differences that led to inequities that have cast a dark, looming cloud over the women’s tournament.

The NCAA announced on Thursday that it was hiring a law firm to review potential gender equity issues in all men’s and women’s championship events.

The NCAA has been accused the past two weeks of not providing equal amenities to the teams in the men’s and women’s Division I basketball tournaments. Among other things, female players, coaches and staff in San Antonio have criticized the NCAA for not initially providing a full weight-training area to the women’s teams, noting the men’s teams in Indianapolis did not have the same problem.

Emmert said now the focus is on making sure it doesn’t happen again.

MILWAUKEE (AP) - After a frustrating six-year stint at Texas in which he never quite lived up to lofty expectations, Shaka Smart is returning to his home state and starting over at Marquette.

Marquette officially announced it had hired Smart to replace Steve Wojciechowski, who was fired a week ago. The move came six days after Smart’s Texas team was upset 53-52 by Abilene Christian in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Smart, who turns 44 on April 8, will be formally introduced at a Monday news conference.

Smart went 109-86 with no NCAA Tournament victories at Texas after a remarkably successful six-year run at VCU, where he went 163-56 and led the Rams to a Final Four appearance in 2011. Texas went 19-8 this season and won the Big 12 Tournament before its early NCAA exit.

This marks a bit of a homecoming for Smart, who went to high school at Oregon, Wisconsin, just outside Madison. His arrival should provide a burst of energy for a Marquette program that went 128-95 overall and 59-68 in Big East competition during Wojciechowski’s seven seasons.

NFL

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - The San Francisco 49ers made a big move to grab their quarterback of the future by trading up with Miami to acquire the No. 3 pick in next month’s draft.

The Niners announced they are trading their No. 12 pick along with first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 and their compensatory third-rounder in 2022 to get the third overall pick. ESPN first reported the deal.

The Dolphins then immediately traded the 12th pick, the 123rd pick and their own 2022 first-rounder to Philadelphia for the No. 6 and No. 156 picks in the draft, the Eagles announced.

The trade by the Niners puts them in position to draft a quarterback with Zach Wilson, Justin Fields and Trey Lance all possibilities. Jacksonville is expected to take Trevor Lawrence first and the New York Jets also could take a quarterback at No. 2.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved closer to a goal of retaining all 22 starters from their Super Bowl victory, agreeing to a one-year, $3.25 million contract to bring free agent running back Leonard Fournette back for next season.

A person familiar with the deal that could be worth up to $4 million with incentives spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced by the Bucs.

Fournette joined the team after being released by the Jacksonville Jaguars near the end of training camp last summer. He struggled at times to adjust to a role as a backup to Ronald Jones, but played a key role late in the season and during the playoffs while Jones was slowed by injuries and a stint on the COVID-19 list.

The fourth overall pick from the 2017 draft rushed for 300 yards and three touchdowns, while also catching 18 passes for another 148 yards and one TD during the four-game playoff run Tampa Bay capped with a 31-9 victory over Kansas City in the Super Bowl.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Los Angeles Chargers found a veteran to back up quarterback Justin Herbert, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with Chase Daniel.

Daniel has appeared in 69 games with five starts over 11 seasons, throwing for 1,694 yards and eight touchdowns. He appeared in four games for Detroit last season.

New coach Brandon Staley and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi are familiar with Daniel. Staley and Daniel were together in Chicago in 2018, and Lombardi was Daniel’s quarterback coach in New Orleans.

NBA

DETROIT (AP) - James Harden scored 44 points and Blake Griffin added 17 in his return to Detroit, lifting the Brooklyn Nets to a 113-111 victory over the Pistons.

Harden was back after missing a game because of neck soreness, He added 14 rebounds and eight assists. Brooklyn was still without Kevin Durant (left hamstring strain) and Kyrie Irving (personal reasons).

Griffin spent three-plus years with the Pistons, but he reached a buyout agreement with Detroit earlier this month and went to the contending Nets. The Pistons played a tribute video for him during a first-half timeout, and he stood to acknowledge the small number of fans in attendance.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Montrezl Harrell had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied in the second half to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 100-86 to snap a four-game losing streak.

It’s the Lakers’ first win since both LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been injured and out of the lineup. James has missed four games after spraining his right ankle on March 20 against Atlanta, and Davis hasn’t played since mid-February due to a right calf strain.

Los Angeles trailed 51-44 at halftime before seizing control in the third quarter, scoring 19 of the first 21 points. Harrell and Dennis Schröder scored five points apiece during the run. The Lakers shot 11 of 19 from the field and held the Cavaliers to 3-of-21 shooting in taking a 72-61 lead at the end of the quarter.

GOLF

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Needing to win the final hole to advance, Bob MacIntrye drilled a driver to 3 feet of the cup on he 371-yard 18th hole. Moments later, Sergio Garcia ended one of the record eight sudden-death playoffs with a hole-in-one.

Already the most fickle event in golf, the Dell Technologies Match Play was an endless frenzy.

Kevin Na lectured Dustin Johnson about not waiting for a putt to be conceded - 6 inches - and then birdied the last two holes to oust the No. 1 player in the world. Patrick Cantlay, practically flawless with 14 birdies and an eagle over two days, managed only two birdies and lost a playoff with a three-putt.

When it finally ended, Jon Rahm at No. 3 was the only player from the top 20 seeds who made it to the knockout stage of the weekend at Austin Country Club.

Billy Horschel said after beating Max Homa on the third playoff hole.

Garcia beat Lee Westwood in the longest of the eight playoffs with a 9-iron from 161 yards to a front pin on the par-3 fourth hole that landed just beyond the pin and trickled back into the cup.

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) - Michelle Wie West missed the cut in her first tournament in nearly two years while Inbee Park headed into the weekend still holding a one-stroke lead in the Kia Classic.

Wie West shot a 2-over 74 at Aviara, an improvement of seven strokes from her opening-round 81 to finish at 11-over 155. She had two birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.

Park carded a 3-under 69 for a two-round total of 9-under 155 and a one-stroke lead over Sophia Popov, who shot 68 for the second straight day. Mel Reid carded a 70 and was three strokes off the lead. Hyo Joo Kim was 5 under after a 72, and Wei-Ling Hsu carded 69 to reach 4 under.