By BRETT MARTEL

Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. — Mikaylah Williams scored 28 points and Aneesah Morrow added 26 points and 11 rebounds, leading Flau’Jae Johnson and LSU to a runaway 101-71 victory over Florida State in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Monday night.

Sa’Myah Smith had a season-high 20 points and 12 rebounds for LSU (30-5), which blew open what had been a 50-49 game at halftime by outscoring the Seminoles 31-6 in the third quarter.

Johnson, who played just seven minutes in the first half after apparently reaggravating a right shin injury, returned to start the second half and stirred the home crowd into a frenzy with a series of electrifying plays.

She began by dribbling across the paint in transition and hitting a right-handed hook off the glass while being fouled — a three-point play that gave LSU a 59-51 lead.

Soon after came her layup on a driving right-handed scoop, and then a driving no-look underhanded flip to Morrow in the paint for an easy layup.

After that, Johnson blocked O’Mariah Gordon’s perimeter shot, drew a foul on the other end and hit two free throws to make it 78-55.

She scored nine of her 13 points in the period and her energy was contagious. Williams scored 12 during the quarter while the third-seeded Tigers suffocated a Seminoles offense that had led the nation in scoring this season with 87.4 points per game.

FSU’s Ta’Niya Latson scored a game-high 30 points but just seven after halftime. Makayla Timpson scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the sixth-seeded Seminoles (24-9).

Latson scored just seconds after the opening tip and had Florida State’s first 12 points — 10 before four minutes elapsed.

Her 23 first-half points came on an array of slashing layups, floaters and a 3-pointer.

Johnson scored just two points in the first half. But she was first out of the locker room to take warmup shots as halftime wound down.

Takeaways

Florida State: The Seminoles shot just 36% (27 of 76) for the game and just 25% (9 of 36) in the second half, which wasn’t going to be nearly good enough to keep pace with the Tigers.

LSU: The Tigers’ second half made a statement as they move on to the third round. They shot 54% (19 of 35) over the final two quarters when they also scored 11 points off turnovers and outscored the Seminoles 28-8 in the paint.

By ALANIS THAMES

Associated Press

HOMESTEAD — It’s been a fast start to the NASCAR season for powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports.

The racing team has two wins in the first six Cup Series races of the season, including Kyle Larson’s victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. And its drivers hold the top three positions in points and four of the top six.

Still, Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon believes his team is just in the chase.

“The nice thing is, when you get a start like this and you’re up there in the points, it’s the fine-tuning [that comes after],” Gordon said. “What you’re chasing is victories. Perfection is what you’re really looking at.”

William Byron (who last month won his second straight Daytona 500),  Larson and Alex Bowman sit atop the standings. And the latter two Hendrick Motorsports drivers were in a battle for the win at Homestead.

Bowman, who started first in the 37-car field, had passed Bubba Wallace for the lead with about 30 laps to go while Larson surged from behind. By Lap 261, Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet scraped the outside wall, allowing Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet to get by him and dash off to a 1.205-second win that gave him his first Cup Series trophy of the year.

Larson said afterward he could sense both Bowman and Wallace, who finished third for 23XI Racing, might start making mistakes as he gained on them. He added he got around Bowman easier than expected on his teammate’s errant move.

“Guess I choked that one away, for sure,” Bowman said. “Just kind of burnt myself up. I saw the 5 [Larson] coming and moved around a little bit. … Just a couple mistakes there. Felt like we were OK all day.”

It capped a busy weekend for Larson, who fell one race short of sweeping the triple-header weekend. He won the Craftsman Truck race on Friday and finished fourth in the Xfinity Series on Saturday despite leading 132 of 201 laps. He came back motivated on Sunday, winning his second career Cup Series race at one of his best tracks despite leading just 19 of 267 laps.

“I didn’t think anybody was going to catch [Bowman],” Gordon said. “You just can’t ever count out Kyle Larson, especially at this place.”

Byron and Larson each has a Cup Series win, three top-five finishes apiece and four top-10 finishes each this year. They’ve led a combined 203 laps. Bowman has one top-five finish plus five top-10 finishes and has led 62 laps.

Chase Elliott, driving the No. 6 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, is sixth in the points standings with three top-10 finishes. Those four Hendrick cars are the only Chevrolets in the top 10 in points.

“We’ve had a couple races where all four of the cars are in the top eight or 10,” Gordon said, “and, you know, it’s a finicky sport because you want to get off to a good start, get in a good position in points so that you’re not on your heels and playing catch-up. That part’s really nice, but we’ve been getting beat.”

Added Larson: “Although we’re four of the top six, I don’t think that any of us are like the best car currently.”

On Sunday that car, in Gordon’s eyes, was Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford.

Blaney dominated — he led 124 laps and won Stage 1 after starting sixth. He was running third when his engine blew up on Lap 207, causing a thick cloud of smoke to cover the track and ending his afternoon.

“Honestly, I think that was the car,” Gordon said. “It’s ridiculous how fast they were. So I still think we’re chasing right now.”

Brewers 4, Rockies 2

Monday at Salt River Fields

On the mound: Right-hander Ryan Feltner gave up two runs on six hits over five innings in his final spring tuneup. He struck out four and walked two, throwing 75 pitches (46 for strikes). The righty closed camp with a 6.14 ERA. … Right-handed reliever Jimmy Herget, who’s had an excellent spring, struck out two in an inning of work. He whittled his ERA to 2.92. … Right-hander Bradley Blalock, the long reliever and emergency starter, finished his Cactus League stint with a 1.02 ERA after pitching one scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

At the plate: The Rockies, who wrapped up their Cactus League schedule with a 17-14-1 record, managed just five hits Monday with a lineup in which the major leaguers played sparingly. … Left fielder Jordan Beck, who came on strong as camp concluded, went 2 for 2, raising his average to .234. … Sam Hilliard, who made the roster as a fifth outfielder, went 0 for 2 with two Ks. He finished spring training hitting .120 with 27 strikeouts in 55 at-bats (49%).  … Designated hitter Kris Bryant, who played sparingly this spring while the team monitored his problematic back, batted 0 for 2, finishing with a .133 average that included one homer, one double and a .267 slugging percentage.

Up next: Rockies at Twins, 11:10 a.m. (MDT) Tuesday

Rockies probable pitchers: RHP German Marquez, RHP Angel Chivilli, RHP Seth Halvorsen, RHP Tyler Kinley, RHP Victor Vodnik, LHP Luis Peralta.

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