Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. NHL roundup: Vegas, St. Louis make playoffs despite losses

Eric Staal had a goal and an assist, and Devan Dubnyk made 35 saves as the Minnesota Wild held on to edge the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 on Friday night in Las Vegas. Despite sustaining a fourth consecutive loss, Vegas still clinched a Stanley Cup playoff berth by virtue of Colorado's 3-2 shootout victory over the Arizona Coyotes. Porzingis accused of rape in New York

Dallas Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis has been accused of raping a New York neighbor on Feb. 7, 2018, hours after suffering a serious knee injury while playing for the Knicks, the New York Post reported Saturday. The alleged victim contacted police this week with details of the alleged rape, according to the Post. Unbeaten Northwest Missouri State wins D-II title

Joey Witthus scored 24 points to help Northwest Missouri State complete an unbeaten season with a 64-58 victory over Point Loma Nazarene (California) in the Division II championship game on Saturday at Evansville, Ind. The title is the second in three seasons for the Bearcats (38-0), who became the fifth Division II squad to post a perfect season. Barty beats Pliskova to win maiden Miami Open title

Ashleigh Barty defeated Karolina Pliskova 7-6(1) 6-3 on Saturday to win her maiden Miami Open title and become the first Australian woman since 2013 to reach the top 10 in the world rankings. After dominating the first set tiebreak, Barty broke the big-serving Pliskova in a 12-minute game to open the second set. Injured LeBron to sit out rest of season

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James will sit out the remaining six games of the NBA season to nurse a lingering groin injury, the team said on Saturday. "After consulting with our team doctors and medical staff, we have decided to hold LeBron out of games for the remainder of the season," the team said in a statement. NBA roundup: Warriors fall in controversial finish

Karl-Anthony Towns made a tiebreaking -- and controversial -- free throw with a half-second remaining in overtime Friday night, giving the Minnesota Timberwolves a 131-130 victory that dropped the visiting Golden State Warriors into a tie for the top spot in the Western Conference. Kevin Durant fouled Towns as he was breaking for the basket on an inbounds play. Durant was called for a pushing foul near the hoop even though the pass appeared to be over both players' heads. Golf: Woods 2 up on McIlroy at turn in first ever match play meeting

Tiger Woods took a 2 up lead over Rory McIlroy through nine holes in their first ever match play meeting at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Texas on Saturday. Woods, the 13th seed, surged ahead 1 up with a four-foot birdie putt on the fifth hole, then took command with another birdie at the sixth. Ogunbowale leads Notre Dame over Texas A&M in Sweet 16

Guard Arike Ogunbowale scored a career-high 34 points to lead No. 1 seed Notre Dame to an 87-80 victory over No. 4 Texas A&M in a Sweet 16 game Saturday in the Chicago Region. The game was tied at 69 in the fourth quarter before Ogunbowale scored five consecutive points on a 3-pointer and then a fast-break layup after she stole the ball on a pass. The Irish were able to maintain at least a five-point lead for the final 6:07. No. 3 Texas Tech upsets top-seeded Gonzaga, earns first trip to Final Four

Third-seeded Texas Tech made history Saturday, using its trademark sticky defense to shut down top-seeded Gonzaga's high-scoring offense and produce a 75-69 win in the West Regional final at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. "We're trying to build a program at Tech like a Gonzaga," Red Raiders coach Chris Beard said afterward. "The Final Four is awesome and all that, but the most cool thing is I get to coach these guys again." NASCAR notebook: Suarez embraces mentor role

As he did for much of his racing career, Stewart-Haas Racing's Daniel Suarez forged his own path in qualifying Friday night for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 (on Sunday, March 31 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). While his fellow competitors hesitated to make a lap, Suarez darted out onto the track alone. Ultimately, he was rewarded with a fourth-place qualifying effort at Texas Motor Speedway.