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No. 4 UCLA closes nonconference play with a dominant win over Long Beach State

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No. 4 UCLA closes nonconference play with a dominant win over Long Beach State

UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close could not have imagined a better way for her team to wrap up nonconference play than Saturday afternoon’s 106-44 trouncing of Long Beach State at Pauley Pavilion.

Coming off Tuesday’s 115-28 triumph over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo — UCLA’s largest margin of victory during the NCAA era — the Bruins picked up where they left off, leading wire-to-wire for their fifth consecutive win since suffering their lone loss to Texas on Nov. 26.

“We’re growing … we had a couple of lapses today and we’re not there yet, but we’re heading in the right direction,” Close said. “I love the selflessness of this team.”

Senior guard Gabriela Jaquez led the way with 17 points and made five of six three-point shots. Angela Dugalic added 13 points while Gianna Kneepkens had 10 points and 10 rebounds. All 11 Bruins who played scored at least one basket.

UCLA forward Sienna Betts, top, and Long Beach State forward Kennan Ka dive for the ball during the Bruins’ win Saturday.

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(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)

Playing their last game in Westwood until Jan. 3, when they will host crosstown rival USC, the Bruins (11-1 overall, 1-0 in Big Ten) looked every bit like the No. 4 team in the country, improving to 6-0 at home. They are ranked fourth in both the Associated Press and coaches polls behind Connecticut, Texas and South Carolina.

“I’m really proud of our nonconference schedule. Not many local teams are willing to play us, so I want to compliment Long Beach State,” Close said. “Our starting guards [Charlisse Leger-Walker and Kiki Rice] combined for 17 assists and one turnover. We have depth and balance and that’s a great luxury to have.”

Jaquez scored nine of the Bruins’ first 12 points. She opened the scoring with a three-pointer from the top of the key and added triples on back-to-back possessions to increase the margin to eight points. Her fourth three-pointer, from the right corner, extended the lead to 21-5.

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Sienna Betts’ jumper in the lane put UCLA up by 19 at the end of the first quarter. The sophomore finished with 14 points and senior Lauren Betts added 17. The sisters’ parents, Michelle and Andy, played volleyball and basketball, respectively, for Long Beach State. Sienna wears her mom’s No. 16 while Lauren dons her dad’s No. 51.

Rice’s steal and layup made it 46-18 with 3:28 left in the first half and Leger-Walker’s tip-in at the buzzer gave the Bruins a 34-point advantage at halftime. Rice had a complete game, contributing 15 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, four steals and one block.

The result continued the Bruins’ recent dominance against the Beach. UCLA has won six straight head-to-head meetings, including a 51-point blowout in the schools’ previous matchup last December, when Close became the all-time winningest coach in program history by earning her 297th victory to surpass Billie Moore (296-181). Long Beach State has not beaten the Bruins since 1987 under Joan Bonvicini, who posted a 16-1 record versus UCLA in her 12 seasons at the Beach from 1979 to 1991.

The Bruins’ primary focus on defense was slowing down sophomore guard JaQuoia Jones-Brown, who entered Saturday averaging 17.2 points per game. She scored 10 of the Beach’s 11 points in the first quarter but was held scoreless the rest of the way. She has scored in double figures in nine of 10 games. Guard Christy Reynoso added six points for Beach (0-10 overall, 0-2 in Big West).

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The Bruins travel to Columbus on Dec. 28 to face No. 21 Ohio State (9-1).

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WWE NXT star Jacy Jayne ready for Stand & Deliver challenge, says she loves to prove people wrong

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WWE NXT star Jacy Jayne ready for Stand & Deliver challenge, says she loves to prove people wrong

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Jacy Jayne has been the NXT women’s champion for more than 130 days and has all the belief in the world that her reign will remain intact once Stand & Deliver is finished on Saturday night.

Jayne’s hopes of battling either Kendal Grey or Lola Vice one-on-one vanished on Wednesday as NXT GM Rob Stone announced that she will defend the title in a triple-threat match. Grey and Vice’s match to determine a No. 1 contender ended in controversy as one competitor tapped out and the other was pinned.

Lainey Reid and Jacy Jayne compete against Kendal Grey and Lola Vice during NXT at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on March 31, 2026. (Rich Freeda/WWE)

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To make things right, Stone put both challengers in the match against Jayne at Stand & Deliver.

Jayne told Fox News Digital before the decision was made that it doesn’t matter who she faces, she was confident she was going to come out on top.

“No, because I’ve beaten them both already,” she said when asked if it mattered who she was going to face. “So, I’m going to do the same thing that I’ve done in the past and I’m gonna win and remain your NXT women’s champion.”

Jayne is in her second run as NXT women’s champion. She defeated Tatum Paxley at NXT Gold Rush in November to jumpstart the next reign. She’s one of four women to hold the NXT Women’s Championship at least twice. Roxanne Perez, Charlotte Flair and Shayna Baszler each accomplishing the feat.

RICKY SAINTS HOPES TO ADD TO HIS ACCOLADES WITH NXT CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY AT STAND & DELIVER

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Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne and Lainey Reid enter the arena during Showdown at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 2, 2025. (Andrea Kellaway/Getty Images)

The New Jersey native is relishing the opportunity to be the NXT women’s champion and proving the doubters wrong.

“Well, I feel like I was severely underrated and people doubted me and when I won the title, they were like, ‘What the heck is going on? Why Jacy?’ And I think over the last 10-11 months that I’ve been champion, I’ve proven everybody wrong,” she told Fox News Digital.

“I was always meant for this spot. It was only a matter of time. I was waiting for my right moment and I love to prove people wrong, and I love to make grown men cry.”

NXT women’s champion Jacy Jayne addresses the crowd during NXT’s Vengeance Day on March 7, 2026, in Orlando. (Conor Kvatek/WWE)

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NXT Stand & Deliver will take place Saturday in St. Louis, Missouri, at 7 p.m. ET. The event can be seen on YouTube.

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Rapper J Cole signs with Chinese basketball team, his third stint as a professional hoopster

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Rapper J Cole signs with Chinese basketball team, his third stint as a professional hoopster

Hip-hop star J. Cole is taking his basketball dreams overseas — again.

When ESPN reported Wednesday that the two-time Grammy winner has signed to play for the Nanjing Monkey Kings in the Chinese Basketball Assn., it might have sounded like an April Fool’s Day prank.

But it’s no joke. Cole’s longtime manager and business partner Ibrahim Hamad reposted the ESPN report on X and wrote that basketball “is still Life for my boy, even at 41.”

Videos and photos posted on social media, some of which were reposted by Hamad, show Cole at a Monkey Kings game wearing team gear and warming up with the other players. The “Work Out” rapper reportedly did not play in the game. One video shows Cole autographing an album for an excited fan.

Cole posted a video to the Chinese social media site Douyin saying he was in China and “excited” to be there.

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Born Jermaine Lamarr Cole, the multiplatinum artist played basketball at Terry Sanford High in North Carolina and tried out for the hoops team at St. John’s as a walk-on while attending the university on an academic scholarship. Throughout his music career, Cole has incorporated basketball images and references into his lyrics, performances and cover art.

This will be Cole’s third stint as a professional basketball player. In 2021, the 6-foot-3 guard played three games for Rwanda’s Patriots Basketball Club of the Basketball Africa League, averaging 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in about 15 minutes a game.

The following year, he played five games for the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, averaging 2.4 points and less than one rebound and assist in about 10 minutes a game.

On a recent episode of “Talk with Flee,” Cole spoke with fellow rapper Cam’ron about his lifelong “love and passion for basketball” even though he’s never been the best player on the court at any given time. He said playing professionally overseas has been “like me trying to scratch a last itch.”

“Like, yo, let me see if I could do this,” Cole said. “Could I train and be able to go play professional? Because these teams and these leagues are looking at it like, you know what, he not a—. He could come be on the court, and he could give our league some publicity.”

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Cole mentioned the upcoming opportunity to play for Nanjing.

“I’m looking at the clock like, boy, I’m getting older. Like, this might be my last shot,” Cole, whose “The Fall-Off” album dropped Feb. 6 and tour starts July 10, said. “So I’m going to keep my word to them and show up and play in a couple games, although I know I’m not in the best of shape because of the album. But I’m going to go out there and have fun with it.”

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Former Cowboys player Trysten Hill appears to grin after arrest tied to alleged assault of pregnant woman

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Former Cowboys player Trysten Hill appears to grin after arrest tied to alleged assault of pregnant woman

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Former NFL defensive tackle Trysten Hill was booked into a Texas jail last week on multiple charges relating to an alleged assault of a pregnant woman.

Ellis County Sheriff’s Office jail records list “assault of a pregnant person” and “interfering with an emergency request for assistance.” 

FOX 4 in Dallas obtained the records, which also showed Hill was arrested March 26.

Hill was booked and held on a $3,500 bond connected to two bond-forfeiture warrants from a 2025 criminal investigation, the sheriff’s office said.

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Trysten Hill  of the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium Oct. 20, 2019, in Arlington, Texas. (Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Hill appeared to grin in his booking photo.

The identity of the alleged victim and any relationship to Hill were not disclosed. Fox News Digital contacted the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, but a request for comment was not immediately returned.

WNBA PLAYER ‘WILLING TO TESTIFY’ AGAINST EX-BOYFRIEND JAMES PEARCE JR AFTER ALLEGED DOMESTIC DISPUTE

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After his three-year career at Central Florida, the Cowboys selected Hill in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He appeared in 25 regular-season games with the Cowboys, recording 39 combined tackles over four seasons.

Trysten Hill of the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium Oct. 9, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Hill joined the Arizona Cardinals midway through the 2022 season, recording five solo tackles and one sack in six games. He signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2023 but was released before the regular season kicked off.

New England Patriots defensive tackle Trysten Hill reacts against the Carolina Panthers during the first half at Gillette Stadium Aug. 8, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (Eric Canha/USA Today Sports)

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The New England Patriots signed Hill to their practice squad later in 2023.

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