Washington

Three stars from Iowa basketball’s 85-79 win vs. Washington

Published

1 year ago

February 23, 2025

Three stars from Iowa basketball’s 85-79 win vs. Washington

After another frustrating losing skid that spanned the previous two games, Iowa basketball (15-12, 6-10 Big Ten) got back in the win column Saturday evening with an 85-79 victory over Washington (13-14, 4-12) from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Offensively, the Hawkeyes shot a respectable 26-for-55 (47.3%) from the floor, including 10-for-21 (47.6%) from beyond the arc and 23-of-26 (88.5%]) from the charity stripe. Defensively, Iowa forced 11 Washington turnovers, including six steals and two blocks. The Hawkeyes converted those 11 turnovers into 19 points, helping power Iowa to victory.

With the win, the Hawkeyes created much-needed breathing room among those fighting to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament as the regular season winds down. Iowa now resides in a 14th-place tie with Rutgers (Iowa holds a head-to-head advantage), one game ahead of 16th-place Northwestern.

Here are the three stars from Iowa basketball’s Saturday triumph over Washington.

Payton Sandfort

As he has done regularly throughout the season, Sandfort powered the Hawkeyes offensively by contributing 27 points on 7-for-18 (38.9%) from the floor, 1-for-5 (20%) from deep, and 12-for-13 (92.3%) from the free-throw line in a full 40-minute effort. The senior also registered nine rebounds (all defensive rebounds), two assists, and one block to add to his impressive night.

Sandfort’s stellar performance is nothing new but is always worth appreciating as he continues to pour his heart and soul into the program in his final year of eligibility.

For the Hawkeyes to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament, Sandfort must continue his torrid offensive play as the regular season wraps up.

Josh Dix

Dix had another impactful night for the Hawkeyes, scoring 15 points on 5-10 (50%) from the floor, 2-for-3 (66.7%) from long-range, and 3-for-4 (75%) from the charity stripe in 33 minutes of action. The junior guard also added three rebounds and three assists to his total on the night.

Given Owen Freeman’s season-ending injury, Dix’s recent uptick in offensive production from the third-scoring option to the secondary has been crucial for the Hawkeyes’ ability to compete against the rugged Big Ten schedule.

As Iowa battles down the home stretch of the regular season, the Hawkeyes will need to see Dix continue to bring the same impact for the team to have hopes of qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament.

Brock Harding

Harding had a quietly impactful game for the Hawkeyes, contributing 11 points off 4-for-7 (57.1%) from the floor and 3-for-5 (60%) from deep in 25 minutes of action. He also registered five assists, four rebounds, and two steals to close out his night.

While Harding’s tertiary scoring role has limited his offensive impact, his clutch three-point baskets allowed Iowa to stay level with the Huskies near the end of the first half and at the start of the second half.

Iowa will travel on the road for their next matchup as they visit State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill., for a Tuesday night clash vs. Illinois (17-11, 9-8). Fortunately for Iowa, Illinois has lost three consecutive games heading into Tuesday’s meeting, including its worst loss in program history in a landslide 110-67 Saturday night defeat against No. 3 Duke.

The game will be broadcast on FS1, with a tipoff scheduled for 8 p.m. CT. The game will also be available through the air on the Hawkeyes Radio Network.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews

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Washington

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant

Published

23 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury has announced that she and her husband Matt are expecting a baby in July.

The couple made the announcement in a video on the Spirit’s social media channels, holding a baby goalkeeper jersey on the pitch at Audi Field.

Kingsbury becomes the most recent Spirit star to go on maternity leave, following defender Casey Krueger, midfielder Andi Sullivan and forward Ashley Hatch.

Sullivan gave birth to daughter Millie in July, while Hatch welcomed her son Leo in January.

Krueger announced she was pregnant with her second child in October.

Kingsbury has served as the Spirit’s starting goalkeeper since 2018, and has been named the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year twice (2019 and 2021).

The 34-year-old has two caps with the U.S. women’s national team, and was named to the 2023 World Cup roster.

The club captain will leave a major void for the Spirit, who have finished as NWSL runner-up in back-to-back seasons.

Sandy MacIver and Kaylie Collins are expected to compete for the starting role while Kingsbury is on maternity leave.

The Spirit kick off their 2026 campaign on March 13 against the Portland Thorns.

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Washington state board awards Yakima $985,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Washington state board awards Yakima 5,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design

YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima could soon take a major step toward redesigning Sixth Avenue after the Washington State Public Works Board awarded the city a $985,600 loan.

The loan was approved for the design engineering phase of the Sixth Avenue project. The funding can also be used along Sixth Avenue for utility replacement and updated ADA use.

The Yakima City Council must decide whether to accept the award. If the council accepts it, the city’s engineering work will move forward with the design of Sixth Avenue.

The cost of installing trolley lines is excluded from the plan. The historic trolleys would need to raise the funds required to add trolley lines.

The award is scheduled to be discussed during next week’s City Council meeting.

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Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington

Published

2 days ago

February 25, 2026

Press Room

Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington

Microsoft will ramp up its investment in the University of Washington.

Brad Smith, the company’s president, made the announcement at a press conference with University of Washington President Robert Jones on Tuesday.

That means hiring more UW graduates as interns at Microsoft, he said.

And he said all students, faculty, and researchers should have access to free, or at least deeply-discounted, AI.

“ Some of it is compute that Microsoft is donating, and some of it is pursuant to an agreement where, believe me, we give the University of Washington probably the best pricing that anybody’s gonna find anywhere,” Smith said. He assured the small group of reporters present that it would be “many millions of dollars of additional computational resources.”

The announcement today didn’t include any specific numbers.

But Smith said Microsoft has already invested $165 million in the UW over several decades.

He pointed to Jones’ vision to spur “radical collaborations with businesses and communities to advance positive change,” and eliminate “any artificial barriers between the university and the communities it serves.”

Microsoft’s goal is for AI to help UW researchers solve some of the world’s biggest problems without introducing new ones.

At Tuesday’s announcement, several research students were present to demonstrate how AI supports their work.

Amelia Keyser-Gibson is an environmental scientist at the UW. She’s using AI to analyze photographs of vines, to find which adapt best to climate change.

It’s a paradox: AI produces carbon emissions. At the same time, it’s also a new tool to help reduce them.

So how do those things square for Keyser-Gibson?

“ That’s a great question, and honestly, I don’t know the answer to that,” she said. “I’m highly aware that there’s a lot of environmental impact of using AI, but what I can say is that this has allowed us to make research innovations that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”

“If we had had to manually annotate every single image that would’ve been an undergrad doing that for hours,” Keyser-Gibson continued. “And we didn’t have the budget. We didn’t have the manpower to do that.”

“AI exists. If we don’t use it as researchers, we’re gonna fall behind.”

Microsoft reports on its own carbon emissions. But like most AI companies, it doesn’t reveal everything.

That’s one reason another UW student named Zhihan Zhang is using AI to estimate how much energy AI is using.

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