Gardner powers Marquette to Elite Eight

Marquette University junior and former King’s Fork High School standout Davante Gardner helped power the No. 3-seeded Golden Eagles to a Saturday showdown with Big East Conference rival Syracuse University among the Elite Eight in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Gardner supplied 14 points in a dominating win over No. 2-seeded University of Miami, 71-61. The win represents the first time Marquette has advanced beyond the Sweet 16 in a decade.

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Lady Warrior softball wins

The Nansemond River High School softball team engineered a thrilling come-from-behind 5-4 home win over Western Branch High School on Thursday evening.

Trailing 4-1 in the fifth inning, KateLynn Hodgkiss had a two-out RBI single. Sydney Glover scored Jazmine Card in the sixth. Hodgkiss herself scored on a Lady Bruins fielding error in the seventh, and Card scored Maddy-Grace Lavender for the walk-off RBI.

The comeback was made possible by an extraordinary defensive play from Lauren Maddrey, playing centerfield, in the top of the seventh. Still ahead 4-3, Western Branch had two outs and runners on second and third and made a short hit to center. Maddrey made what Lady Warriors coach Gabe Rogers called “a Superman diving catch, glove out-stretched. It saved two runs, probably saved the game.”

Nansemond River High School (6-1, 6-1) will play Kempsville High School and Granby High School on Thursday in the Jazmine Foreman Memorial Tournament at Grassfield High School.