Die Macht » ild-card entry Heather Waatson 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-2.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Wichita State soared past yet another overwhelmed Missouri Valley Conference opponent on Saturday night. Now the Shockers could be in line for another leap in the national polls. Cleanthony Early scored 19 points, Ron Baker added 14 and fifth-ranked Wichita State stayed perfect with a 78-61 win over Drake. Wichita States latest win -- combined with an ugly home loss by No. 4 Villanova to Creighton during the week and No. 3 Michigan States home defeat against No. 21 Michigan on Saturday -- could put the Shockers (21-0, 8-0 MVC) in position to leapfrog both teams on Monday. Coach Gregg Marshall appeared to be stumping for his team with what seemed to be a bit of a jab at Michigan State (18-2) after the game. "Did the mighty Spartans lose again?" Marshall said as he left the podium following his postgame news conference. The Shockers will have to wait until March for Michigan State or whoever else might stand in their way at another Final Four appearance. For now, theyll have to settle for pounding on teams in the Valley. Drake was the latest to succumb to Wichita States acrobatic offence and suffocating defence. Nick Wiggins had 11 points for the visiting Shockers, who outscored Drake 28-15 to open the second half and turn a relatively close game into a rout. The Shockers have now won four straight by at least 15 points after an overtime scare at Missouri State two weeks ago. Aaron Hawley had 16 points to lead Drake (11-9, 2-6), which lost for the sixth time in seven games. "That team is extremely tough-minded," Drake coach Ray Giacoletti said. "Each possession offensively and defensively, they control their destiny. They dont splinter ever. We were not able to make them splinter." The Bulldogs had their moments against the Valleys top team, but Wichita State showed off its superior talent with a handful of game-defining plays. Baker answered a Drake 3 with a three-point play through traffic with 15:45 left, and that kicked off a pair of spurts that overwhelmed the Bulldogs. Chadrack Lufile scored inside, and Tekele Cottons floater put the Shockers ahead 52-35 with just over 13 minutes left. Early then soared through the paint to flush down an errant shot, and Wiggins three-point play capped an 11-0 run that made it 65-44. The Shockers outrebounded Drake 34-20 and held its leading scorer, Richard Carter, to six points. Its been six years since Drake caught the nations attention with a stunning surge to the Valley championship, the programs first in 37 seasons. The Bulldogs are on their third coach since that NCAA tournament run, with Giacoletti in his first season in Des Moines. Drake started the season 10-3 and whipped Evansville 94-66 in the league opener before slipping during the heart of its Valley schedule. But the Bulldogs, bolstered by a near-sellout crowd, did their best to push the Shockers early. They hit nine of their first 16 shots to stay as close as 30-26. But Baker found Cotton for a one-handed alley-oop that sent Wichita State into the break with a 37-29 lead. "I know Tekele Cotton pretty well. He can jump really high and he likes to dunk it," Baker said. "It was a really athletic play from him, which is no surprise." Cotton then opened the second half with another dunk and the Shockers were on their way to their eighth road win. The Shockers wont face a remaining schedule as tough as Michigan States or perhaps anyone else in a power league. But Marshall said his Shockers can play with anyone in the country. Wichita State next hosts Loyola and Evansville ahead of what could be its toughest test of the year, at 16-4 Indiana State on Feb. 5. "This is a very good basketball team. We dont have to apologize to anybody about our schedule," Marshall said. "Was it (former Arizona Cardinals coach) Dennis Green that says, We are what they say we are? So, were (fifth) in the country and probably moving up -- that is unless theres some elite team wants to jump us this week. I dont know who that elite team might be." Adidas NMD Womens Sale . PAUL, Minn. Adidas NMD Discount . They have watched it from afar. And now they have seen it for themselves. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/wholesale-adidas-nmd-r1-china.html .ca. Kerry, In Mondays Habs/Bruins game, there were three questionable/brutal calls against the Habs late in the game - Tomas Plekanec, then Douglas Murray, then Brendan Gallagher. Adidas NMD Womens Cheap . 1. AMIR JOHNSON: Nice to see him back in the lineup Tuesday night in Washington DC. Played with great energy and purpose. Its amazing when a guy gets those few precious days to recover what it does to the bounce in their step and overall game/confidence. Adidas NMD XR1 For Sale .A. Happ? Happs seven wins are second on the staff to Mark Buehrles 10. Win-loss record is an antiquated stat, sure, but win total is generally an indication of a pitchers ability to work deep into games, enough to be personally affected by the result. MALMO, Sweden -- Anthony Mantha looked more relieved than jubilant after his three goals helped Canada start the world junior championship with a victory. It may be because there had been doubts the Longueuil, Que., native would make the team -- despite lighting up the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season -- because of his questionable defensive play. No one doubted his ability to put the puck in the net, as Mantha demonstrated with a hat trick in Canadas 7-2 win over Germany on Thursday. "Its a great feeling," the lanky, six-foot-four right winger said. "For me, personally, I had to get a big game going and I think thats what I did." It helped that Mantha was on a line with perhaps Canadas most dynamic playmaker in Jonathan Drouin, who assisted on all three of his goals -- two on power plays and one at even strength. But Mantha, the grandson of former NHL forward Andre Pronovost, scores wherever he plays. He had 35 goals in only 32 games with the Val dOr Foreurs before joining Team Canada two weeks ago for the run-up to the world juniors. He has 85 goals in 99 games over the last season and a half. Coach Brent Sutter said what clinched his spot was that ability to put the puck in the net, which there is not a lot of on this squad compared to past world junior teams. Sutter hopes a crash course in 200-foot hockey will make the Detroit Red Wings prospect a more complete player as the tournament goes on. "He can score goals, but there are other aspects of his game he needs to continue to work on," said Sutter. "Things Ive talked to him about one on one. "Its simple. Its being a competitor in all three zones and making sure hes responsible in all three zones. Not just for this tournament, but for him to be a good pro. Especially with the organization hell go to in Detroit. Thats what they expect there. You cant just play the offensive side of the puck." Sutter said Mantha wants to learn and feels he is already "a better player now than when he joined the team 11 days ago. That comes from our conversations. He understands that hes not going to get on the ice if hes only going to be a power-play guy." He got a passing grade in two-way play against the Germans, who were overmatched but took advantage of some early Canadian sloppiness to keep the score close through the first 15 minutes of play. Mantha has a remarkably quick release for a big man, and having the clever Drouin laying passes on his stick could be a vital asset as the tournament moves on and the competition gets tougher. He said his grandfather, who scored 109 goals in 556 NHL games from 1957 to 1968 for Montreal, Boston, Detroit and the Minnesota North Stars, was a key influence in his hockey deveelopment.ddddddddddddHe said Pronovost taught him "three key points" to success, but wont reveal them all. "One is work," he offered. But he still went into the teams selection camp two weeks ago in Toronto looking to prove he can do more than score. "For sure I had to make an impression," he said. "Not every player was guaranteed a spot and I had to battle through it. I got great news and now Im trying to carry it on." Drouin has played with Mantha before in an exhibition series and feels that chemistry is developing. "Anthonys a big guy," said the third overall pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning. "Hes hard to play against in the corners and everything. I try to use my hands and speed and I think we complement each other pretty well." The Canadian team got a rousing welcome from the crowd of 1,831 -- nearly all wearing Hockey Canada jerseys -- at the 5,800-seat Isstadion, but still looked nervous as the game began. The Germans got the opening goal off a faceoff in the Canada zone as Dorian Saeftel put a shot through traffic that fooled goalie Jake Paterson only 1:35 into the game. After Josh Anderson and Mantha gave Canada a lead, Janik Moser tied it for Germany after defenceman Adam Pelech whiffed on a clearing attempt. Then Canada took over as Mantha and Bo Horvat got goals before the intermission, Sam Reinhart and Mantha added goals in the second period and Nic Petan finished a play engineered by 16-year-old Conner McDavid in the third. McDavid had two assists, while his linemate Reinhart also had two points. Their line with Horvat could have had several if not for some fine saves by Shawinigan Cataractes goalie Marvin Cupper. "I think I played pretty well," said McDavid. "I missed a whole bunch of chances that Im pretty embarrassed about, but I thought I played an all right game. "That shift where Bo and Reino set me up for a couple of breakaways and the goalie made a couple of good saves -- I was beating myself up pretty good about it, but they laid off me. They were good about it." The shots were 30-24 for Canada, but the game was not nearly that close. A tougher test comes Saturday when Canada plays its second group stage game against the Czech Republic. Notes: Defenceman Griffin Reinhart sat out the first of three games he will miss due to a suspension incurred at last years world juniors. . . Germany has six players from Canadian junior teams, including Prince Albert star Leon Draisaitl who had a mostly quiet game, and another six who play in the U.S. . . Canada has its second youngest team ever at 18 years 10 months 25 days. Only the 1987 team that was disqualified after a brawl with the Soviets was younger. ' ' '