AP Sports SummaryBrief at 4:53 p.m. EST

Sherfield scores 30 as Oklahoma beats No. 2 Alabama 93-69

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Grant Sherfield scored a season-high 30 points, and Oklahoma beat No. 2 Alabama 93-69 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Jalen Hill added a career-high 26 points on 9-for-11 shooting, helping second-year Oklahoma coach Porter Moser to his biggest win with the program. Tanner Groves had 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Sooners had lost three straight. Rylan Griffen led Alabama with 15 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Brandon Miller finished with 11 on 4-for-14 shooting.

Analysis: Aussie Open champ Sabalenka reworked serve, belief

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka’s Australian Open championship is about persistence. It’s about the value of confronting problems instead of ignoring them. It’s about putting in the effort required to get better. Sabalenka and her team says it’s much about the way she reconfigured her self-belief as it is about the way she configured her serving technique. Sabalenka is now a Grand Slam champion after coming back to beat Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the final Saturday night. Sabalenka is 11-0 in 2023 and will move up to No. 2 in the WTA rankings behind Iga Swiatek on Monday.

Shiffrin wins slalom, moves within 1 win of World Cup record

SPINDLERUV MLYN, Czech Republic (AP) — American skier Mikaela Shiffrin has dominated a slalom for her 85th career victory to move within one of the World Cup record set by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark in the 1980s. Shiffrin can match the best mark of 86 wins in another slalom Sunday. Shiffrin had shared the women’s record of 82 wins with former teammate Lindsey Vonn until last week. The American posted the fastest times in both legs to beat Germany’s Lena Dürr of Germany by 0.60 seconds. Shiffrin said “I have to do my best turns to have a chance because these women are so strong.”

NFL playoffs: Vegas believes some classics could be coming

If Vegas oddsmakers are correct — and there’s a reason those casinos are huge and luxurious — then football fans are in for a treat this weekend. The NFL’s conference championship weekend is here: The Philadelphia Eagles will host the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC title while the Kansas City Chiefs host the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC. Both games are Sunday. The gambling odds are tight for both games, though both home teams have a slight edge. The Eagles are a 2 1/2-point favorite while the Chiefs are favored by 1 1/2 points, according to odds from FanDuel Sportsbook. The winners will meet in the Super Bowl on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

Walker, No. 3 Houston rally for a 75-69 win over Cincinnati

HOUSTON (AP) — Jarace Walker had a career-high 25 points and seven rebounds and No. 3 Houston rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat Cincinnati 75-69. Walker scored 13 points in the second half and went 10 of 14 from the field. J’Wan Roberts added 14 points and six rebounds, and Jamal Shead scored 13 points for Houston. The Cougars have won at least 20 games in eight straight seasons under coach Kelvin Sampson. Landers Nolley II had 24 points for Cincinnati, including six 3s.

Report: NWSL to expand in Boston, Utah and California

The National Women’s Soccer League is close to expanding by three teams in Boston, Utah and the San Francisco area. That’s according to a Friday report in the Wall Street Journal. The women’s pro league previously indicated it would expand by at least two teams by 2024. The WSJ says that the franchises in northern California and Utah are set to start play next year, with Boston to join at a later date. The NWSL says it will share news about any expansion teams when there is something to note.

Chock and Bates defend title, win 4th U.S. ice dance gold

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Madison Chock and Evan Bates have successfully defended their ice dancing title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, scoring 137.85 in the free dance for a top-place total score of 229.75. Caroline Green and Michael Parsons earned the silver medal with a free dance score of 126.06. Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko scored 121.08 and moved up from fourth to take the bronze. And Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik continued a strong debut season as partners to finish fourth.

Hurts, Purdy set for college-era rematch in NFC title tilt

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy have been here before. Just not in the NFL. The two met in November 2019, when Hurts was the QB for Oklahoma and Purdy was the QB for Iowa State. In that game, Hurts passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more scores for Oklahoma. Purdy passed for five touchdowns for Iowa State. could be primed for a shootout in the NFC championship game. Hurts is now an NFL MVP finalist for the Philadelphia Eagles and Purdy is the rookie sensation for the San Francisco 49ers.

Grizzlies, other NBA teams speak out on Tyre Nichols’ death

The outrage, frustration, sadness and anger over the killing of Tyre Nichols was evident around the NBA on Friday. Games were played not long after the video was released showing how Nichols, a 29-year-old father, was killed by five Memphis police officers. Several teams released statements of support for the family, as did the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association. And the emotions around the league were palpable, as has been the case so many times after so many other other incidents of violence by police against Black men and women in recent years.

Winter X daredevils ride fine line between height, happiness

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — There’s a legion of freestyle skiers and snowboarders at the action park who refuse to subscribe to the “spin to win” theory. It’s the idea that maxing out flips and twists is the only way for them to score big with the judges. Olympic freestyle skier Alex Hall would rather do things his way. He is competing at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado, this weekend. Australia snowboarder Scotty James shares Hall’s ethos, saying he’s not willing to put a triple cork trick above all else in the pursuit of victories.