NEU » Winter Olympics in Sochi.On Tuesday, t

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Arike Ogunbowale provided the offense and her Notre Dame teammates provided the defense as the Fighting Irish played as the No. 1 team for the first time in 15 years and looked the part in a 107-47 victory over Central Michigan in the first round of the Preseason WNIT on Friday night.Ogunbowale scored a career-high 30 points on 12-of-13 shooting, including making all five 3-point attempts.I think Arike was in a zone tonight -- not on defense -- but offensively it was definitely an outstanding game, especially from the 3-point line, Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said.Ogunbowale, who made only 18 3-pointers as a freshman last season, said she had focused on improving her shot from the outside.Freshman year they sagged off on me a lot so I knew this year they would probably start it. So now they have to play me fair, she said. They have to guard me on the 3 and guard me driving so its harder for them.Central coach Sue Guevara said she was surprised by Ogunbowales outside shooting.Shes really worked on the 3-ball. Because we know thats shes a Mack truck that can get to the basket and pull up. But boy, hitting that 3, she said.The Irish scored the first 15 points, hitting 6-of-7 shots while the Chippewas were 0-of-4 with two turnovers and no rebounds. The Irish made 76 percent of their shots in the first quarter to open a 35-9 lead. They extended the lead to 56-20 at halftime and 81-28 at the end of the third quarter.Marina Mabrey, who came off the bench because McGraw said she lacked focus before the game, added 17 points for the Irish and Lindsay Allen had 13 points and eight assists. The Irish outscored the Chippewas 46-16 inside and Notre Dames reserves outscored Centrals bench 39-17.Aleah Swary led Central with a career-high 15 points.BIG PICTURECentral Michigan: The Chippewas were overmatched in their first game against a top-ranked team even though league coaches picked them to win the Mid-American Conference with four returning starters from last years team that finished 22-11.Notre Dame: The Irish, who won by an average of 29 points against non-conference opponents during the regular season last year, had little trouble in winning their 21st straight season-opener.POLL IMPLICATIONS: The Irish should be able to hang onto their top ranking following a dominant performance.TIP-INS: Notre Dame had 13 made baskets in the first quarter. The Chippewas had 13 shot attempts. ... Central missed its first five free throws. ... Chippewas starter Jewel Cotton had two fouls in the first three minutes and another starter, Presley Hudson, had two in less than five minutes. The Chippewas dropped to 1-5 all-time against the Irish, with the lone 72-69 win coming 33 years ago.SHE SAID IT:We couldnt do anything. Theyre bigger, theyre more physical, they outweigh us, Guevara said. Their guard play was way too much for us. Way too much.INJURIES:The Irish were without standout freshman Jackie Young, who is out indefinitely with an injured right thumb sustained last week in an exhibition game.UP NEXTCentral Michigan: Central has to wait to see who it will face in the second round. The Chippewas will play their home-opener against Oakland on Nov. 22.Notre Dame: The Irish will play another three games at home in the tournament if they keep winning, starting with Fordham on Monday.Dodgers Jerseys China . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Gary Sheffield Dodgers Jersey . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. https://www.cheapdodgersonline.com/ . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. Kyle Garlick Dodgers Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. Wholesale Dodgers Jerseys . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter.MOSCOW -- Russia is prepared to give up hosting rights for some World Cup cross-country skiing races to help the countrys image amid a doping scandal.Elena Valbe, the president of the Russian cross-country skiing federation, said she would absolutely allow the March 16-19 final round of the World Cup in Tyumen to be moved outside the country if it would generate goodwill to let Russia compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics.My deep conviction is that now we need to think about our team going to the Olympics Games, Valbe told state news agency R-Sport on Thursday. A World Cup stage is a second-level issue.Russia is again under pressure after a report last week by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren detailed a vast, state-sponsored doping cover-up involving 12 medalists from the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.On Tuesday, the 2017 world bobsled and skeleton championships were moved from Russia after several of the top slidders said they would not compete in the country because of doping concerns, something Valbe argued had set a precedent for more events being transferred or canceled.ddddddddddddIf one federation is doing something, theres probably a joint agreement, or at least theyve consulted among themselves, she said.In July, the International Olympic Committee encouraged winter sports federations not to schedule competitions in Russia because of doping concerns, though the call prompted little response at the time.On Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that an atmosphere of suspicion around Russia was not enough to move events like the bobsled world championships.The anti-doping campaign has turned into an anti-Russian campaign, Medvedev said. Whats atmosphere got to do with it if theres a contract? ' ' '