Defending champion Stanford qualified as the No. 1 seed into the quarterfinals at the NCAA DI Women's Golf Championship on Monday.

The Cardinal finished a combined 19 under, followed by Texas (-14) and Wake Forest (-13) as the only teams to finish below par.

South Carolina (+1), Southern California (+2), Florida State (+3), Texas A&M (+4) and Pepperdine (+8) rounded out the eight qualifying teams.

Pepperdine snagged the final quarterfinals spot thanks to long birdie putts from Reese Guzman (40 ft.) and Lion Higo (30 ft.). It's the first time the Waves have ever qualified for match play. They will face top-ranked Stanford in the quarterfinals. Last month, they tied the Cardinal at the Silicon Valley Showcase.

The championship will now transition from stroke play to match play, starting with Tuesday morning's quarterfinals.

Quarterfinal matchups

• No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 8 Pepperdine
• No. 4 South Carolina vs. No. 5 Southern California
• No. 3 Wake Forest vs. No. 6 Florida State
• No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 Texas A&M

How to watch

All times ET

Tuesday

Noon-2:30PM (GC/Peacock): NCAA DI Women’s Golf Championships, Quarterfinals (NCAA)

5-9PM (GC/Peacock): NCAA DI Women’s Golf Championships, Semifinals (NCAA)

Wednesday

5-9PM (GC/Peacock): NCAA DI Women’s Golf Championships, Finals (NCAA)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Pepperdine is into match play at the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship for the first time in school history.

The Waves’ reward: a quarterfinal date Tuesday with top-ranked Stanford.

It would be easy to consider it a David-versus-Goliath matchup, the reigning NCAA champions against a match-play newbie. But the Waves, ranked No. 16 in the country, are no pushovers. In fact, just last month Pepperdine tied Stanford for the team title at the Silicon Valley Showcase.

“We were right there with the best team in the country,” Pepperdine head coach Laurie Gibbs said.

Gibbs is now in her third decade at this program’s helm, so she knows confidence when she sees it – and this team has boatloads. That self-belief was on full display Monday at Grayhawk, as the Waves began the day in ninth place, a shot outside of the top 8, before shooting 2 over alongside Texas A&M and Arizona, the latter of which Pepperdine bumped out of match play with a gutsy finish.

Finishing on a more difficult front nine, the Waves’ four counters played that closing stretch in 1 under, and senior Reese Guzman, the team’s captain who had been in and out of the lineup since earning first-team All-West Coast Conference honors as a sophomore, helped lead the charge. Guzman birdied two of her final three holes, holing a difficult, downhill 20-footer at the par-5 seventh and another clutch mid-range putt at the par-4 finishing hole that punctuated what ended up being a three-shot final advantage over Arizona and New Mexico, who finished tied for ninth.

“She found her way, and she’s doing great,” Gibbs said of Guzman, who played as an individual at the Silicon Valley event and missed two events entirely this spring. “She’s grown so much, and now, she’s amazing.”

While Guzman’s resurgence has been important, this Pepperdine squad is still led by junior Lion Higo and freshman Jeneath Wong, who are ranked No. 20 and No. 44 in Golfstat, respectively. In other words, Gibbs has plenty of weapons at her disposal to throw out against the likes of Rose Zhang and Megha Ganne.

The Waves know it – and after last month, Stanford likely does, too.

“This team wants to win, and they’re not afraid of winning,” Gibbs said. “Getting them to that point where they feel comfortable in this position – and I think that’s why we finished so strong. … They’ve been really confident, and we believe that we can do it. We want to show everyone that we have something special.”

What better way than to knock Stanford from its throne.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Rose Zhang was in unfamiliar territory as she began Monday’s final round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship. Typically, the Stanford sophomore enters these types of moments with the lead – sometimes a commanding lead – before often switching to cruise control down the stretch. This time, though, she was the chaser, four shots back of USC freshman Catherine Park.

Different fashion, same result.

Zhang caught Park, passed her, then calmly held on for a one-shot victory as the 19-year-old superstar became the first women's player to ever win consecutive NCAA individual titles. Zhang also tied Lorena Ochoa’s NCAA record for wins in a single season with eight – just two of those were come-from-behind triumphs.

“I can't believe that, I still don't know what is going on,” Zhang said about a half-hour after her latest shining moment. “And it's hard to process because when you're chasing from behind, you really don't know what is happening until everything's completed, until everything's done. … I genuinely just – I can't believe this is all happening, and it's just, it's just simple to say that I'm super grateful.”

Despite her dominating year, which has included Pac-12 and NCAA regional titles, a NCAA-record 68.7 scoring average and her grand-slam-completing Augusta National Women’s Amateur victory in April, Zhang arrived at Grayhawk feeling a little unsure of herself. It showed early as she carded three bogeys and shot even par in the opening round. She rebounded with a 5-under 67 but dug herself a four-shot hole with a pedestrian – by her standards, of course – 71 in the third round.

Stanford head coach Anne Walker said that during the first 54 holes, she’d seen Zhang in “places that I don’t normally see Rose Zhang,” and so on Monday morning, before Zhang’s round, she challenged her star player to focus on putting herself in better positions. Zhang agreed.

“I pushed her a little bit … and Rose was fully accountable,” Walker said. “Today she decided that no matter what happened, she would put herself in position. For me, that’s what I saw. I don’t feel like she pushed anything today.”

Added Zhang: “Going into this week, I didn’t have a lot of trust in my game, but this final day was kind of all-in, just go out and try and do my best and put myself in a position where I could potentially move up the leaderboard, and that’s all I was thinking.”

What followed was a bogey-free 68 as Zhang missed just one green in regulation – that was on the par-4 penultimate hole, and Zhang got up and down easily. Before that, as Park succumbed to nerves and lost her speed with the putter, Zhang birdied Nos. 4, 6 and 7 to put the heat on her childhood pal from Irvine, California. When Park three-putted No. 15, Zhang had just birdied No. 11 behind her to go from one shot back to a shot ahead at 10 under. San Jose State’s Lucia Lopez-Ortega would tie Zhang before bogeying two of her final three holes and ending up tied with Park for second.

Not that Zhang knew any of what was happening on the leaderboard. She didn’t look at one all day. It wasn’t until she ripped her drive on the par-5 finishing hole that Zhang was clued in.

Walking off No. 18 tee, Walker turned to Zhang and said, “You know, we’re going to go down there, and you’re going to have a number that’s going to be in play.”

Zhang responded, “Yeah, I know.”

To which Walker quickly added, “And we’re going to lay up.”

Zhang then looked at Walker, confused.

“I was like, Why should I lay up, Coach?” Zhang recalled. “This is clearly 195 [yards], I can get that no problem, just hit it left side, even if I’m in the bunker, it’s perfect. But she was like, none of that.”

That’s when Walker informed Zhang that she had a one-shot lead and par would get the job done. So, Zhang laid up with 9-iron and wedged it to 8 feet.

“And two putts was good enough, so that was the smartest play,” Zhang said. “I’m conserving my energy and thrilling action for tomorrow in match play.”

Yes, Stanford continues its NCAA team title defense in Tuesday morning’s quarterfinals against eighth-seeded Pepperdine. The top-ranked Cardinal will be the overwhelming favorites.

That’s a position Zhang is very familiar with.

LOS ANGELES -- LeBron James made his way down the ramp to exit the arena Monday night, having just completed his 20th NBA season with an unceremonious sweep out of the playoffs, not knowing if it would be the last time he would make that walk as an active player.

James told ESPN he will consider retirement this offseason.

After scoring 40 points and playing all but four seconds of the Los Angeles Lakers' 113-111 Game 4 loss to the Denver Nuggets -- with his last-second floater to try to force overtime being blocked at the buzzer -- James ended his news conference by telling reporters, "Going forward with the game of basketball, I've got a lot to think about."

Following the news conference, ESPN asked James to elaborate on his statement.

When you say you got to think about stuff, what thread should we be pulling on that?

"If I want to continue to play," James said.

As in next year?

"Yeah."

You would walk away?

"I got to think about it."

The 38-year-old James wrapped up his campaign by leading the No. 7-seeded Lakers all the way to the Western Conference finals.

He played in all 17 of L.A.'s postseason games -- including the play-in win over the Minnesota Timberwolves -- while still managing a right foot injury that caused him to miss a month straight late in the regular season because of a torn tendon.

James said he heard a pop when he injured his foot against the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 26. He consulted a cadre of medical professionals, several of whom recommended surgery, before finding a doctor he described as "the LeBron James of feet" and was assured he could rehabilitate the injury and return to the court without a procedure.

When asked Monday if surgery could be an option this summer, James told ESPN, "I'm going to get an MRI on it and see how the tendon either healed or not healed and go from there. We'll see what happens."

While James admitted his performance was affected by his foot injury after he returned, he said he did not consider shutting down his season early, as was the case in 2021-22, when he missed the final five games because of a lingering ankle injury, and in 2018-19, when he was absent for the final six contests because of a groin strain that hadn't fully healed.

"I knew I could get to the finish line," James told ESPN. "Obviously, I knew I had to deal with it and deal with the pain or deal with not being able to be myself before the injury, but there was nothing that made me feel like I couldn't get to the finish line."

James was brilliant in Game 4 against Denver, setting a new personal best for points in a half in a playoff game by lighting the Nuggets up for 31 points on 11-for-13 shooting by halftime while playing in the 282nd playoff game of his career.

While he finished with nearly twice as many points as his next closest teammate (Anthony Davis scored 21), James ultimately came up short twice while trying to tie the game down the stretch -- first missing a fadeaway with 26 seconds remaining then getting blocked by Aaron Gordon as time expired.

James has one season remaining on his contract with the Lakers, worth $46.7 million for 2023-24, and a player option for the following season worth $50.4 million.

Over the past several years, he has repeatedly made it known that his goal is to play with his oldest son, Bronny, in the league before he retires. As he approached passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record in February, he told ESPN the last thing left for him to accomplish after the scoring mark was, "I got to play with my boy."

However, he softened on that stance recently. Following the Lakers' Game 3 win over the Golden State Warriors in the second round -- which coincided with the day Bronny declared he would be playing college basketball for USC next season -- James adjusted the expectation.

"I've done what I've had to do in this league, and my son is going to take his journey," he said. "And whatever his journey, however his journey lays out, he's going to do what's best for him. And as his dad, and his mom, Savannah, and his brother and sister, we're going to support him in whatever he decides to do. So, just because that's my aspiration or my goal, doesn't mean it's his. And I'm absolutely OK with that."

A source close to James told ESPN that L.A.'s postseason run was taxing on the Lakers star in various ways: the long flights and physical play in the Memphis Grizzlies series; the emotional and mental fatigue in the Golden State series from taking down his old foes; and giving everything he had left to give against Denver and still losing the series 4-0.

Davis, when informed by ESPN about James' postgame comments following Monday's loss, was surprised to hear them at first. Like James, Davis is under contract with the Lakers for next season -- one of only a few players with deals on a roster that could see a lot of movement this summer.

But after considering the remarks a little longer, Davis recalled a recent conversation he had with James when he told James he "might have one more in me" when talking about the 2024 Olympics in Paris. James told Davis he might already be done by then. Davis, thinking James misheard him, explained he was talking about USA Basketball next summer, not 2028 in Los Angeles.

James reiterated to Davis that he could have already hung up his sneakers by next year's Olympics.

For now, James will have time to think. He'll get his foot checked out. He'll see how the Lakers look for next season and decide if he will suit up for campaign No. 21.

As much as there is a side of him wondering if it's time to go, however, there's still a side that is very much still in it.

Asked by ESPN if he believed a full summer of rehab could get him back to the player he was before his foot injury, James nodded affirmatively.

Why?

"Because I'm still better than 90% of the NBA," he said. "Maybe 95."

LOS ANGELES -- Earlier this month, LeBron James sat in the interview room inside Crypto.com Arena and told the world what keeps him motivated to play in the NBA.

"If my mind goes, then my body will just be like, 'OK, what are we doing?'" James said after the third game of the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The subject that precipitated the answer was the idea of staying in the league long enough to play alongside his eldest son, Bronny, who had committed to USC earlier in the day on May 6.

Publicly, James had been crystal clear about his feelings about retirement. Contractually, he has two years and $97.1 million dollars remaining. But spiritually, he showed the first signs of doubt Monday night after the Lakers' season ended despite an incredible Game 4 effort by James on both sides of the court in a 113-111 Game 4 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.

"We'll see what happens going forward," James said. "I don't know. I don't know. I've got a lot to think about, to be honest. I've got a lot to think about, to be honest. Just for me personally going forward with the game of basketball."

When ESPN's Dave McMenamin asked him to clarify, James confirmed he was talking about "if I want to continue to play."

It was a stunning sentiment in the wake of what had been an all-time performance by James until Nuggets guard Jamal Murray grabbed the basketball out of his hands on the final play of the game to secure the sweep and Denver's first NBA Finals berth. James had 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and nearly willed the Lakers past a team he later said was the best he and Anthony Davis had faced in their four years together in Los Angeles.

Maybe it was the disappointment of the moment talking. James had played all but four seconds of Monday's game, defending both Nikola Jokic and Murray for long stretches. The longest view in sports is the road back to the place your season just ended.

Maybe it was a leverage play to pressure vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka into retaining some of the core players who'd emerged for the Lakers during this improbable playoff run or to pursue free-agent-to-be Kyrie Irving, who just happened to be in attendance Monday night (and sitting under the same basket where James was unable to get that final shot off).

Maybe it was the nostalgia of seeing his friend Carmelo Anthony retire earlier Monday, with a video James helped him record a week prior.

Only James knows what precipitated those thoughts of retirement. But he said it out loud, and so the NBA world will wait with baited breath until he speaks on it again.

The Nuggets had left the arena by the time the full weight of what they might have just done landed. Advancing to the first NBA Finals in team history was still soaking in.

But sending James into the offseason contemplating his future in basketball? That's something no one could see coming.

Not after James had scored the most points in a quarter (23) and a half (31) in his playoff career to stake the Lakers to a 15-point halftime lead.

"Having coached him for five years in Cleveland, he understood what time it was with their team, firmly back against the wall," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of James' Game 4 performance.

"In that first half he showed why he's one of the all-time great players. [James] literally put his team on his back and just went at us."

But the Nuggets responded to James' best shot in the third quarter, erasing the Lakers' lead with a 34-14 run as Jokic pushed the pace at every opportunity.

"That's all him," Malone told ESPN. "He's like a point center. That's who he is. That's who he's been and that's when we're at our best."

Jokic and the Nuggets should be the focus after their brilliant play in this series. But there are nine days until Game 1 of the NBA Finals with a giant question now looming after James' parting statements.

Malone might quibble with attention shifting to the Lakers, as he did after the first game of this series. He will definitely use it as motivation for his team going forward.

Jokic will not.

"I think you're just happy that you won a game," Jokic said. "You beat a really, really good team. Every game but the first game was so close. Anyone could have won it, and we just find a way to win the game. Especially we were down 15, to come back and win the game, it was just probably happiness. I think that's the emotions."

After he scored what proved to be the winning basket, Jokic went into a nondescript tunnel, sat down on a bench in the makeshift weight room that had been set up for the visiting team and went through a punishing lower body workout.

Jokic has lifted weights after every game he was able to for the past four seasons, knowing that the only way he'd earn true respect in this league is if he was the last man standing at the end of the season.

This is how it is for every all-time great. He has won two MVP awards. Monday night, he won the Magic Johnson Western Conference finals MVP award after his NBA playoff-record eighth triple-double of the postseason with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists in 45 minutes. But individual awards start to wear heavy on one's head after a while.

"Nothing," Jokic said when ESPN's Lisa Salters asked him what it meant to be named the MVP of the conference finals during the on-court trophy presentation.

An hour afterward, Jokic even went out of his way to say Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid deserved the regular-season MVP award this season and that it was "mean" for anyone to say he didn't.

Some of that is genuine respect and empathy Jokic has for the plight Embiid finds himself in after Philadelphia's dispiriting second-round playoff loss.

Jokic has been in that position himself -- with critics questioning the MVP awards he won that were not backed up by playoff success.

This is how it goes for players such as James and Jokic when a season ends short of a championship.

"I don't like to say it's a successful year because I don't play for anything besides winning championships at this point in my career," James said.

Now he'll decide whether to keep playing while Jokic and the Nuggets play for their first championship.

ATLANTA -- Hard-throwing right-hander Bobby Miller, one of the Los Angeles Dodgers' top prospects, will make his debut against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

Manager Dave Roberts confirmed the plan for Miller on Monday before another rookie, right-hander Gavin Stone, made his second start against the Braves.

Miller was with the team Monday in preparation for his debut.

"He's got a ton of friends and family coming," Roberts said of Miller, a native of Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

"He's got big stuff. I think we've all been looking forward to him making his Dodgers major league debut. He's excited and it's actually sort of fun that you get these two guys going back to back against a club like this."

Miller (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) was the No. 29 overall pick in the 2020 June draft from Louisville. Known for his ability to throw 100 mph fastballs, Miller was 1-1 with a 5.65 ERA in five starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.

The Dodgers have been forced to use rookies to fill the rotation after placing Dustin May (right elbow pain) and left-hander Julio Urías (hamstring) on the injured list. Two other candidates to start, Michael Grove and Ryan Pepiot, also are on the IL.

Roberts said he has told Miller "to just be yourself. I think the natural emotions and adrenaline happen organically so don't try to create that. Just be yourself. ... Don't try to throw 110. Just throw 100 and it'll be there. I just think enjoy the moment. You've earned it. You belong here and go compete."

Roberts said he believes Miller is ready for his debut despite his underwhelming statistics in his brief experience at Triple-A.

"I think the makeup is one thing and obviously the physicality, the stuff," Roberts said. "And he's pitched well recently. So I think with those kind of things, the time is now, given all the circumstances. We could try to put together a soft landing, but I think this is the right time for Bobby."

The Dodgers also on Monday placed star left-hander Clayton Kershaw on the bereavement list so he can attend his mother's funeral. Kershaw is expected to rejoin the team at its next stop (Tampa Bay) and make his next start on Saturday.

Kershaw, 35, is 6-4 with a 2.98 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 57⅓ innings this season, his 16th with the Dodgers.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

CLEVELAND -- Will Brennan only tried to hit the ball. What happened after that wasn't by design.

The rookie Cleveland Guardians outfielder hit a hard grounder that accidentally killed a bird wandering on the infield grass during the second inning of Monday night's 3-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

With none out and a runner at first base, Brennan, a left-handed hitter, went the other way with a 92.6 mph fastball from Chicago's Jesse Scholtens. The liner connected with a small bird that had wandered into a dangerous place.

The ball, clocked at 100.1 mph, sent the bird flying, and when Brennan got to first, he put his hands on his helmet and grimaced. Umpires called time, allowing a member of the grounds crew to remove the dead bird with a shovel.

Following the game, Brennan posted an apology on Twitter.

"I truly am sorry @peta and bird enthusiasts," Brennan wrote. "An unfortunate sacrifice."

It's the second time in a week that a major league player has unintentionally killed a bird.

Last week, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen unintentionally struck and killed a bird while warming up in the outfield before a game against the Oakland Athletics. Gallen threw a curveball that hit the bird in midflight.

Gallen's shot brought to mind Arizona Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson, who famously obliterated a bird that flew in front of the plate during one of the left-hander's fastballs in a 2001 spring training game.

Warren Gatland already had plenty to consider for the World Cup, but the shock retirements of Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric have added to his list.

Whether both would have gone to France is a moot point, with the belief that Tipuric would have, but Jones a doubt.

However, former Wales lock Ian Gough said Gatland now "has his hands full".

Gatland hinted at a changing of the guard in the Wales team when he took the head coach job for a second time in December.

At the time, he admitted he would have a "chat" with some senior players as he looked to balance experience with youth while making sure he had players able to perform.

Wales are a squad of extremes. There is a disparity between the Test veteran 30-somethings arguably past their prime and a class of youngsters brimming with potential, but raw at international level.

Ideally Gatland would have a core of players aged 25 or 26 with at least 30-odd caps to their names. The simple fact is he does not.

Gatland also knows time is against him. He spent the Six Nations scrolling through his options, making 26 changes over the five games - the most of any head coach in the tournament.

"Warren has got his hands full and is in a situation he hasn't really been in before," said Gough, who won 64 caps for Wales.

"He's always had that core group but we've seen since he came back that he doesn't quite know the team he wants to play.

"You always thought under Warren that he knew that and at times, early in his tenure, he actually wasn't changing enough and developing players.

"But now he's being forced to do that and especially in difficult circumstances, given what's been happening in Welsh rugby over the last year."

Back-row riches

There has been no move to replace either Jones or Tipuric in the 54-strong training group group and it appears unlikely there will be.

The back row has long been a position of strength in Wales, since the days of Colin Charvis, Martyn Williams and Sam Warburton, and is the most competitive area of the squad this year again.

Gatland already has the ball-winning abilities of Jac Morgan and Tommy Reffell as well as the "explosiveness" of Taine Basham in the squad, while Josh Macleod is also an option, so Cardiff's Thomas Young looks set to miss out again.

"We've got lots of good sevens in Wales. There always has been but Tipuric had that extra quality," said Gough.

"He was a match-winner with his vision, athleticism and reading of the game. He wasn't from the WRU [Welsh Rugby Union] manual, he could just play. So Wales will really miss that."

Second-row strength

In his statement, Jones eluded to "ongoing dialogue with the coaching staff", fuelling speculation of whether he jumped or was pushed.

Jones' contract with Ospreys and Wales went through to the end of the World Cup, which suggests it was his intention to play at a fifth tournament.

However, he slipped down the pecking order during the Six Nations, behind heir-apparent Adam Beard and Dafydd Jenkins, and with Cory Hill and Will Rowlands returning from exile and injury respectively, Jones' place in the squad, let alone the starting team, was under serious threat.

Gough said: "I'd have loved to see Alun Wyn go to a fifth World Cup but it's all about succession planning. Will Rowlands has certain Alun Wyn attributes. He's a big strong man who puts himself about on the pitch and is a good leader as well. He could be the natural successor but he's had a big injury, so we'll have to see how he goes."

Captaincy conundrum

This is the one area where the retirements have made Gatland's job slightly easier.

He delayed naming his captain until closer to the start of the tournament and both Jones and Tipuric could have been candidates having done the job before.

Scarlets hooker Ken Owens led the side during this year's Six Nations and was praised by the head coach for his leadership during a troubled campaign, not least during the threatened player strike.

However, the 36-year-old also needs to establish himself as first-choice hooker with Ryan Elias, Dewi Lake and Elliot Dee coming back from injury.

Toulon fly-half Dan Biggar is the other leading candidate unless Gatland was to repeat his appointment of handing Warburton the armband for the 2011 World Cup when the flanker was aged just 22.

If the coach is looking to the future, Beard, Morgan, Lake or even Jenkins, who has led Exeter this season, are all regarded as potential captains.