U.S. Routs Senegal and Wins Group

Now comes the hard part.

The U.S. closed a perfect week of group play Thursday night by routing Senegal, 103-58, at basketball’s world championships in Sapporo, Japan. But with more demanding games ahead, one stumble and this young but talented team will be out of the hunt for the country’s first FIBA world championship title since 1994.

The U.S. will open the tournament’s medal phase against Australia, the fourth-place finisher in Group C, on Sunday in Saitama.

“We came over here to win the gold,” center Dwight Howard said. “The first game is Sunday, and we can start off on the right note.”

The reward for winning Group D is substantial: The Americans won’t have to face Argentina or Spain until the final. But there’s a lot of basketball to be played before then.

“There will be some surprises,” said Senegal’s Makhtar N’Diaye, who played in college at Michigan and North Carolina. “Argentina and Spain can bring a lot of havoc.”

The U.S. faced only one tough test in Group D -- Wednesday’s 94-85 victory over Italy, which finished second. The competition will improve dramatically, although some teams aren’t familiar to the Americans.

They know Australian center Andrew Bogut, who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. And they’re well-acquainted with Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki, whose German team could meet the U.S. in the second round. Nowitzki scored 47 points in Germany’s 108-103 triple-overtime victory over Angola Thursday.

This is where the new U.S. scouting department, created by managing director Jerry Colangelo, should pay dividends.

“We’re going to be familiar with some of the players but not the teams,” scouting director Rudy Tomjanovich said.

One of the big surprises is Angola, which finished 11th in the 2002 worlds in Indianapolis.

Angola plays an exciting, up-tempo style, averaging 90.2 points a game. Small forward Olimpio Cipriano scored 33 points against Germany.

Also Thursday, China stunned Slovenia, 78-77, on a buzzer-beating three-point basket by Wang Shipeng.

TENNIS

Davenport Ousts Top-Seeded Mauresmo

Lindsay Davenport, the defending champion, knocked off No. 1-ranked Amelie Mauresmo, 6-4, 7-5, to advance to the semifinals of the Pilot Pen tournament at New Haven, Conn. Davenport has won their last nine meetings, dropping just one set over that stretch.

Both players appeared a little rusty at times, evidence of long layoffs because of injuries. Davenport has missed most of the season with a bad back; this is her fifth tournament of 2006. Her service game was solid most of the night and that made the difference against often-erratic Mauresmo.

Davenport’s next opponent is Samantha Stosur, who lost in qualifying but moved into the main draw when Shahar Peer withdrew because of a foot injury. Stosur beat Marion Bartoli, 7-6 (2), 6-0.

In other quarterfinal matches, Svetlana Kuznetsova took advantage of Elena Dementieva’s nine double faults to win, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, in a rematch of the 2004 U.S. Open final.

Her semifinal opponent will be second-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne, who eliminated Mara Santangelo, 6-2, 6-3.

In the men’s quarterfinals, Robin Soderling defeated Jurgen Melzer, 6-3, 6-2, and Agustin Calleri defeated Nicolas Massu, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

*

Roger Federer laughed off a TV analyst’s remark that he wasn’t trying to win a U.S. Open tuneup match last week.

“That’s absurd. I think what she said is a joke,” Federer said. “I don’t take it seriously.”

CBS commentator Mary Carillo said she thought Federer didn’t mind losing to Andy Murray, 7-5, 6-4, in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters on Aug. 16. Carillo said she figured Federer wanted to get extra rest before the U.S. Open, which starts Monday.

“He wasn’t trying to beat Andy Murray that day,” Carillo said.

“He went there because he had to, and he played as though he went there because he had to.”

Asked about Carillo’s comments, top-ranked Federer said: “Because I lose, I tanked?”

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Wisconsin’s Randle El Is Out for the Season

Wisconsin receiver Marcus Randle El will miss the 2006 season after injuring his right knee.

Randle El hurt his knee at practice Wednesday afternoon. An MRI exam Thursday showed he had damage to ligaments that would require surgery.

No further details were provided.

Randle El, a junior and brother of Washington Redskins receiver Antwaan Randle El, has three receptions for 36 yards and four punt returns for 57 yards during his career.

He was expected to handle some of the return duties this season.

*

The Bowl Championship Series agreed to a four-year contract extension with Harris Interactive, the company that coordinated the polls used last year to replace the Associated Press top 25 in the BCS standings.

The agreement runs through the 2010 BCS bowls.

*

The newest college football all-star game will be played in El Paso.

Bowl organizers announced the Texas vs. The Nation game, which will feature a team of top-rated seniors who played college or high school football in Texas against a squad of top-rated seniors from the rest of the country.

The game will be played in either January or early February.

LITTLE LEAGUE

Columbus, Ga., Advances to U.S. Title Game

Josh Lester hit a bases-loaded triple in the second inning and doubled in two more runs in the fourth in Columbus’ 8-0 win over Portsmouth, N.H, that sent the Georgia team to the U.S. title game in the Little League World Series at South Williamsport, Pa. Both hits came after Portsmouth intentionally walked Kyle Carter to get to Lester.

Columbus will face Beaverton, Ore., on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the World Series championship game Sunday.

The international title game Saturday is also set, after Kawaguchi City, Japan, defeated Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 4-1.

Japan will play Mexico on Saturday, with the winner playing for the tournament crown.

MISCELLANY

U.S. Women Defeat France in Soccer

The United States will play Germany in the quarterfinals of the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Championship after a 1-0 victory over France at Moscow that gave the Americans first place in Group D.

Jessica Rostedt scored her second goal of the tournament in the 61st minute, beating goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi from 20 yards.

The United States (3-0) and France (2-1) already were ensured of advancing. Argentina (1-2) finished third after beating Congo on Thursday. In Saturday’s quarterfinals, Brazil plays Nigeria and China meets Russia. On Sunday, the United States plays Germany and France plays North Korea.

*

After racing to a dead heat in the first semifinal, the U.S. men’s four rowing team defeated New Zealand in a head-to-head rematch at the world rowing championships at Eton, England.

Americans Matthew Schnobrich, Mike Blomquist, Joshua Inman and Brett Newlin recovered from a rough start in the re-row to win by 1.57 seconds, advancing to Saturday’s final.

Americans Michelle Guerette (single sculls), Lisa Schlenker (lightweight single sculls) and New Zealand’s Mahe Drysdale (men’s single sculls) stayed on course to defend his title.

*

Former major league slugger Albert Belle was sentenced to three months in a Phoenix jail and five years of supervised probation for stalking his ex-girlfriend. Belle, 39, pleaded guilty in July to one felony stalking count.