On the ice, Amber Glenn was putting together another brilliant free skate, landing the opening triple axel that has become her hallmark and eventually putting the final touches on a program destined to earn her a third consecutive U.S. Figure Skating title.

Off the ice, Alysa Liu was cheering her on.

With her newly dyed halo hairdo going viral, Richmond’s Liu had stuck around after her own spectacular showing inside of the packed Enterprise Center, and she didn’t seem to care Friday night that Glenn was about to push the reigning world champion to the silver medal.

“She trains so hard,” Liu said, “and to skate a clean program, it’s so deserving.”

Glenn ultimately finished with 233.55 points to become the first back-to-back-to-back national champ since Michelle Kwan’s last title in 2005, while Liu wound up second with 228.91 points. Isabeau Levito earned the bronze medal with 224.45 points and, more than likely, the final women’s spot on the American squad headed for the Winter Games.

The official team announcement comes today.

Earlier in the night, Alisha Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov defended their pairs title despite a couple of mistakes, including a scary moment when Mitrofanov was nearly clipped by Efimova’s skate. They finished with 207.71 points to outdistance Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, who were second with 197.12, and the team of Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

The Stanford men couldn’t mount a second straight second-half comeback as No. 23 Virginia completed a sweep of the Bay Area’s ACC schools on Saturday.

Benny Gealer (15 points) and Ebuka Okorie (14) were the only players to reach double figures as the Cardinal (13-4, 2-2) were held to 32% shooting in a 70-55 loss.

The Cavaliers (14-2, 3-1 ACC) led 41-34 at halftime, then used a 9-0 run early in the second half to increase their advantage to 51-37 with 15 minutes to play. They outscored the Cardinal 29-21 after the break and led by 22 points.

Okorie, who had 31 points when the Cardinal edged Virginia Tech 69-68 on Wednesday and came in averaging more than 22 points, struggled to get going. He had just one point in the first 10 minutes and was scoreless in the second half and finished with 14. Gealer scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half.

Dai Dai Ames scored a game-high 21 points, but the Cal men blew a second-half lead in a 78-75 loss at Virginia Tech.

Milos Illic converted layups on consecutive posssessions to put the Golden Bears (13-4, 1-3) up six with 6:31 to play, but the Hokies (13-4, 2-2) went on a 20-11 run to close the game.

Joshua Dent led three scorers with at least 20 points and Saint Mary’s held on to beat Washington State 88-82.

Dent scored 26, Paulius Murauskas added 24 and Mikey Lewis 20 for the Gaels (16-2, 5-0), who led 50-38 at halftime and extended their advantage as wide as 18 points. The Cougars (8-10, 3-2) pulled within three points, 68-65, with 7:26 to play and spent most the remainder of the game within single digits.

Ashley Hawkins scored 26 points while playing all but three minutes to lead the Santa Clara women to a back-and-forth 98-92 win at Washington State.

Maia Jones added 23 points and Ava Schmidt contributed 22 for the Broncos (15-4, 5-1), who overcame one double-digit deficit and let one double-digit advantage slip away before holding on at the end.

The Cougars (3-16, 2-4) jumped out to a 16-4 lead but allowed Santa Clara to take a 53-38 lead into halftime. Washington State then came back to tie the score at 86 with 3:22 to play.

San Jose State overcame a double-digit deficit to lead at halftime, but the Spartan women remained winless in Mountain West play after at 76-57 loss to Air Force.

Maya Anderson scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Spartans (2-15, 0-6), who led 39-37 at halftime despite falling into a 12-0 hole to begin the game.

The Falcons (8-8, 2-4) got 25 points off the bench from Keelie O’Hollaren, who sank four 3-pointers during a 17-4 run to end the third quarter, flipping a tied score at 43 into a 60-47 margin.

BASEBALL

Veteran catcher Eric Haase has agreed to a minor league contract with the Giants, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. Haase, 33, has spent eight seasons in the majors, serving primarily as a backup. He spent the first part of last season with the Brewers but finished the year at Triple-A.

Gold Glover Patrick Bailey enters the season as the starter, and the other two catchers on the Giants’ 40-man roster, Jesus Rodriguez and Daniel Susac, have yet to play above Triple-A. Logan Porter, who appeared in five games after being released (and resigned) twice by the Giants last season, is expected to be a non-roster invitee to spring training.

The Colorado Rockies have acquired outfielder Jake McCarthy from the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league pitcher Josh Grosz, the teams announced.

McCarthy, 28, played five seasons with the Diamondbacks and finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 but slumped to .204 with four homers and 20 RBIs last season.

The 23-year-old Grosz was acquired by the Rockies last summer in the deal that sent third baseman Ryan McMahon to the New York Yankees.