Hanson takes part in emotional story

Dakoda Dowd watched her golf ball take flight, then walked toward her terminally ill mother. The 13-year-old gave her a hug and said simply, “Mom, don’t cry.”

Dakoda, a golf phenom from Palm Harbor, Fla., competed Thursday in Reunion, Fla., at the LPGA Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open – her first women’s professional event.

Tournament organizers extended the invitation to play after hearing of the family’s plight. Dakoda finished the day with a 2-over-par 74, nine shots behind leader Cristie Kerr.

Dakoda was paired with Kate Golden and Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum, Idaho, and held her own. Hanson, who shot 69, was particularly touched by Dakoda’s story, since cancer claimed her mother nearly eight years ago.

“God knocked me on the head and said, ‘Now, wait a minute. You have a purpose and a reason for being in that group,’ ” said Hanson. “I lost my mom to cancer, so it’s very near and dear to my heart, their story. And it was a little emotional there on the first tee.”

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a 76.

•Graeme McDowell already was thrilled with how he played in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. One last shot made him feel even better.

McDowell finished off a flawless round in easy conditions at English Turn by one-hopping a wedge from 116 yards into the cup for eagle on the ninth hole, giving him an 8-under 64 for a one-shot lead over Stuart Appleby.

Ten players were in the group at 66, including two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen. Masters champion Phil Mickelson, playing for the first time since winning the Masters two weeks ago, shot a 68.

Lacrosse

Accuser’s previous complaint revealed

The woman who said she was raped by three members of Duke’s lacrosse team also told police 10 years ago she was raped by three men, filing a 1996 complaint claiming she had been assaulted three years earlier when she was 14.

Authorities in nearby Granville (N.C.) County said that none of the men named in the decade-old report was charged with sexual assault there, but they didn’t have details why.

Relatives told Essence magazine in an online story this week that the woman declined to pursue the case out of fear for her safety. A phone number for the accuser has been disconnected, but her father said he remembered little about the incident except going with police to a home where he said his daughter was being held “against her will.”

Miscellany

Vancouver makes President’s Cup

Dustin Slade made 28 saves for his record sixth shutout of the postseason as Vancouver defeated host Everett 5-0 to sweep the best-of-7 Western Hockey League Western Conference final.

The Giants advanced to the President’s Cup final and await the winner of the Moose Jaw-Medicine Hat series that Moose Jaw leads 3-1.

•At Indianapolis, the NCAA gave approval to four new football bowls, including a fifth Bowl Championship Series game in Glendale, Ariz.

The BCS added the fifth game more than a year ago and the NCAA’s approval was a formality. The other new games are the International Bowl, which will be played in Toronto; the Birmingham Bowl, and the New Mexico Bowl.

•Forward Marcus Williams, one of the top freshmen in the Pac-10 last season, has decided to stay at Arizona rather than make himself available for the June 28 NBA draft.

•Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Teresa Weatherspoon and Cynthia Cooper are among 30 nominees for the 10 spots on the WNBA’s All-Decade Team.

•Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas will meet July 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in a rematch of their boxing match two months ago. Mosley won that bout.