DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s fur trapping season will begin Saturday, and the Department of Natural Resources says trappers should have good luck with strong populations of most species. The DNR says fur harvesters should find plenty of raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, river otters and mink. Furbearer biologist Vince Evelsizer says only muskrats and gray fox will be scarce.

The furbearer season will end for most species on Jan. 31. The DNR says there has been an increase in the number of Iowa trappers in each of the past three years and the number will likely top 19,000 this season.

CLASS 1-A

• (3-1) Boyer Valley 25-20-25-25, Woodbine 19-25-23-22
• (3-2) Griswold 24-18-25-25-15, Essex 26-25-17-16-12
• (3-1) Guthrie Center 23-25-25-25, Coon Rapids-Bayard 25-21-20-23
• (3-0) East Union 25-25-25, Orient-Macksburg 7-7-7
• (3-0) Martensdale-St. Marys 25-25-25, Adair-Casey 16-23-19
• (3-0) Stanton 25-25-25, Bedford 16-15-10
• (3-1) Fremont-Mills 25-17-25-25, Sidney 21-25-14-13

CLASS 2-A

• (3-0) Southwest Valley 25-25-25, Mount Ayr 16-17-21
• (3-0) Council Bluffs St. Albert 25-25-25, Missouri Valley 19-23-18
• (3-0) Lawton Bronson 25-25-25, West Monona 15-21-23
• (3-0) Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 25-25-25, IKM-Manning 18-18-18
• (3-0) Treynor 25-25-25, Tri-Center 14-22-21
• (3-0) Underwood 25-25-25, Audubon 17-18-20
• (3-1) Des Moines Christian 25-25-23-25, Earlham 20-15-25-15

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State women’s basketball team debuted at No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches preseason rankings.

The Cyclones return three starters from last year’s team and eight letter winners. Iowa State also returns senior Hallie Christofferson, who was a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 First-Team and named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 30.

Iowa State returns 61 percent of its scoring and 58 percent of its rebounding from last season’s team, which advanced to the NCAA second round.

USA Today Top 25:

1. Connecticut
2. Duke
3. Stanford
4. Tennessee
5. Louisville
6. Maryland
7. Notre Dame
8. Kentucky
9. California
10. Baylor
11. North Carolina
12. Nebraska
13. Texas A&M
14. Oklahoma
15. Penn State
16. Dayton
17. LSU
18. Michigan State
19. Colorado
20. Iowa State
21. South Carolina
22. Georgia
23. Purdue
24. Oklahoma State
25. UCLA

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Linebacker James Morris has been a fixture on Iowa’s defense since 2010, emerging as a star freshman on a team that finished well below expectations. Morris is closing an up-and-down career with one of the better seasons in recent school history.

Morris was honored as the Big Ten’s defensive player of the week for second time in 2013 on Monday. He had 2½ tackles for loss, a pair of sacks and a fumble recovery last week in a 17-10 overtime win over Northwestern.

Morris and the Hawkeyes (5-3, 2-2 Big Ten) head into Saturday’s home game against No. 22 Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1) with a shot at bowl eligibility after missing out on the postseason in 2012.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State lost four of its top six scorers from last season and was still picked to finish fourth in the Big 12. It looks like the rest of the league is through doubting Fred Hoiberg and the Cyclones. Despite yet another major overhaul of its roster, Iowa State is expected to compete for its third straight NCAA tournament berth in 2013-14.

The Cyclones bring back senior forward Melvin Ejim, a preseason first-team All-Big 12 selection, and emerging sophomore Georges Niang. Transfer DeAndre Kane will take over at point guard after averaging 15 points a game last season at Marshall, and guards Monte Morris and Matt Thomas should contribute immediately as freshmen.

w/ Jim Field

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CLASS 1-A

• At Dunlap:   Boyer Valley vs. Woodbine
• At Griswold:   Griswold vs. Essex
• At Guthrie Center:   Guthrie Center vs. Coon Rapids-Bayard
• At Lenox:   East Union vs. Orient-Macksburg
• At Martensdale:  Martensdale-St. Marys vs. Adair-Casey
• At Stanton:   Stanton vs. Bedford
• At Tabor:   Fremont-Mills vs. Sidney

CLASS 2-A

• At Corning:   Southwest Valley vs. Mount Ayr
• At Council Bluffs:   St. Albert vs. Missouri Valley
• At Mapleton:   Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto vs. IKM-Manning
• At Treynor:   Treynor vs. Tri-Center
• At Underwood:   Underwood vs. Audubon

Class 3-A

• (3-0) Kuemper Catholic 25-25-25, Atlantic 14-15-2
• (3-0) Red Oak 25-25-25, Clarke 6-8-13
• (3-0) Greene County 25-25-25, West Central Valley 12-22-18
• (3-0) Clarinda 25-25-25, Shenandoah 20-19-13

Class 4-A

• (3-1) Carroll 25-24-25-25, Denison-Schleswig 18-26-18-16
• (3-0) Creston 25-25-25, Glenwood 11-19-15

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs cherish every victory. After all, they only had two of them all last season. So while the entire city is abuzz about their 8-0 start, and the fact that they lead the rival Denver Broncos in the suddenly stacked AFC West, the Chiefs remain humble to the point where it was hard to tell in Sunday’s postgame locker room that they had just defeated the Browns.

Safety Eric Berry said the reason for the humility is the fact that last season taught the Chiefs just how difficult it is to win. It’s hard to do in the NFL — just ask Tampa Bay and Jacksonville, which have not won this season.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jon Lester smothered St. Louis on four hits into the eighth, David Ross hit a tiebreaking RBI double in a two-run seventh inning off Adam Wainwright and the Boston Red Sox beat the Cardinals 3-1 Monday night to take a 3-2 World Series lead. David Ortiz’s RBI double in the first put the Red Sox ahead until Matt Holliday hit his second home run of the Series in the fourth, ending a 16 1-3 inning Series scoreless streak for Lester dating to 2007.

Lester beat Wainwright for the second time this Series, striking out seven and walking one in 7 2-3 innings, and Koji Uehara finished the four-hitter for his second save. Wainwright allowed all three runs and eight hits in seven innings with 10 strikeouts and a walk. He also gave up Jacoby Ellsbury’s RBI single in the seventh.

Boston can win its third title in a decade on Wednesday night, when the Series resumes at Fenway Park