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RIO DE JANEIRO -- When Hungarian native Szandra Szogedi steps onto the judo mat at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, shell be making history as the first-ever female judoka to represent Ghana.Born in Budapest, Szogedi started judo at age 11, after a friend of her fathers recommended the sport. With a background in gymnastics, Szogedi adapted quickly to the dynamic flips and groundwork characteristic of the Japanese martial art.After just six months, Szogedi won a silver medal at Hungarys national championships.I was hooked, she told the Associated Press in a recent interview. I loved winning medals and started to think this might be the sport for me. Szogedi began attending a specialized sports school and qualified for the national judo squad.But after her parents divorced in 2007, money was tight and Szogedi was forced to drop judo. She moved to the U.K. shortly afterwards and began working as a waitress in a London hotel. One afternoon, as she watched the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics with friends at a pub, she saw one of her former Hungarian judo teammates walk into the Birds Nest stadium.I had the feeling that I had some unfinished business, Szogedi said. She soon started training again at a London judo club, where she met her future husband, a Ghana-born engineer.After securing her Ghanaian passport through him, Szogedi began competing for the West African country at major judo tournaments and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics. Szogedi has been to Ghana once to meet her husbands family and says she was overwhelmed by the welcome she received.The people are so lovely and so kind that it doesnt feel weird to me to be representing Ghana. I feel very proud to be able to fight for them, she said, recalling when she won a bronze medal at the African Championships last September. I was on the bus when some random Ghanaian athletes came on, saw my medal and just started singing and dancing, she said. That would never happen in Europe.Szogedi is now based in Camberley, 32 kilometers (20 miles) south of London, where she trains alongside several members of Britains national team. In preparation for Rio, Szogedi is working to sharpen her fight strategy and in particular, is working on being more aggressive in controlling her matches by getting a dominant grip on her opponents uniforms.Although she is among the shorter competitors in her 63-kilogram weight division, her coach says that could work to her advantage.She has a great ability to get underneath other players and score some big throws, said Luke Preston, Szogedis coach at the Camberley judo club and also a national coach for the British team.Though Szogedi is ranked 40th in the world, Preston said that matters little in the combat sport.The beauty of judo is that world champions can get knocked out in the first round, he said. It just takes somebody to step up and seize the moment. Theres no reason that cant be Szandra. Adidas Nmd r1 China . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. 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RICHMOND, Va. -- JeQuan Lewis admittedly wasnt focused when VCU and Princeton tipped off Tuesday night.Once he locked in, he took off, leading the Rams back from a 16-0 deficit and to an 81-70 victory against the Tigers.I was just being somewhat careless. I started off the game kinda slow. It came off me not being really focused, Lewis said.What caused him to get going?The score, he said.Lewis finished with 25 points and 12 assists, and scored 19 in the first half as the Rams rallied to get to 39-all by halftime.The Rams played without starting point guard Jonathan Williams, forcing Lewis into that spot, and he played 39 minutes.What do you want me to say? VCU coach Will Wade said. I mean, he was huge. He carried us and we had to have him. He was huge. He set the tempo. He set the pace. He made shots.Mo Alie-Cox added 15 points and four blocks, Jordan Burgess scored 12 and freshman Samir Doughty 11 for the Rams (6-1). VCU didnt take the lead for good until Burgess hit a 3-pointer with 4:35 remaining. He scrambled back on defense pumping his fist with the Rams now ahead 67-64, and Doughtys 3 from the top of the key with 4:13 left made it 70-64 and the sellout crowd at the Siegel Center roared.I dont mean to sound cocky. It just felt regular, Burgess said of the 3-pointer. I was open so I just shot the ball.Devin Cannady scored 18 points to lead the Tigers (2-3), who hurt themselves with 15 turnovers by halftime, tying their season high.This game is going to really help us, Tigers coach Mitch Henderson said. Thats a really good team. Might be the best team on our schedule, one of the better teams on our schedule. They made some big plays down the stretch. Lewis is really really tough to guard.Princeton finished with 19 giveaways, leading to 27 points off turnovers foor the Rams.ddddddddddddSpencer Weisz added 14 points and Stephen Cook 10 for Princeton.BIG PICTUREPrinceton: The Tigers have a good blend with five seniors and several underclassmen that play, led by Cannady, a sophomore guard, who provides a solid scoring lift off the bench. They will give better programs fits with grit and toughness, and be a difficult assignment for the teams more at their own level.VCU: The Rams are at their best when they play fast, not only because Lewis plays best at high speed, but because big men Alie-Cox and Justin Tillman can run the floor as well or better than most guys their size, and the more hectic the pace , the more likely the rams are forcing, and feeding off, turnovers.TURNING POINTFour consecutive turnovers by the Tigers late in the first half sparked a 10-0 VCU run that pulled them even for the first time at 37-all. Freshman DeRiente Jenkins had a dunk on a fast break and Alie-Cox followed with a steal near midcourt and a two-handed dunk, bringing the noise in the Siegel Center to deafening level. Lewis followed with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to finally tie it.HE SAID ITI thought it would be a very physical game. I mean, Mo Alie-Coxs neck is bigger than some of our guys legs, Henderson said of the Rams 6-foot-7, 250-pound forward who has been watched by some NFL teams interested in him after graduation.UP NEXTPrinceton faces California next Tuesday in Honolulu, HawaiiVCU faces Illinois, its third Power 5 opponent in eight games, in the Miami Hoopball International in Miami.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org---Follow Hank on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hankkurzjr ' ' '