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Canadian Tonya Verbeek advanced to the final in the womens 55kg freestyle wrestling event on Thursday as she looks to win the only Olympic medal that has eluded her. Frank Gore Elite Jersey . The 34-year-old Grimsby, Ont., native won her semi-final match on Day 13 of London 2012 over Colombias Jackeline Renteria Castillo 1-0, 1-0. Against the upstart Renteria Castillo, Verbeek showed her experience in a close first round, finding an opening in last 20 seconds to push her 26-year-old opponent through the passive zone for the only point of the round. The second round went the full two minutes with no scoring, and for the first time on the day, the randomly drawn ball came up Verbeeks colour. She wasted little time with the clinch advantage, quickly grabbing Renteria Castillos leg and driving her through the boundary and taking her onto her back for the match-winning point at 2:02. Verbeek has already guaranteed herself of becoming the first Canadian woman to win three wrestling medals. She breaks out of a short-lived tie with Hazelton, B.C.s Carol Huynh, who won a bronze medal on Day 12 to go with her gold-medal win in Beijing. But after winning silver at Athens 2004 and bronze at Beijing 2008, Verbeek is looking to complete the set with a win in the gold-medal match. She will have to defeat her admitted nemesis in the final, top-ranked Saori Yoshida, who advanced with three relatively easy victories. The Japanese wrestler has beaten Verbeek in all eight previous meetings, including at the last two Olympic Games. The final is scheduled for 7:03 p.m. London time (2:03 p.m. ET). Earlier, Verbeek defeated Ukraines Tetyana Lazareva 1-0, 1-0 in the quarter-finals after a 1-0, 0-1, 3-1 win over Geeta Geeta of India. A tight first round against Lazareva featured no scoring and for the third time on Thursday, Verbeek lost the draw and had to have her leg forward in a sudden-death clinch. But for the second time, Verbeek displayed great defence, keeping Lazareva from taking her down with a great low sprawl. She continued to push her opponent down hard and held her off for 30 seconds to take the round. Verbeek then claimed the match in the second by turning Lazareva and getting past her hip for a single point. Lazareva tried for a throw and a single leg takedown but Verbeek stayed balanced and Lazareva could not find a tying score. Like the last match for fellow Canadian Carol Huynh on Day 12, the first two rounds of Verbeeks first match against Geeta went to the ball drawing after no scoring. But in a reversal of the fortune seen by Huynh the day before, Verbeek saw her opponents ball drawn twice, giving her the disadvantage in the clinch. However, in the first extra frame Verbeek was able to hold her ground as Geeta clasped her leg, and pushed her weight to keep from being taken down. As Geeta tried to drive her, Verbeek pushed her Indian opponents head down as they went to the met and she then got behind Geetas back for a rare stolen point at the 15-second mark. After another deadlocked second round, Geeta drew her blue again, forcing Verbeek to present her leg a second time in the clinch. Again Verbeek showed some strength as Geeta struggled to score. But Geeta eventually knocked the Canadian over with her right arm grabbing her body and scored a point at the 10-second mark. Verbeek showed her stronger skills midway through the decisive frame with a big thigh grab and double leg takedown for three points. She later gave up one point as Geeta got her to her knees with 15 seconds left. But Geeta could not turn the Canadian to score again and Verbeek rode the last few moments to seal the victory. Her Canadian teammate Leah Callahan did not fare as well. The St. Johns native lost her first match in the 72kg division 3-0, 5-0 to Mongolias Burmaa Ochirbat. Callahan was later eliminated from medal contention when Ochirbat failed to advance to the final. Aldon Smith Pink Jersey . The game did get close, and unlike last Mondays meltdown, this time the Nets handled it. Brook Lopez scored 20 points, Kris Humphries added 14 points and 21 rebounds, and the Nets beat the Orlando Magic 82-74 on Sunday to complete a home-and-home sweep. Aldon Smith Jersey . With the second half getting under way later this week, there are many unanswered questions. Lets take a look at a few of them. WILL THE PIRATES MAKE THEIR FIRST POSTSEASON APPEARANCE SINCE 1992? First-place Pittsburgh is undoubtedly the biggest surprise team of the first half. http://www.teamshopsanfrancisco49ers.com/delanie-walker-jersey . Louis Blues on a one-year, $3 million deal on Thursday. Aldon Smith Official Jersey . The hottest star attractions in athletics continued to fulfil their post-London Olympics plan of dividing the glamor sprints between them -- and making fast times seem routine. Frank Gore Pink Jersey . Former United youth team player Anthony Pilkington headed in Wes Hoolahans cross on the hour at Carrow Road. "Its a great day for Norwich and its a massive win for us," Pilkington said. "Weve been performing well over the last couple of weeks and we showed today that we could beat the team that is probably the best in the league.WASHINGTON -- Stephen Strasburg wouldnt admit his poorest outing this season gave him added motivation. His teammates saw something extra in his dominating performance Sunday. Strasburg pitched three-hit ball over six shutout innings and drove in two runs to lead the Washington Nationals over the Miami Marlins 4-1. "He came out a little angry," Washingtons Jayson Werth said. "I think he acted like he had something to prove today, and he pitched really good. I like that Stras." Strasburg (12-5) struck out six and walked one, extending his scoreless streak against the Marlins to 27 innings and lowering his ERA to 2.97 in 127 1-3 innings. "Hes a way better pitcher. Before he was a thrower," Miami manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Hes matured. Hes better." In his previous start, Tuesday against Philadelphia, Strasburg tied his career high by giving up six runs. Strasburg has allowed four runs or more four times this season and in his next starts has gone 4-0 and allowed just two earned runs. "Im still learning how to pitch and call a game and really pick up on little things that happen in the game that you can use to your advantage," Strasburg said. "Today was a big step forward for me in that process, but theres still a long way to go." The right-hander is pitching his first full major league season following reconstructive elbow surgery in 2010. Washington officials say they plan to end his season early, and he is thought to have a limit of about 160 innings, although the Nationals have not been specific. Strasburgs strong day extended from the mound to the plate. In the second inning he came up with runners on second and third and one out, and hit a two-run single to right field. Hes batting .343 (12 for 35) with seven RBIs. "Someone said, When we shut him down, can we keep his bat? Can we use him as a pinch hitter?" Nationals manager Davey Johnson said with a smile. "Highly unlikely." Strasburg gave up a double to Scott Cousins in the first inning, then retired his next nine batters. He never allowed more than one runner in an inning. "He was great. That was back to the old Stras," Adam LaRoche said. "There was something about when he came tto the dugout before the game. Colin Kaepernick Youth Jersey. We could all sense a different attitude today. I dont know if it was something to prove to himself, that he still had it or to be able bounce back from the last one -- whatever it was, he had a little fire in his belly." LaRoche was 2 for 3 with his own two-run single in the second inning as the Nationals won three of four from Miami and maintained a three-game lead over second-place Atlanta in the NL East. LaRoche is hitting .442 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in his last 14 games. Drew Storen pitched a one-hit ninth for his first save since Sept. 28. It was the first save chance for Storen since he returned July 19 from right elbow surgery. "That was a lot of fun," Storen said. "Especially when youre pitching for a first-place team in that situation, it doesnt get much better than that." Miamis Jose Reyes hit a fourth-inning single that extended his hitting streak to 24 games, the longest in the majors this season. Reyes starts a series Tuesday at his former team, the New York Mets. Ricky Nolasco (8-11) gave up four runs, eight hits and four walks in six innings. He is 0-5 with a 7.16 ERA in his last five starts, allowing at least four runs in each. Miami scored in the seventh when Carlos Lee and Greg Dobbs led off with back-to-back doubles against Craig Stammen. The double gave Lee an 11-game hitting streak, the 19th time in his career hes hit safely in at least 10 straight games. NOTES: Nationals LF Michael Morse singled in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest for the Nationals this season. ... After striking out swinging in the fourth inning, Harper slammed his bat on the plate, breaking it in half. Miami catcher John Buck said Harper apologized during his next at-bat. "I told him, Dont worry about it. I did the same thing when I was your age. It was a metal bat, and I was in high school," Buck said. "Its a learning experience in front of the eyes of the whole country and the world. I bet you he wont do that any more -- at least in the next couple of weeks." ... The Nationals start a 10-game trip Monday at Houston. Washington has the best road record (33-21) in the majors. ' ' '