College Basketball Ticket

Andrei Kirilenko of the Utah Jazz made his third All-Defensive Team appearance the NBA announced today. Kirilenko was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

Making his fifth consecutive appearance on the All-Defensive First Team is four-time Defensive Player of the Year, Ben Wallace. Wallace is joined by leading vote-getter Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs, named to the All-Defensive Team for the sixth consecutive season.

Also selected to the First Team are 2003-04 Defensive Player of the Year Ron Artest of the Sacramento Kings, who was named to the All-Defensive Team for the second time. Tying in votes received and rounding out the First Team are guards Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets, receiving their sixth and seventh All-Defensive honors, respectively.

Kirilenko tallied an NBA-best 220 blocks this season and finished second in blocks per game (3.2). Wallace was the only player in the league to finish in the Top 10 in rebounding (11.3 rpg, fourth), blocks (2.2 bpg, ninth) and steals (1.8 spg, 10th). Usually assigned to the opposing team’s biggest offensive threat, Bowen’s stellar one-on-one defense helped the Spurs hold opponents to 88.8 points per game, second in the league. Since joining the Kings on Jan. 25, Artest posted three or more steals in 14 outings and led the squad to a 25-14 run to capture their eighth straight playoff berth. Bryant ranked ninth in the NBA in steals with 1.8 per game, while Kidd finished eighth with 1.9 steals per game while averaging 7.3 rebounds.

The NBA All-Defensive Second Team consists of Denver’s Marcus Camby, Detroit’s Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince, Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett and San Antonio’s Tim Duncan.

The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select NBA All-Defensive First and Second Teams by position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players from their own team. Two points were awarded for a First Team vote and one point was awarded for a Second Team vote.

UNC Greensboro 76, Gardner-Webb 68: Sophomore Kyle Hines had his 15th career double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds as UNC Greensboro defeated visiting Gardner-Webb yesterday.

Ricky Hickman posted his sixth straight double-figure scoring with 16 points - 14 in the second half - for the Spartans (6-3). He connected on 4 of 5 from the field and 9 of 11 from the line in the second half.

Kevin Oleksiak had 12 points and Dwayne Johnson had 10 assists.

Tim Jennings and Chris Gash scored 14 points apiece for Gardner-Webb (4-3). T.J. McCullough added 12 points and Simon Conn had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Gardner-Webb knocked down three 3-pointers in the first seven minutes on its way to an early 17-9 lead.

But the Spartans went on a 12-2 run to regain the lead midway through the first half and took a 36-33 lead at halftime

Top 25 women

No. 4 Ohio State 68, Southern Cal 57: Brandie Hoskins scored 20 points and Jessica Davenport added 15 points and a career-best 18 rebounds as Ohio State defeated Southern California yesterday in Los Angeles.

Camille LeNoir led Southern Cal with 15 points, and Eshaya Murphy added 14.

Southern Cal went on a 9-1 run early in the second half and moved into a 39-all tie with 15:50 left. But Ohio State (6-0) pulled away from a 42-all tie with eight straight points for a 50-42 lead with 10:43 remaining. Kim Wilburn finished the run with back-to-back layups.

Southern Cal twice pulled within three, the last time at 54-51 with 6:05 remaining. Chloe Kerr's basket cut the deficit to four, 57-53, with 3:45 to play, but the Buckeyes responded with an 8-2 run, and led 65-55 with 34 seconds to go.

The 11-point final margin was Ohio State's biggest lead of the game.

No. 9 Maryland 92, Arizona 67: Marissa Coleman scored 20 points, Crystal Langhorne had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Maryland rolled to its fourth straight victory yesterday in College Park, Md.

Shay Doron had 12 points and 13 assists for the Terrapins (8-1), who had six players reach double figures. Coleman, a freshman forward, went 8 for 11 from floor and 4 for 5 from 3-point range.

Maryland closed the first half with a 17-0 run to take a 46-27 lead, then increased the margin to 26 points with 12 minutes left.

Natalie Jones scored a career-high 29 points for Arizona (4-3).

The Wildcats played in the NCAA tournament in each of the last three seasons, but they're still trying to recover from the unexpected loss of senior center Shawntinice Polk, who died in September of a pulmonary blood clot.

Arizona has dedicated its season to Polk, a three-time All-Pac 10 star who averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds as a three-year starter. She was remembered yesterday during a moment of silence at halftime.

No. 6 Rutgers 65, Princeton 56: Cappie Pondexter scored 21 of her game-high 25 points in the second half as visiting Rutgers rallied to defeat Princeton yesterday.

Pondexter, who also had four rebounds and three assists, was 7 for 14 from the floor and 9 for 9 from the free-throw line. Essence Carson added 14 points and seven rebounds for Rutgers (8-0).

After the Scarlet Knights jumped to an early lead, Princeton (5-3) went on a 15-6 run and led 28-26 at halftime. It was just the second time this year that Rutgers has trailed at the break.

No. 25 Purdue 70, Valparaiso 55: Katie Gearlds scored 28 points, including six of nine 3-pointers, and Aya Traore added 23 points to help Purdue beat Valparaiso yesterday in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Betsy Rietema paced Valparaiso (4-4) with 13 points and Carrie Myers added 12.

Gearlds made consecutive 3-pointers to cut Valparaiso's lead to 47-46. Purdue (6-2) took the lead for good on Erin Lawless's layup with 7:54 left.

Gearlds sparked another run later. She made a 3-pointer and another basket that gave the Boilermakers a 60-52 lead with 2:36 left.

State/area women

Clemson 72, San Diego 68: Julie Talley scored 17 points to help Clemson overcome a career-high, 42-point performance by visiting San Diego's Michelle Augustavo yesterday.

Augustavo, a sophomore, hit 10 of 19 3-pointers. She scored her team's first 21 points and no one other than Augustavo had points until Kaila Mangrum's jumper with 7:25 left before halftime.

Maryland welcomed No. 6 Boston College to the Atlantic Coast Conference with a slap in the face. Ekene Ibekwe scored 21 points, Chris McCray had 16, and the 21st-ranked Terrapins ruined the Eagles' ACC debut with a 73-71 victory Sunday night.

Craig Smith had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Sean Marshall scored 15 for the Eagles (6-2), who lost to a Top 25 team for the second time in six days. The defeat came on the heels of a loss to No. 14 Michigan State on Tuesday night.

Boston College went 5-for-15 at the line, compared to a 19-for-29 performance by the Terrapins (7-2, 1-0).

This is the first year in the high-powered ACC for Boston College, which previously played in the Big East.

Women's Top 10: Jessica Davenport had a career-best 18 rebounds and scored 15 points as No. 4 Ohio State beat USC 68-57. ... Marissa Coleman scored 20 points, Crystal Langhorne had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 9 Maryland rolled to its fourth straight victory, 92-67 over Arizona on Sunday. ... No. 6 Rutgers struggled to a 65-56 victory over Princeton on Sunday.