The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey • Page 62

F-4 FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2003 UM Sports COURIER NEWS Florida roctiuer wmm I vertals foe Schiano looking at Nebraska and South Florida." Denson, a SuperPrep All-America selection as the eighth-rated quarterback nationally, committed to Virginia Tech last summer. But Denson acknowledged a report in Thursday's Roanoke CVa.) Times that said. Virginia Tech withdrew its scholarship offer, saying, They didn't want me to make any more visits, so Tm not going there." Asked if the commitments of Foster and Daniels will have an im pact on his final decision, Denson said: "It helps a lot. I like coach Schiano, and they like to throw a lot. It's a good place to play." David Harlev, a 6-1, 300-pound defensive tackle from Pasadena City (Calif.) College, and Derek Roberson, a 6-0, 170-pound defensive back from Northeastern (Fla.) High, also joined the 2003 recruiting class Wednesday, raising the total of commitments to 17.

Daniels, who had 35 receptions for 714 yards and was an AU-Dade By KEITH SARGEANT Gannett New Jersey Quarterback Courtney Denson and receivers Marcus Daniels and Willie Foster formed the most prolific passing offense in south Florida last fall, combining for more than 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns as seniors at Miami Central. "We're talking about keeping the 'Bomb Squad' together," said Daniels, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound receiver who gave a nonbinding son, a highly recruited quarterback, to complete the trifecta. "We're trying to talk Courtney into coming," Daniels said. "I know we could make an impact together." Reached Wednesday night, Denson said Rutgers is "a front-runner" for his services, but he doesn't expect to make his decision until Feb. 5, the day recruits can officially sign letters of intent.

"Rutgers is high on my list," he said. "Right now it's between Auburn and Rutgers. I'm also still -WMMffW- Billet leads Virginia HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Deluca, Kutch lift Hillsborough; Manville wins big County 6-A selection as a senior, said he chose Rutgers over scholarship offers from West Virginia, Auburn and Kansas State. "Rutgers stayed with me all the way," said Daniels, who scored 1080 on his SAT. "They were the only school that stayed with me when I was having problems in school (as a junior).

Some schools said I couldn't go on a visit until I got my test score. But the coaches at Rutgers motivated me to do better in school." RUTGERS MEN LAUGH OFF COACH'S COMMENT PISCATAWAY The Rutgers men's basketball team, mired in a five-game losing streak, didn't need any incentive to dig itself out of a midseason slump. But they got some anyway. Several Scarlet Knights were bothered by a Big East coach's comments which appeared, on condition of anonymity, in The Star Ledger of Newark earlier this week. The coach said that Rutgers has "just three Big East-caliber players." According to the coach, Jerome Coleman, Ricky Shields and Herve Lamizana are the only Scarlet Knights who belong in the league.

"We all take it personally," said Shields, a sophomore guard. "We try to take it with a grain of salt, but at the same time use it as motivation to just prove him wrong. If he thinks there's only three, we are going to try to prove him wrong. We'll make it 13 or 14, however many guys we've got here. "Because everyone who got here I know deserves to be here and is working hard.

Some may be more talented than others in certain aspects of the game, but all in all we are just one team that likes playing together." Freshman guard Calvin Wooten, who is averaging 12.3 points and shooting 56 percent from the floor in Big East games, laughed off being omitted from the coach's list. "We don't have to prove anything to anybody," he said. "We are just playing for ourselves really, and once we start winning and get this thing rolling, then nobody will have anything to say." Wooten, it should be noted, ranks second in the league in 3-point shooting, connecting on 8-of-14 for 57 percent in conference play. "We'll use them (the anonymous coach's words) as motivation," Wooten said. The Scarlet Knights (8-8, 0-4 Big East) look to end their skid Sunday at West Virginia (10-6, 1-3).

Both teams are battling to stay out of the Big East West Division basement. Greg Tufaro, Gannett New Jersey (fjZf J- 'il ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Virginia's Nick Vander Laan, top, goes for the ball with Wake Forest's Jamaal Levy during the first half Thursday at University Hall In Charlottesville, Va. COLLEGE BASKETBALL By The Associated Press CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Todd Billet scored 23 points and Majestic Mapp returned as a leader for Virginia on Thursday night, helping the Cavaliers end a three-game skid by beating No. 17 Wake Forest 85-75.

The Cavaliers (11-6, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) put an embarrassing 18-point loss at Virginia Tech two nights earlier behind them, improved to 8-0 at home and hope to have found a point guard. Mapp, playing for only the third time after missing more than two seasons while undergoing four surgeries to his right knee, scored just three points, but had four assists and gave the Cavaliers energy. He played 17 minutes and committed just one turnover. Wake Forest (12-2, 2-2) got 20 points from Josh Howard and career highs of 20 points from Vytas Danelius and 19 from Taron Downey, but was unable to stop Virginia. EVANSVILLE 74 No.

10 CREIGHT0N 66 EVANSVILLE, Ind. Clint Cuffle scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half and shut down Kyle Korver as Evansville ended Creiehton's six-game winning streak. When Lucious Wagner hit a 3-pointer with 4:32 to go, the Aces (6-9, 2-4 Missouri Valley Conference) led 60-59. They never trailed again. Evansville connected on 8-of-11 free throws in the final 2:34 to pull away.

Afterward, fans rusned the floor and celebrated at midcourt. Women's Top 25 No. 1 DUKE 101, MARYLAND 52 DURHAM, N.C Iciss Tillis scored 19 points to lead six Duke players in double figures. Alana Beard and Sheana Mosch added 15 points each to help the Blue Devils (18-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Maryland (8-10, 2-5) for the eighth time in nine meetings. No.

4 TENNESSEE 97 No. 15 SOUTH CAROLINA 78 KN0XVILLE, Tenn. Gwen Jackson scored 18 points and reserve Shanna Zolman added 13 points for Tennessee. The Lady Vols (15-3, 4-0 Southeastern Conference), who beat South Carolina for the 27th straight time. Jocelyn Penn led South Carolina (14-4, 2-3) with 26 points.

No. 6 LSU 94, FLORIDA 54 GAINESVILLE, Fla. Ke-Ke Tardy scored a season-high 16 points, and sixth-ranked LSU recovered from its first loss of the season to beat struggling Florida. The Tigers Southeastern Conference) fell to eighth-ranked Arkansas 82-72 on Sunday. The Gators (8-9, 0-5) continued one of the worst stretches in school history, losing for the fifth consecutive time.

The last four defeats have come by at least 39 points. No. 18 VANDERBILT 76 No. 8 ARKANSAS 59 NASHVILLE, Tenn. Jenni Ben-ningfield had a career-high 28 commitment to the Rutgers football team Wednesday.

Foster gave a commitment to Rutgers coach Greg Schiano earlier this week, and, with two-thirds of the "Bomb Squad" together, Daniels is trying to convince Den GIRLS BASKETBALL TRINITY CHRISITAN (14): Rizzo 5-(l)-l-14, Barretto 0-0-0, Andrade 0-0-0, Montano 0-0-0, Gonzalez 0-0-0. Totals: 5-(D-l-14. ALMA PREP (14): Cuza 5-0-10, Lyszczasz 5-2-12, Harris 3-0-6, Folk 1-0-2, J. Holt 1-0-2, S. Holt 1-0-2, Christiansen 1-0-2.

Totals: 17-2-36 TRINITY CHRISTIAN (1-5) 0 8 4 214 ALMA PREP (8-7) 24 4 8 036 MANVILLE 56 BOUND BROOK 30 MANVILLE Senior guard Lisa Lavenia netted 14 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed five steals to lead Manville. Senior forward Heather Math-ieu added 11 points, five assists and seven rebounds for Manville, while senior center Amanda Caldwell paced Bound Brook with 12 points. BOUND BROOK (30): Caldwell 5-2-12. Miranda 2-0-4. Canny l-U-2, Iturralde l-Z-4, Jiminez l-U-2, Uastillo 1-U-Z, iawan 1- 0-2.

Kuehne 1-0-2. Totals; 13-4-30. MANVILLE (56): Giraldi 2-0-4. Mathieu l-(2)-3-l 1, Ortman 2- 1-5, Lavenia 3-(2)-2-14, Droz 3(1)1-10, Breslow 3-0-6, Kaminski 1-0-2, Katie Waiinchus 2-0-4 Totals: 17-(5)-7-56. BOUND BROOK (4-6) 10 6 2 1230 MANVILLE (8-2) 17 13 18 856 GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON 44 MOUNT SI MARY 32 BERKELEY HEIGHTS Senior guard Margy Goodspeed helped Governor Livingston break a five-game losing streak by scoring a game-high 12 points and posting five steals.

Senior forward Kather-ine Dreitlein helped out with 10 points and six rebounds. Sophomore guard Camille Mammolite and freshman center Janine Burke each scored seven points for Mount St. Mary. MOUNT ST. MARY (32): Kilray 1-4-6, Sisto 0-1-1, Pyle 1-0-2.

Mammmolite 1-U1-2-7, Burke 3-1-7, telly l-(l)-3-8, Poll 0- 1- l.TotalS: 7-0-12-32. GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON (44): Butler 3-0-6. Goodspeed 4-4-12, Ringwood l-(2)-0-8, Dreitlein 4-2-10, Freda 0-U1-0-3, Lallas 1-1-3, McCann 1-0-2. Totals: 14-(3)-7-44. MOUNT ST.

MARY (1-10) ....3 3 14 1232 GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON (4-6) 9 18 13 444 UNION CATHOLIC 46 RAHWAY37 RAHWAY Lauren Huber scored 14 points and Stephanie Green added 11 for Union Catholic, who outscored the Indians 17-1 1 in the pivotal fourth quarter. UNION CATHOLIC (46): Green 2-7-11, Kelly 3-0-6, Huber 6- 2- 14. Farawell 1-0-2, Marcussen 0-2-2, Whittmore 1-3-5, Hannan 3-0-6. Totals 16-14-46. RAHWAY (37): Small 9-3-21.

Probus2-(l)-2-9. White0-1-1, Bauer 1-3-5. Jackson 0-1-1. Totals 12-111-10-37. UNION CATHOLIC (9-3) .12 10 7 1746 RAHWAY (5-6) 16 4 6 1137 MIDDLESEX 47 METUCHEN 37 METUCHEN Junior guard Jessica Wells scored all eight of her points in the third quarter, including two 3-pointers to break the game open, and junior center Dana Ferraro went 8-of-10 from the foul line in a 16-point, 14-re-bound effort for Middlesex.

MIDDLESEX (47): Ferraro4-8-16. Szeles 1-0-2 Hopper 4-0-8, Wells 1(2)0 8. Bennett 2-0-4, Reilly 3-1-7, Best 1-0-2. Totals 16-(2)-9-47. METUCHEN (37): Mulligan 2-1-5.

Edmonds 4-0-8, 0 Neil 2-0-4. Mathews 4-1-9, Rosini 4-0-8, Paulman 1-1-3. Totals: 17-3-37 MIDDLESEX (8-3) 7 15 16 47 METUCHEN 9 13 8 837 mr3 1 Staff report HILLSBOROUGH Freshman guard Ali Deluca came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points for the Hillsborough High School girls basketball team Thursday in a 59-46 Skyland Conference Delaware Division win over Franklin. Junior guard Allison Kutch returned from a knee injury to score 13 points for Hillsborough, which swept the season series against Franklin. Sophomore Kaona McGowan led Franklin with 15 points, and junior forward Jennifer Nnanna added 14.

FRANKLIN (46): Stevens 1-4-6, Corprew 2-U1-0-7, Nnanna 7-0-14, McGowan 6-3-15, JonesO-2-2, Pizarro 1-0-2. Totals: 17-(l)-9-46. HILLSBOROUGH (59): Lavell 1-3-5, Rainey l-ID-4-9, Poul-ter 2-3-7, Kutch 4-(l)-2-13, McNamamara 0-OI-0-3, Yard 2-1-5, OeLuca 0-4-4, A. DeLuca 0-(3)-4-13. Totals: 10-(61-21-59.

FRANKLIN (1-11) 11 10 12 1346 HILLSBOROUGH (8-4) 10 18 18 1359 SCOTCH PLAINS-FANW00D 57 IRVINGTON 38 IRVINGTON Sophomore center Hillary Klimowicz scored a game-high 18 points for Scotch Plains-Fanwood, which stayed unbeaten. Sophomore guards Jenny Burke and Maura Gillooly added 12 points apiece. SCOTCH PLAINS-FANW00D (57): Pen 2-4-8, Russell 1-0-2, Burke l-(l)-7-12, Gillooly 3-0-0-12, Klimowicz 7-4-18, DeCataldo 2-1-5. Totals: 16-0)-16-57. IRVINGTON (38): Ware l-(l)-2-7, Robinson 3-0-6, 8 Ware 7-2-16.

Manning 1-2-4, Toll 2-1-5. Totals: 14-ID-7-38. SCOTCH PLAINS-FANWOOD (14-0) .17 16 9 1557 IRVINGTON (9-3) 6 13 11 8-38 LINDEN 49, PLAINFIELD 45 PLAINFIELD Freshman guard Carolina Garcia totaled 16 points and seven steals, but Plainfield let a one-point lead slip in the fourth quarter. LINDEN (49): Berardi 3-0-6, Scartetta 2-(l)-0-7, Taylor 1-2-4, Green 3-(l)-7-16, Casimir 2-(l)-l-8, Mularz 1-0-2, Fields 0(1)0-3. Mitchell 0-3 -3 Totals 1 2-C4-1 3-49.

PLAINFIELD (45): Smith 4-1-9. Garcia 5-4-14, Williams 1-2-6. Jennings 1 -0-2, Smallwood 3-2-8, Brown 3-0-6 totals 18-9-45 LINDEN 6 17 9 1749 PLAINFIELD (7-5) 8 11 14 12-45 DUNELLEN 53 W00DBRIDGETECH 13 DUNELLEN Junior guard Veronica Bogomozova and freshman center Cassie Shotwell each had 10 points to lead Dunellen. Shotwell also had six rebounds. W00DBRIDGETECH (13): Leon 1-1-3, Ahy 3-0-6, Perez 1-0-2.

Montanez 1-0-2, Swallick 0-0-0. Totals' 6-1-13. DUNELLEN (53): Blair 1-0-2, Paxson 2-1-5, Rama 2-0-4. Scerra2-0-4, Bocomazova 5-0-10, Sosa l-(l)-0-5. Hall 1-2-4 Calderan 2-1-5, Crevelmt 1-0-2, Maresco 1-0-2, Shotwell 5-0-10 Totals 23-11 1-4-53.

WOO0BRIDGE TECH (1-10) 2 8 1 213 DUNELLEN (9-4) 13 9 12 1953 ALMA PREP 36 TRINITY CHRISTIAN 14 FRANKLIN (Somerset) Freshman guard Kristen Lyszczasz scored all 12 of her points in the first quarter for Alma Prep, which held Trinity Christian scoreless for the first eight minutes. Kristen Christiansen collected seven rebounds, five blocks and five assissts, all in the first quarter for Alma Prep. points and 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. Vanderbilt (12-5, 2-2 SEC) broke a 12-12 tie seven minutes into the game with a 10-0 run and never trailed thereafter. Shameka Christon finished with 22 points for Arkansas (16-3, 3-1).

No. 9 NORTH CAROLINA 79 WESTERN MICHIGAN 76 KALAMAZOO, Mich. Coretta Brown scored 26 points as North Carolina rallied from 15 behind. Nikita Bell scored eight of her 18 points during an 18-4 run that pulled the Tar Heels (16-2) to 63-62 with 7:44 left. Casey Rost led Western (10-5) with 22 points.

MICHIGAN SI 74 No. 10 MINNESOTA 71 EAST LANSING, Mich. Kelli Roehrig scored a career-high 27 points to lead Michigan State. The Spartans (10-7, 3-3 Big Ten) used a 14-6 run down the stretch for the victory. Roehrig scored 10 of Michigan State's final 14 points.

Corrin Von Wald scored 24 points for Minnesota (15-2, 4-2). No. 11 LOUISIANA TECH 75 TULSA 62 RUST0N, La. Erica Smith scored 23 points as Louisiana Tech extended its winning streak to 11 games. Tech (13-2, 6-0 Western Athletic Conference) won for the 139th consecutive time against an unranked opponent.

Allison Curtin scored 26 points for the Hurricane (10-7, 5-1). No. 12 PURDUE 83, IOWA 64 WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Erika Valek scored a career-high 26 points, and reserve Missy Taylor ordered in advance day of the game. 1 'ALL Rutgers Women's Basketball Scarlet Knights Share Our Vision broke the game open with two straight 3s as Purdue beat Iowa.

The Boilermakers (15-3, 4-2 Big Ten) improved to 9-0 at home this season and 26-1 in home conference games the past four years. Kristi Faulkner led Iowa (10-6, 2-3) with a career-high 27 points. No. 20 VI LLANO VA 73 No. 13 PENN SI 66 VILLANOVA, Pa.

Courtney Mix scored 18 points and put Villanova in front for good in overtime. Villanova (14-2) trailed 56-47 with just over six minutes left in the second half when Irish Juhline hit two free throws to start the Wildcats on a 15-6 run. Penn State (15-5) got 28 points from Kelly Mazzante. No. 14 MISSISSIPPI SI 69 AUBURN 60 STARKVILLE, Miss.

LaToya Thomas scored 26 points and led a 13-4 second-half run that gave Mississippi State the lead for good. Mississippi State (14-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) trailed 39-38 with 18:47 remaining when the Bulldogs went on the run. Natasha Brackett had 16 points for Auburn (13-4, 1-3). No. BUTLER 36 INDIANAPOLIS Chandra Johnson scored her team's first nine points and finished with 16 as Wisconsin-Green Bay won its 10th straight game.

The Phoenix (16-2, 7-0 Horizon League) never trailed and broke a 24-24 tie with 13 straight points en route to their ninth straight win over Butler (3-13, 1-5). ARIZONA SI 73 No. 19 ARIZONA 58 TEMPE, Ariz. Jill Noe scored 22 points and Arizona State held Arizona, the Pac-10's top offense, to 20 points below its average. The Sun Devils (12-6, 4-5) committed just six turnovers in the second half to build on a 32-24 lead at the break.

Dee-Dee Wheeler had 14 points to lead the Wildcats (12-5, 6-3). No. 24 GEORGIA 77, ALABAMA 47 TUSCALOOSA, Ala. Alexis Kendrick scored 20 points, and Kara Braxton added 18 as Georgia got its seventh straight victory. Mary Beth Lycett had 14 points for Georgia (13-4, 4-0 Southeastern Conference), which has won eight in a row over the Crimson Tide (10-7, 0-4).

AS FUEL OIL CO. 973-895-4229 CASH, CHECK, VISA, MC AMbX 200 Gal. Mill. PrlcSubed to Changs Open From Page F-1 Looking to the final, Serena said Venus "is actually playing a little better than me at this tournament. IVe just got to pull something out of my back pocket to be able to go on to the next level." They probably won't talk about the upcoming match, Serena said, adding: "I don't like to bring my work home." The Williams sisters also will try to win the doubles title after beating Lindsay Davenport and Lisa Raymond 6-2, 6-2 in a semifinal.

Team Williams will face Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez for the championship. On the men's side, meanwhile, Andre Agassi easily dismissed Wayne Ferreira 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the final. He's trying to win his fourth Australian Open and eighth Grand Slam event overall. Agassi, who won here in 1995, 2000 and 2001 but missed last year's tournament with a wrist in-jury, has a 20-match winning streak at Melbourne Park. Things looked bleak for Serena against Clijsters, who beat her in the final of the WTA Championships last year.

Williams won despite 65 errors, nearly twice as many as Clijsters had. But Williams overcame that thanks to 42 winners 28 more than the fourth-seeded Belgian. Clijsters served for the match at 5-2 and 5-4 in the third set. Her biggest regret: two double faults that sent Serena on the way to winning the 10th game. While Williams improved her play, Clijsters seemed to tighten.

Toward the end, Williams "hit everything a little harder and closer to the line," Clijsters said. On the two match points for Clijsters, Williams forced an error and then put away a volley after a long rally. Earlier, there was a nine-minute break in the action while a trainer taped blisters on Williams' right foot. "I just needed to be retaped," she said, because the original tape slipped, "so it was starting to burn." Although Williams received some boos when she came out, Clijsters said the timeout didn't make any difference, since "I won the next few games." It was Clijsters' first loss since Lindsay Davenport beat her in the quarterfinals in Zurich, Switzerland, in October. Clijsters then won three tournaments in a row and a total of 22 straight matches.

No man or woman has won four straight major tennis titles since Steffi Graf added the 1994 Australian Open title to her victories in the other top events in 1993. Graf also is among three women with a true Grand Slam. She did it in 1988, following Maureen Connolly in 1953 and Margaret Court in 1970. mSMk.1 i i ii stum nil i i mi i RUTGERS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FAMILY 4-PACK DAY 4 HOT DOGS, 4 SODAS FOR $25 Tickets can be or purchased the mJTG WOMEN'S BASK. -VS.

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