Walker Leads UConn Victory

Freshman guard Kemba Walker scored 21 points and senior forward Jeff Adrien added 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 4 Connecticut to a workmanlike 67-55 victory over St. John's on Thursday night.

The win was the fourth straight for the Huskies (15-1, 4-1 Big East) since they lost their conference opener at home to Georgetown.

This was the last of a three-game trip for Connecticut, the ninth time the Huskies have had that long a stretch under Coach Jim Calhoun and this was the first time they won all three.

Sophomore guard Paris Horne had a career-high 24 points for the Red Storm (10-6, 1-3), who lost for the fifth time in six games with the lone win over then-No. 7 Notre Dame. This was St. John's third game against a Top 10 team in the last 13 days as they fell 90-67 at No. 1 Pittsburgh on Sunday.

NO. 5 NORTH CAROLINA 83,

VIRGINIA 61

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Tyler Hansbrough scored 28 points, Ty Lawson had 19 and No. 5 North Carolina (15-2, 1-2 ACC) beat Virginia (7-7, 1-2) to snap a surprising two-game losing streak.

North Carolina lost at home to Boston College and on the road at No. 2 Wake Forest, but avoided its first 0-3 start in conference play since the 1996-97 season with big efforts from its biggest stars.

NO.15 XAVIER 67

RHODE ISLAND 65

KINGSTON, R.I. - Derrick Brown had 12 points and eight rebounds to help No. 15 Xavier (14-2, 3-0 At1antic 10) hold off Rhode Island (11-6, 0-2).

NO. 17 BUTLER 78,

LOYOLA OF CHICAGO 55

CHICAGO - Freshman Shelvin Mack scored 20 points to help No. 17 Butler (15-1, 6-0 Horizon League) beat Loyola of Chicago (10-8, 2-4).

Matt Howard had 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks as the Bulldogs won their seventh straight.

NO. 19 PURDUE 63,

NORTHWESTERN 61

EVANSTON, Ill. - JaJuan Johnson hit two free throws with 2.2 seconds left and No. 19 Purdue (13-4, 2-2 Big Ten) capped a wild comeback from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat Northwestern (8-6, 0-4).

Brooks Leads Gator Women Past Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Sha Brooks scored 25 points and Marshae Dotson made all eight shots from the field for 19 points, to lead No. 19 Florida over South Carolina 77-63.

The Gators (16-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) are off to their best start since 2000-01 and bounced back after having a school-record 15-game winning streak snapped by sixth-ranked Auburn.

Florida shot 45.8 percent (27-for-59) from the field and forced 24 turnovers.

Brionna Dickerson had 20 points and seven rebounds, while Demetress Adams added 10 points and nine rebounds for South Carolina (8-8, 0-3).

FLORIDA STATE 64,

N.C. STATE 59

RALEIGH, N.C. - Jacinta Monroe scored 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Florida State to a victory against North Carolina State, giving Seminoles coach Sue Semrau her first victory at Reynolds Coliseum.

The Seminoles (15-4, 3-0 ACC) also got 12 points from Courtney Ward, and 11 from Mara Freshour as they extended their winning streak to six-straight games.

The Wolfpack (8-9, 0-2) trailed by double-digits through much of the second half, a 9-1 run to cut the score to 59-50 with just over a minute left to play coming too late to make a difference.

NO. 12 MARYLAND 65,

CLEMSON 56

CLEMSON, S.C. - Marissa Coleman had 19 points, Lynetta Kizer 17 and No. 12 Maryland (13-3, 2-1 ACC) held off a late rally to win its eighth straight against Clemson (10-7, 1-3).

NO. 13 TENNESSEE 63,

MISSISSIPPI STATE 56

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Shekinna Stricklen scored 15 points to lead Tennessee to victory over Mississippi State.

Tennessee (13-3, 2-1 SEC) made seven of 13 3-pointers and improved to 29-0 against Mississippi State (13-4, 1-2).

MINNESOTA 59,

NO. 15 OHIO ST. 56

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ashley Ellis-Milan scored 17 points, including two tiebreaking free throws with 17.3 seconds left, leading Minnesota (12-5, 4-2 Big Ten) to win over No. 15 Ohio State (14-3, 5-1).