Sports digest 5/1/02

AREA

NOTRE DAME, JACKSON ATHLETES EARN STATE HONORS

Three Notre Dame seniors and two from Jackson have received academic all-state recognition from the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association.

Lisa Millham of Notre Dame was among 29 girls from all classes to be honored. On the boys' side, Doug Schaefer and Scott Wittenborn of Notre Dame were selected along with Lance Bollinger and Nathan Brown of Jackson. Thirty-seven players were honored on the boys' team.

To be eligible, all players must be in the upper 20 percent of their senior class and have at least a 3.25 GPA. They must also have started in 90 percent of their team's games and be of outstanding moral character.

The players will be honored at the Academic All-State banquet on Sunday, May 5, in Columbia, Mo.

Morehead St. hangs on to lead at OVC golf tourney

PADUCAH, Ky. -- Morehead State saw its lead trimmed to one-stroke Tuesday after two rounds of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at The Country Club of Paducah.

Murray State, which came into the day four shots behind Morehead, had the low team total in the second round with a 301 for a two-day score of 600.

Southeast, led by a 71 by Jimmy Blose, totaled 300 in the second round and is tied for fifth place with Eastern Kentucky at 606, seven shots off the lead.

In individual play, Mark Searle and Robert Dinnwiddle of Tennessee St. and Nick Artzinger of Morehead are tied for the lead at 143. Blose is alone in third at 147.

Other Southeast scores: Bryan Johnson 79-72--151, Woody Hill 74-82--156, Matt Hillis 84-75--159, Kent Phillips 77-82--159.

The final round of the 54-hole tournament begins this morning.

ELSEWHERE

BASKETBALL

SuperSonics guard Gary Payton was chosen to the NBA All-Defensive first team for a record-tying ninth time. Payton, an eight-time All-Star, is joined on the first team by New Jersey guard Jason Kidd, forward-center Ben Wallace of Detroit, and forwards Tim Duncan of San Antonio and Kevin Garnett of Minnesota.

The second team has Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, Sacramento guard Doug Christie, Philadelphia center Dikembe Mutombo, San Antonio forward Bruce Bowen and Detroit forward-center Clifford Robinson.

Tim Duncan will miss Game 4 of the Spurs' playoff series tonight against the SuperSonics after his father died earlier this week. The star forward left Monday's practice in San Antonio early after hearing that his father, William, had been hospitalized. The elder Duncan died later in the day in North Carolina.

Colleges

Tennessee State University stayed inside the school and hired Teresa Phillips as its athletic director, president James Hefner announced. Phillips had been interim athletic director since June 2001 at the Ohio Valley Conference school.

Southwest Missouri State women's basketball assistant coaches Lynnette Robinson and Karen Rapier resigned, eight days after head coach Cheryl Burnett quit to pursue other jobs. Darlene Bailey, the school's associate director of athletics, said both resigned "to allow themselves more flexibility to pursue other opportunities." The resignations take effect immediately.

Football

Rod Woodson, the 10-time Pro Bowl safety cut by the Ravens in February, signed with the Raiders. The 37-year-old Woodson played the last four seasons for Baltimore, but he was released in a cost-cutting move after recording 74 tackles and three of his 61 career interceptions last season.

Tom Coughlin signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him as coach of the Jaguars through 2004. The contract sat unsigned on Coughlin's desk for almost four months, following owner Wayne Weaver's announcement that he and the coach agreed in principle to an extension.

-- From staff, wire reports