College basketball: Bjorklund’s career night leads Vols

Angie Bjorklund gave top-ranked Tennessee the boost it needed.

Bjorklund, the 11th Tennessee player to start the first game as a freshman, scored a career-high 19 points to lead the Lady Vols to an 83-51 victory over No. 24 Old Dominion on Wednesday night at Knoxville, Tenn.

Bjorklund, a 2007 University High graduate, shot 6 of 7 from the floor – including 3 of 4 from behind the 3-point line – and also had eight rebounds, four assists and two steals for Tennessee (7-0).

“Tonight she showed us what she can do and showed that she can help us,” Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt said. “Her stat line was impressive. She had some good post feeds and she played with composure.”

Summitt was particularly happy with Bjorklund’s rebounding, an area where Tennessee has faltered of late.

“We took the tape from the last game and she recognized the fact that she did not go to the boards,” Summitt said. “That was a real priority for her tonight. I think it’s encouraging when you can shoot as well as we did tonight and still get 13 offensive boards.”

Candace Parker scored 14 points as Old Dominion fell to 6-3.

(2) Connecticut 75, Virginia 45: At Hartford, Conn., Tina Charles scored 18 points and Brittany Hunter added 14 as the Huskies (7-0) beat the Cavaliers (6-4).

(3) Maryland 74, Middle Tennessee 69: At College Park, Md., Kristi Toliver scored 19 points and started a late 11-0 run to help the Terrapins (11-1) hold off the Blue Raiders (3-4).

(9) Oklahoma 77, Illinois 67: At Champaign, Ill., Courtney Paris had 22 points and 14 boards and the Sooners (6-2) beat the Illini (6-3).

Men

(4) Texas 88, North Texas 72: At Austin, Texas, D.J. Augustin had 29 points and 10 assists and the Longhorns ran their record to 8-0 with a win over the Mean Green (5-2).

(5) Georgetown 70, Alabama 60: At Birmingham, Ala., DaJuan Summers had 18 points and nine rebounds and the Hoyas (6-0) dominated down the stretch to beat the Crimson Tide (4-3).

(12) Pittsburgh 73, Duquesne 68: At Pittsburgh, Levance Fields scored four consecutive points in the final minute and the Panthers (8-0) held off a frantic rally by the rival Dukes (6-2).

(18) Clemson 82, East Carolina 67: At Greenville, N.C., freshman Terrence Oglesby hit six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 22 points to lead the Tigers (8-0) over the Pirates (3-5).

(20) BYU 72, Weber State 57: At Provo, Utah, Trent Plaisted had 14 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead the Cougars (7-1) past the Wildcats (2-5).

(21) Xavier 79, Creighton 66: At Cincinnati, Drew Lavender scored 17 first-half points and the Musketeers (7-1) beat the Bluejays (5-1).

(23) Vanderbilt 83, Wake Forest 80: At Nashville, Tenn., A.J. Ogilvy made a hook shot with 30 seconds to play and then hit two free throws to seal the win for the Commodores (8-0) over the Demon Deacons (5-2).