Sunday Texas Sports Notes: Spurs sign D-League guard Ahearn

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs signed guard Blake Ahearn on Sunday, adding a new face in the backcourt with Tony Parker still recovering from a sprained ankle.

The Spurs signed the 6-foot-2 Ahearn from the Dakota Wizards of the NBA D-League. He played in 12 games for Miami last season, averaging 5.8 points and 1.6 assists.

San Antonio made room for Ahearn by waiving guard Desmon Farmer. The rookie had not played since going 2-for-9 in the Nov. 7 game against Miami, when Parker suffered the injury that's expected to keep him out until next month.

Sydor back to Stars as Penguins get Boucher

PITTSBURGH - Darryl Sydor returned to the Dallas Stars on Sunday in a trade of veteran defensemen that sent Philippe Boucher to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The 36-year-old Sydor played with Dallas from 1995-2003, winning the Stanley Cup with the Stars during the 1998-99 season and appearing in the finals again the following season.

He was dealt to Columbus in July 2003 before being traded to Tampa Bay in January 2004, where he helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup that season.

The 35-year-old Boucher has three assists and 15 penalty minutes in 16 games this season. A former All-Star defenseman, Boucher is six points short of 300 in his career.

Sydor was held out of nine of the Penguins' 17 games this season, getting one goal and one assist in eight games. Last season, he was scratched for nearly two months before playing the final four games of the Stanley Cup finals against Detroit.

"I didn't wanted to go out the way so many old guys have, not that I consider myself an old guy - I'm only 36," Sydor said. "It was a matter of numbers here. It was a matter of young guys playing well. I wanted to extend my career, and that wasn't going to happen here."

Sydor signed with Pittsburgh before the 2007-08 season. He had one goal and 12 assists in 74 regular-season games, only to be benched for the first three rounds of the playoffs.

"I was never really told why I wasn't playing," Sydor said. "I proved to myself that I could still play (against Detroit). It was pretty gratifying to know that after missing 60-some days, I could step in against a great team and still have success."

Boucher, who played for the Kings from 1994-2002 before joining the Stars, has 20 or more points in five of the past six seasons.

Both players count about $2.5 million toward the salary cap and are eligible for free agency next summer.

-- Alan Robinson

Report: Armstrong to meet Tour de France officials

MILAN, Italy - Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong plans to meet with Tour officials before deciding to compete in the 2009 race.

The Gazzetta dello Sport reported Sunday that Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong's team director at Astana, said the pair had asked for a meeting.

"The decision will be made down the road, after having talked with the organizers. We have asked for a meeting," Bruyneel told the Italian newspaper.

Armstrong announced his comeback from a three-year retirement in September and joined the Astana team. Bruyneel teamed with Armstrong for all seven Tour de France wins from 1999-2005.

Armstrong has feuded for years with Tour officials over drug-testing issues, but Tour director Christian Prudhomme has said the Astana team will be allowed to race next year. Astana was banned from this year's Tour because of doping issues.

Prudhomme could not be reached to confirm the request for a meeting.

Previously, Armstrong had expressed doubts over whether he would try for another Tour title because of the problems he might encounter with French organizers, journalists and fans.

"I don't expect everyone in France to be friendly, but there should at least be a serene atmosphere," Bruyneel said. "Anyhow, Lance is accustomed to finding motivation out of anger and grudges."

Armstrong is scheduled to race the Giro d'Italia for the first time. The 100th anniversary edition of the Giro is scheduled for May 9-31. The Tour de France starts July 4.

Armstrong is expected to begin his comeback at the Tour Down Under in Australia on Jan. 20-25, then ride the Tour of California.

He also will enter the Criterium International and Tour of Flanders classic, Bruyneel said.

No. 19 Baylor knocks off No. 2 Stanford 81-65

WACO - Rachel Allison was hurt and embarrassed walking off the court following a lopsided loss to Stanford last season.

That was all the motivation she needed Sunday in a rematch with the Cardinal.

Allison scored 20 of her 25 points in the first half and Jhasmin Player added 14 to help No. 19 Baylor beat No. 2 Stanford 81-65.

"Last year broke our heart," Allison said of Stanford's 87-63 win last Dec. 16. "It's good we have so many returning players who remembered how it felt. We just played off emotion."

Baylor (2-0) trailed for only seconds against Stanford, which lost in the title game last season to Tennessee. The Lady Bears had never beaten an opponent ranked this high in the regular season.

Allison kept Baylor ahead early with her shooting, and Danielle Wilson's defense on Stanford standout center Jayne Appel helped the Lady Bears extend a one-point halftime lead in the second half.

"They were on a mission," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "They didn't like what happened last year and wanted payback. They were fired up and got after it. More power to them."

Allison hit 7-of-9 shots in the first half and finished three points short of her career-high.

Player picked up the slack with 12 points in the second half, and Wilson finished with six blocked shots.

"Rachel set the tone early and everyone else gained confidence off that." Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said.

Jeanette Pohlen scored 14 points for Stanford (1-1), which shot 38 percent from the floor and 59 percent from the foul line.

Appel, who averaged 15 points and nine rebounds last season, was held to seven points on 3-of-11 shooting.

VanDerveer said Appel isn't yet at full strength after suffering shoulder and knee injuries in the offseason. The longtime Stanford coach was critical of Appel and fellow post player Kayla Pedersen, who finished with six points.

"I was disappointed with our inside game," VanDerveer said. "I thought we could have done a better job finishing inside."

Kelli Griffin scored 13 points, Wilson had 12 and Melissa Jones chipped in with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Bears, who have won 59 of their last 64 home games.

"We tried to tell the team all week that we're good enough to win this game and we're going to win this game," Player said. "We just tried to be as confident as we could and we pulled it off."

Wilson sparked a 7-0 run with a jumper and then finished it off with a putback that put the Lady Bears ahead 63-49 with 6:51 left.

Stanford did not get any closer than 10 the rest of the way.

The Lady Bears haven't lost a regular-season home contest since dropping one to Purdue on Nov. 19, 2006.

Baylor led by one and halftime and came out with a 9-2 run in the first 3:20 of the second half.

Wilson scored twice, Allison hit a layup and Jones added a 3-pointer that put the Lady Bears up 45-37.

The Cardinal crept within 49-44 on Lindy La Rocque's 3-pointer. Stanford struggled offensively in the second half hitting just 9-of-30 shots from the floor.

The Lady Bears led by as much as seven points in the first half before Stanford closed with a 12-6 run to come within 36-35 at halftime.

-- David Jimenez

Arriaran leads Texas over Saint Mary's 110-76

AUSTIN - Erika Arriaran scored 21 points to lead No. 13 Texas to a 110-76 win over Saint Mary's 110-76 in the second round of the World Vision Classic on Sunday.

Kathleen Nash and Brittainey Raven each had 20 points and Ashley Lindsay added 15 for the Longhorns. Carla Cortijo also had 12 assists.

The Longhorns used a 20-4 run in the first half to open up a 22-point lead and never looked back. They led 52-36 at halftime and Saint Mary's was unable to pull any closer in the second half.

Ashlee Smith scored 17 points and Katie Batlin added 11 for Saint Mary's. Louella Tomlinson grabbed 10 rebounds. St. Mary's was without its leading scorer Jontelle Smith.

Texas will take on No. 25 Old Dominion and Saint Mary's will play Dayton in the final round on Monday.

White helps No. 11 Texas A&M hold off Pitt

BATON ROUGE, La. - Tyra White scored 13 points to help No. 11 Texas A&M beat Pittsburgh 56-50 on Sunday in the State Farm Women's Tip-Off Classic.

Sydney Colson added 12 points and Danielle Gant had nine points and 13 rebounds for the Aggies (2-0).

Shavonte Zellous scored 23 points to lead Pittsburgh (0-1). She was just 3-for-16 from the field, however Zellous was 14-for-16 from the free throw line.

Taneisha Harrison was the only other Pitt player in double figures with 12 points, but she also had seven turnovers.

Seals scores 21 in Texas Tech win

LUBBOCK - Dominic Seals scored 21 points to lead Texas Tech to an 82-69 win over Washington State on Sunday.

Jordan Barncastle recorded her first double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, both career highs. Tilmila Martin also scored 14 points for the Lady Raiders (2-0).

Katie Appleton led Washington State with 17 points and six rebounds. Rosie Tarnowski had 16 points and six rebounds, and Jazmine Perkins scored 12 points.

The game featured 17 lead changes and 13 ties.

Washington State led 37-36 at halftime, but Texas Tech outscored the Cougars 46-32 in the second half. The Lady Raiders went on a 24-11 run in the last nine minutes to pull away for the win.

Texas Tech outrebounded the Cougars 43-35.

Ebonee Coates, April Cook and Heather Molzen all fouled out for Washington State (0-1).

Illinois wins 72-53 over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Mike Davis scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, both career highs, to lead Illinois past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 72-53 Sunday.

Illinois (2-0) built its lead through stingy defense, putting together a 15-0 run as the Islanders (1-1) endured a 10-minute first-half scoring drought.

Trent Meacham added 14 for the Illini. Kevin Palmer and Filip Toncinic paced the Islanders with 10 points apiece.

The Islanders trailed 28-12 at intermission.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi kept pace with the Illini after the break, but had no answer for the athletic Davis. The sophomore forward shattered his previous career highs of 10 points and five rebounds.

Also attending the game were Michael Jordan, father of Illini guard Jeff Jordan who notched four assists, and Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, a high school teammate of Islanders guard Tim Green.