Depaul

The "L-Train" - La Salle all-American Lionel Simmons - pulled into this Midwest depot yesterday, all spruced up for a rare appearance on network television. But while the camera's eye focused on the brilliant Simmons, America also learned that those weren't just a group of porters the 6-foot-7 senior brought along with him. Putting together one of its most complete performances during Simmons' Reign of Terror, La Salle (3-0) blew away DePaul, 83-62, to hand the Blue Demons (3-3)

There were enough big plays, good plays and just plain old hustle to fill two games when DePaul and Kansas met last night in the first round of the NCAA East Regional at Wake Forest University's Lawrence Joel Coliseum. In fact, the teams needed more than regulation to decide the matter and, as always, the biggest and best play was the one that sealed the win. Kansas forward Kenny Gregory, who had been a thorn in DePaul's side all night with 11-for-12 shooting from the floor, came up with a block of a Quentin Richardson jumper in the waning seconds of overtime, and the Jayhawks held on for the 81-77 victory.

With its surprising victory over Georgetown on Sunday, DePaul struck a blow for the dwindling number of Division I independents. Until that victory by the Blue Demons at Landover, Md., there was a strong possibility that the NCAA could hand out the 64 bids to its postseason tournament on March 10 without tendering a single invitation to an independent. And why should it? Looking at the records of the 17 independent major- college programs through Monday night, only five were at or above .500.

The structure of Division I college basketball continued to change yesterday with the official creation of the Great Midwest. The formation of the NCAA's 34th conference ends DePaul's independent status. The Blue Demons join Alabama-Birmingham, Cincinnati, Marquette, Memphis State and St. Louis University in the non-football conference, which will begin play in the 1991-92 season. It may also mean the end of the Metro Conference, which now has only four members after the defection of Cincinnati and Memphis State in addition to departures by Florida State (to the Atlantic Coast Conference)

TAYLOR HOLEMAN and Rachel Roberts each notched career-high point totals as Villanova topped visiting DePaul, 65-45, in a women's Big East game Wednesday. Roberts scored 19 points and Holeman added 14 to lead the Wildcats (12-2, 2-0), who shot only 3-for-25 from the arc. Holeman tied a school record by not missing in seven attempts from the field, tying the mark set by Trish Juhline vs. Connecticut in 2002. Devon Kane added 10 points for Villanova, which shot 67 percent on two-point attempts and led by as many as 24 points late in the game.

Gwen Jackson scored 17 points and Kara Lawson added 14 last night to lead No. 2 Tennessee (8-0) past DePaul, 80-66, in Chicago. Laura Sobieszczyk led DePaul (6-5) with 18 points. Georgia 72, Oakland (Michigan) 51 - Christi Thomas and Kara Braxton scored 16 points apiece for 10th-ranked Georgia (8-0), which used a decided height advantage to win in Rochester, Mich. Stanford 81, Arizona 57 - Kelley Suminski scored 24 points to lead No. 6 Stanford in Tucson, Ariz. The Cardinal (9-1)

Khara Smith scored 24 points and Charlene Smith had 20 to lead 22d-ranked DePaul to a 101-63 victory over Loyola of Chicago yesterday in Chicago. Ashley Luke added 13 points and Jenni Dant 10 for DePaul (11-1). The Blue Demons outshot Loyola by 50 percent to 37 percent. Meskhenet Lands paced Loyola (4-6) with 18 points. Emily Ponder added 10. The game was one-sided from the start. DePaul led by 56-23 at halftime.

Boo Harvey's 15-foot jumper at the buzzer gave St. John's a 53-52 victory over DePaul in the semifinals of the preseason National Invitation Tournament last night. The Redmen (No. 25 AP preseason poll) appeared on the way to defeat in the final seconds as they desperately tried to foul while DePaul passed and dribbled the ball at its end. Finally, just before he was fouled, DePaul guard Melvon Foster was called for traveling, giving St. John's possession with 5.7 seconds left. After a timeout, Harvey took the inbounds pass and drove three-quarters of the court for the winning jumper, giving St. John's a berth in Friday's final against the winner of the UNLV-Kansas semifinal, also played last night.

It was hardly the ending Mike Sacca had envisioned. The Bishop Eustace softball coach took his Crusaders into yesterday's NJSIAA Parochial B state championship game against DePaul with a major chink in his armor. Sacca's top pitcher, Jen Bertolino, had hurled a two-hitter in Tuesday's South Jersey championship win over Gloucester Catholic. Then, on Wednesday, she suffered torn cartilage in her throwing shoulder while pitching in a recreational league game. Bertolino spent yesterday afternoon at Trenton State with a sling on her arm, and her teammates spent it losing to DePaul, 13-2.

Jeff Luechtefeld matched his career-high of 15 points and host St. Louis overcame poor shooting in the second half to beat DePaul, 54-47, last night to advance to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament. The Billikens will play the winner of the Hawaii-New Mexico game in the NIT semifinals on Monday night at New York's Madison Square Garden. The championship game is scheduled for Wednesday. St. Louis (20-11) made just four of 14 field goals in the second half but never trailed in the game as the Blue Demons (20-15)

When: Tuesday through Saturday. Where: Madison Square Garden, New York. TV: ESPNU (Tuesday), ESPN2 (Wednesday), ESPN (Wednesday through Saturday). City Six: Villanova is the No. 7 seed and meets No. 10 St. John's at 7 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN2) in the second round. The quarterfinals are Thursday (noon, 2, 7 and 9 p.m.), semifinals Friday (7 and 9) and championship game Saturday (8:30). First round: Seton Hall vs. South Florida, 7 p.m.; Rutgers vs. DePaul, 9 p.m. - Joe Juliano

Elena Delle Donne scored 24 points, Danielle Parker reached 1,000 career rebounds, and No. 16 Delaware scored the first 16 points to defeat Georgia State, 86-58, on Wednesday night in its regular-season finale in Newark, Del. Parker, playing in her school-record 138th game, had 12 rebounds, and Lauren Carra scored 15 points for the Blue Hens (26-3, 17-0 Colonial Athletic Association), who set a school record with their 22d consecutive victory, surpassing a mark set last season. The Blue Hens' last loss was by 69-53 to Maryland on Dec. 20. Kendra Long scored 14 points and Cody Paulk had 12 for the Panthers (13-16, 5-13)

Missing its best player, Duke didn't skip a beat in a surprisingly easy victory over a ranked conference foe. Elizabeth Williams scored 16 points and the No. 5 Blue Devils shook off the absence of injured point guard Chelsea Gray to beat No. 8 Maryland, 75-59, on Sunday in College Park, Md. Alexis Jones added 15 points for the 26-1, 16-0 Blue Devils, who won their 10th straight game, clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title,...

Host Oklahoma held off No. 5 Kansas, 72-66, Saturday to give the Jayhawks their first three-game losing streak in eight years. Both teams got out to a crisp start, but the problem for Kansas was at the other end. The Sooners (15-7, 6-4 Big 12) hit 15 of their first 25 shots and jumped out to an insurmountable lead. Kansas (19-4, 7-3) had the nation's longest winning streak at 18 games - and was ranked No. 1 - before losing three straight for the first time since February 2005.

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Ryan Arcidiacono said he had a simple solution after hitting just one of his first six shots on Tuesday against DePaul. "I just kept shooting," said the Wildcat freshman. "Once the first one went in, in the second half, I thought everything was going in. " Arcidiancono collected a game-high 23 points and five teammates scored in double figures as the Wildcats claimed a 94-71 Big East blowout win at Allstate Arena. Villanova (14-9, 5-5) sprinted from a 40-40 halftime tie - including scores on 11 of its first 12 possessions - to eventually overwhelm the hosts.

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Villanova learned Tuesday night that basketball can be an easy game when the five players on the floor simply make an extra pass or two. Two days after poor and rushed shots led to a deflating home defeat against Providence, the Wildcats conducted a near-clinic in the second half against DePaul, erupting for 54 points on 68.8 percent shooting and rolling to a 94-71 rout of the Blue Demons at Allstate Arena. This hardly looked like the same team. Villanova (14-9, 5-5 Big East)

Villanova led from start to finish Wednesday night in a 65-45 Big East win over visiting DePaul that ended the Blue Demons' win streak at six games. Rachel Roberts scored a career-high 19 points for the Wildcats (12-2, 2-0 Big East), while the Blue Demons fell to 12-4 and 1-1. Richard Stockton 86, Rowan 50 - Che'Na Thompson (Salem) scored 18 points, including the 1,000th of her career, in the Ospreys' New Jersey Athletic Conference win over the host Profs (4-11, 0-7 NJAC)

TAYLOR HOLEMAN and Rachel Roberts each notched career-high point totals as Villanova topped visiting DePaul, 65-45, in a women's Big East game Wednesday. Roberts scored 19 points and Holeman added 14 to lead the Wildcats (12-2, 2-0), who shot only 3-for-25 from the arc. Holeman tied a school record by not missing in seven attempts from the field, tying the mark set by Trish Juhline vs. Connecticut in 2002. Devon Kane added 10 points for Villanova, which shot 67 percent on two-point attempts and led by as many as 24 points late in the game.

The college sports world reconfigured yet again Saturday - and the local college scene realigned - when Villanova and six other schools officially informed the Big East they will withdraw from the conference. For Villanova, the move ends a decades-long partnership with the Big East, a conference that had become an unrecognizable amalgamation of schools scattered around the country because of marquee defections and a mass of additions. With new additions from North Carolina to California, few outside the league offices could even say which teams would be in the league in a particular year.

JEREMY LAMB scored 25 points and Ryan Boatright added 19 to lead Connecticut to an 81-67 victory over DePaul in the first of four Big East Tournament first-round games at New York's Madison Square Garden yesterday. The ninth-seeded Huskies, the defending Big East Tournament and national champion, had coach Jim Calhoun back on the bench for the second game. He had back surgery just 8 days ago after missing eight games, of which the ninth-seeded Huskies (19-12) won only three. Cleveland Melvin and Moses Morgan both had 19 points for the 16th-seeded Blue Demons (12-19)