Oregon Schools

Oregon youngsters with dyslexia and other learning disabilities will be able to use computers with spell-check features and get other help on statewide tests under a settlement just announced. The settlement with a group of Oregon parents who sued the state will affect fewer than 4,000 students, said Wayne Neuburger, Oregon's associate superintendent for assessment and education. The parents had alleged that the state tests violated the Americans With Disabilities Act.

USC evened its record in the Pacific 10 Conference with a 59-51 victory over Oregon State on Sunday at the Galen Center. The victory was the third consecutive for the Trojans (9-7, 3-3 in Pac-10), who defeated Oregon in double overtime Friday. Oregon State (6-7, 1-3) was within two, at 50-48, when Beavers guard Casey Nash, the Pac-10's leading scorer, was called for her fifth foul with 4:26 left. The Trojans, led by Jamie Hagiya's 14 points, then pulled away.

USC enters a pivotal stretch this week as it plays host to Oregon and Oregon State, two teams chasing it in the Pacific 10 Conference men's basketball standings. If the Trojans can maintain or improve upon their sixth-place conference standing, they would receive a first-round bye next month in the conference tournament. With a 7-7 conference record, USC leads Oregon (6-9) by 1 1/2 games, Washington State (4-10) by three games and Oregon State (4-11) and Arizona State (4-11) by 3 1/2 games.

Shanna Daniels scored 18 points and Chelle Flamoe added 16 to lead the Oregon State women's basketball team to a 81-58 victory over UCLA Friday night at Corvallis, Ore. Rachelle Roulier led UCLA scorers with 15 points. The Bruins are 9-9 overall and 5-3 in the Pacific 10. Center Stefanie Kasperski scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Oregon defeated USC, 71-56, at Eugene, Ore. USC was led by forwards Cherie Nelson and Karon Howell, who each scored 13 points.

The Craven twins' fate for USC's last trip of the regular season -- at Oregon and Oregon State next week -- will be decided Friday by the Pacific 10 Conference's compliance and enforcement committee. Because of "incidents" with California's Richard Midgley on Saturday, Derrick and Errick Craven had been suspended initially by the Pac-10 for Wednesday night's game against UCLA.

The USC women's basketball team won its seventh consecutive Pacific 10 home game, defeating Oregon, 80-71, Friday night at Lyon Center. Molly Keenan and Tammy Story each scored 17 points to lead the Trojans (10-6, 4-2), who play host to Oregon State Sunday at 1 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m. UCLA 66, Oregon State 55--Natalie Williams scored 20 points and had 13 rebounds to lead the Bruins (9-7, 4-2) over the Beavers in a Pac-10 game at the John Wooden Center.

Michael Abraham fidgets on a steel bunk, unable to sleep because of the chain-saw snoring and suffocating flatulence of three fellow inmates sharing a tiny cubicle with him in federal prison. His wife and two small children are biding time at his parents' home 80 miles away in Portland. His once-promising career as a women's college basketball coach is in ruins. But Abraham, 41, knows it could be much worse.

MEN St. Mary's 88, at Pepperdine 71: The Waves (7-15, 3-3 West Coast Conference) lost for the first time at home in conference play despite 24 points from Keion Bell. The Gaels are 18-3, 5-1. at Loyola Marymount 68, San Diego 65: Kevin Young scored a season-high 21 points as the Lions (11-11, 2-4 WCC) rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat the Toreros (8-14, 1-5). UC Davis 60, at UC Riverside 50: Kyle Austin had 22 points for the Highlanders (8-12, 2-6 Big West)

Larry Toner, a longtime Servite High School assistant basketball coach and freshman football coach, has resigned, school officials said. Toner, who taught 15 years at Servite, has taken a teaching job at a private school in Beaverton, Ore. Although there were several factors Toner left, the most important one may have been Toner's desire to find a less expensive place for his family to live, according to Leo Hand, Servite football coach.

Less than two weeks before the NCAA tournament pairings will be set, UCLA's senior leaders are acknowledging a powerful analogy: Though this 10th-ranked Bruin team has a long way to go (beginning tonight at Pauley Pavilion against Oregon State) its style and maturity--and run of triumph in the wake of defeat--is strikingly evocative of the 1995 national title team.