PISCATAWAY, N.J. (November 15, 2009) – The No.25-ranked Rutgers women’s basketball team (0-1) fell to No. 2 Stanford (2-0), 81-66 Sunday afternoon in its season opener at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
Senior guard Brittany Ray (Bronx, N.Y.) highlighted the performance for Rutgers with 17 points, the 28th double-digit scoring effort of her career. Sophomore guard Khadijah Rushdan (Wilmington, Del.) chipped in eight points, a career-high nine assists and six rebounds.
Freshman forward Monique Oliver (Las Vegas, Nev.) contributed nine points on 4-of-7 shooting in her first game as a Scarlet Knight.
Four Cardinal players scored in double digits with junior forward Kayla Pederson (22 points) and sophomore forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike (21 points) leading the way. Redshirt junior JJ Hones hit 5-of-11 from behind the arc, adding 15.
Senior center Jayne Appel contributed a double-double for Stanford, scoring 11 points and pulling down 12 boards.
With the loss, the Scarlet Knights drop to 16-3 all-time in home openers and 25-11 overall in season openers. Stanford leads the all-time series by a 5-1 advantage.
Prior to the game, Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer was honored for her enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this past September. Rutgers Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tim Pernetti presented Stringer with a trophy as a banner was unveiled to commemorate the legendary coach’s enshrinement.
Despite multiple second-chance opportunities to start the game, the Cardinal’s poor shooting limited their effort to pull away from the Scarlet Knights in the early going.
Stanford opened the game shooting 3-of-16 from the field but Rutgers could only put together a 9-8 advantage at the 13:27 mark on a jumper by sophomore April Sykes (Starkville, Miss.).
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The Cardinal went on a 9-4 run by hitting three straight three-pointers – by three different players- to jump ahead 17-13 with 11:07 remaining in the first half. The Scarlet Knights retaliated with two quick baskets from sophomore forward Chelsey Lee (Miami Fla.) and Rushdan to knot the score at 17-17.
With the score tied at 22-22 and 6:27 remaining in the first half, RU’s offense fell flat as the Cardinal went on a 15-0 tear highlighted by two of Hones’ four first half treys to stretch Stanford’s lead to 37-22.
Oliver sparked RU’s effort in the closing minutes of the first stanza by scoring her first five points as a Scarlet Knight and helped close the deficit to 10 as Stanford led 39-29 at intermission.
Both teams shot below 40 percent in the first half but six treys and a 29-19 advantage on the boards, including 18 on the offensive end, kept Stanford in control at the midway point.
Stanford’s offensive showcase carried over in the second half as they opened the final period with a 10-2 run to give the Cardinal a 49-31 lead. Pedersen had seven of Stanford’s 10 points during the run.
The Scarlet Knights stole the momentum as five different players keyed a 14-1 run -including six from Ray- to close Stanford’s advantage to 50-45.
The Cardinal increased its lead back to the double digits at 57-47 at 9:47 mark with the help of three baskets from Ogwumike and trailed by no fewer than nine points from that point on.
Rutgers will be back on the hardwood this Tuesday, Nov. 17 when it hosts Kean. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Rutgers Players Postgame Quotes
Senior Guard Brittany Ray
On her team’s performance tonight.
“I think we have a long way to go. It was encouraging that we were down by only five in the second half to the No. 2 team in the country. That shows that we just have to work a little bit harder and focus on the little things, like coach (C. Vivian) Stringer says. We had a lot of unforced turnovers. They weren’t really pressuring us. They killed us on the boards and we fouled them too much. They had 18 (made) free throws. Those are some things we have to work on. This is encouraging actually. Nobody has their heads down. We are just looking to move forward.”
On the play of freshman forward-center Monique Oliver.
Monique did a really great job today. She works very hard in practice. She is always trying to make sure she does everything right in practice. She always wants to impress coach Stringer, even though she makes mistakes. If she keeps working like she is working now she will go a long way. I have a lot of faith in Monique because she is willing to learn and she listens. She learns quickly as well. She will be an extraordinary player when she learns everything.”
Redshirt Sophomore Guard Khadijah Rushdan
On playing point guard.
“We have three point guards right now. Until E (Erica Wheeler) and Nikki (Speed) get more comfortable, coach Stringer is going to have me at the point which is fine. As we move on, I will probably play more at the two spot. Right now, I am going to move back and forth. Whatever they need me to do I will do.”
On playing for the first time without former Scarlet Knight Epiphanny Prince.
“It is different in a way. Now it is more of a whole team. When we had Epiphanny and the shot clock ran down, everybody knew the ball was going to her. It is a good thing because we can come in night in and night out and teams can’t just play and focus on one person. They have to focus on the whole team.”
Stanford Head Coach & Student-Athletes
Coach Tara Van Derveer
On her team’s 81-66 victory over the Scarlet Knights: “This is a tough road trip and I’m really proud of how our team battled. Rutgers always has a great team, they gave us an excellent game and we will get better from playing them. I thought Rutgers played very well. I am proud of our team and how many different people contributed and how Jayne (Appel), Nneka (Nnemkadi Ogwumike) and Kayla (Pedersen) all stepped up big for us.”
“Any time you come here, you are excited to win. This is a big win for our team and I am really proud with the way we played.”
On the strong play of guard JJ Hones (15 points) who is returning from knee surgery: “I really thought JJ was the difference for us today. She made some great decisions, threw some great passes and hit some big shots. She calmed the floor. With her back, it will help Ros (Rosaly Gold-Onwude) and Jeannette (Pohlen) and the rest of our guards.”
On Rutgers’ size and potential: “They looked huge to me. Sometimes our team looks big but I thought they looked even bigger with Chelsey Lee, Rashidat Junaid and Monique (Oliver). It was a challenge for us. They are going to have a great year. Their guards are really talented and (Brittany) Ray can knock down shots.”
Senior center Jayne Appel
On the 50-33 rebounding margin in favor of the Cardinal: “I thought we lost the rebound battle. I think that we still have to hit boards harder. I think with the size that we have and the height that we bring into the game, we can do even better.”
Junior forward Kayla Pedersen
On the importance of JJ Hones playing well: “If she can play under control and distribute the ball and go 5-for-11 from the three-point line, I think we all feed off of that. She’s our rock and makes sure that everybody is composed. The point guard runs the team and she did a great job today.”
POSTGAME NOTES
- No. 25/RV Rutgers opened its 36th season of play with an 81-66 defeat to No. 2/2 Stanford Sunday afternoon at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
- The Scarlet Knights dropped to 16-3 all-time in home openers and 25-11 overall in season openers.
- Stanford leads the all-time series 5-1 as the two teams met Sunday for the third consecutive season.
- For the third time in the last four years, Rutgers opened the season versus a ranked opponent. Two of Rutgers’ three losses in home openers have come versus a ranked Stanford squad. The Cardinal also defeated Rutgers 60-58 on Nov. 11, 2007.
- Senior guard Brittany Ray (Bronx, N.Y.) finished with 17 points, her 28th double-digit scoring effort of her career. It marked the ninth time in her career she led RU in scoring. Ray led Rutgers in scoring seven times a season ago.
- Sophomore guard Khadiajah Rushdan (Wilmington, Del.) dished out a career-high nine assists in 34 minutes of play. She also finished with eight points and six rebounds. The six rebounds were a team-high. It marked the sixth time in Rushdan’s career she has led RU in rebounds.
- Rutgers got 20 points off its bench, led by freshman forward/center Monique Oliver (Las Vegas, Nev.). In her first career game as a Scarlet Knight, Oliver led all RU reserves with nine points in 16 minutes of action.
- The Scarlet Knights shot 55.2% in the second half (16-of-29).
