Rutgers Rallies to Defeat Miami 65-56
Feb 04 | Women's Basketball
Pondexter’s 21 points led the team and she also contributed six rebounds and seven assists. One of the keys to the victory was the play of sophomore forward Mariota Theodoris (Riviera Beach, FL), as she came off the bench to record a season-high nine points and tie her career high with eight rebounds. She also hit some clutch free throws in the second half, going 5-of-6 (.833) from the line.
Rutgers led just once in the first half, trailing by as many as nine before Mauri Horton (Minneapolis, MN) hit a jumper to cut the lead to 32-25 at the half. Miami came out strong in the second half and built the lead to 12, the biggest lead of the game, before Rutgers mounted their comeback.
Horton finished the game with seven points, while junior Dawn McCullouch (Long Beach, CA) added 11 points and three rebounds. Shalicia Hurns (Indianapolis, IN) pulled down 11 rebounds and added eight points.
The Scarlet Knights will return to action on Sunday, Feb. 9, at Seton Hall. The game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES
Down at the Half:
The seven-point halftime deficit (32-25) Rutgers faced this evening was the
largest the Scarlet Knights have seen on their home court this season. The seven
points also marked the fourth-largest halftime deficit faced by Rutgers this
season. The most RU has been down by at the break during the 2002-03 season
was 13 points at Texas Tech (Jan. 2, 2003).
Comeback Kids:
Miami led by as many as 12 points in the second half, but RU came back, taking
its largest lead at the close of the game. Rutgers took its first lead of the
second half on a layup by Dawn McCullouch at 8:19, making the score 51-50 in
favor of the Knights. A free throw by Miami’s Meghan Saake tied the game
at 51-51, but a jumper by Cappie Pondexter at the 6:57 mark gave RU the lead
for good, 53-51. Rutgers went on to finish with its largest lead of the night,
the nine-point margin of victory (65-56).
A Night for Mariota:
Sophomore Mariota Theodoris had her best game of the season tonight. She eclipsed
her free-throw shooting mark, going 5-of-6 (.833) from the line. Her eight rebounds
tied her career high, which she achieved six times last season. Incidentally,
the last time she pulled down eight boards was against Miami on Jan. 26, 2002.
The nine points she scored this evening were a season best and one point shy
of tying her career high of 10 from St. John’s Jan. 30, 2002.
Cappie’s 20:
For the seventh time this season, sophomore Cappie Pondexter passed the 20-point
mark, scoring 21 tonight against the Hurricanes. It also marked the 10th consecutive
game that she has scored in double-digits and her second consecutive 20-point
outing. Even more impressive, Pondexter only had two points at halftime, shooting
6-of-10 (.600) from the field and 6-of-7 (.857) from the line in the second
half to score 19 points. Pondexter also contributed a team-high seven assists
and three steals.
Hurns Pulls it Down:
For the fourth consecutive game, junior Shalicia Hurns led the team in rebounding,
pulling down 11 rebounds against Miami. Hurns leads the team in rebounding,
averaging 6.2 rebounds. This season, 35 of her 62 rebounds (.565) have been
offensive, including seven this evening. The 11 rebounds also ties her season
high, which she pulled down in her debut at Texas Tech (Jan. 2) and again against
St. John’s (Jan. 25).
Horton for Three:
With her one three-point field goal made, senior Mauri Horton took sole possession
of fourth place on the Rutgers career three-point field goals made list with
101. Coming into tonight’s game, she was tied with Liz Hanson (1992-96)
and is now in pursuit of third place, held by former teammate Shawnetta Stewart
(1997-2000) with 144.
Hold Them Down:
Rutgers continues to dominate its opponents on defense. In 10 of its 13 victories,
Rutgers has held its opponents to less than 60 points, including tonight’s
56 points scored by Miami. In RU’s 13 victories, its opponents averaged
only 53.1 points per game. At home, the Scarlet Knights are 8-0 this season
and when playing in the Louis Brown Athletic Center, Rutgers’ opponents
only average 49.4 points per game, while Rutgers scores an average of 70.8 points
at home.
Official Basketball Box Score
Miami, FL vs Rutgers
02/04/03 7:30 pm at Louis Brown Athletic Center
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VISITORS: Miami, FL
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
23 WILKINS, Shaquana... f 1-3 0-0 2-2 3 5 8 3 4 1 4 1 1 30
53 BROUSSARD, Chanivia. f 1-5 0-1 3-4 0 0 0 5 5 0 3 0 2 24
02 JAMES, Tamara....... g 4-9 0-1 6-8 1 6 7 5 14 2 2 0 0 32
10 McCORMICK, Yalonda.. g 8-18 1-4 3-5 0 1 1 3 20 2 6 0 3 40
25 SAAKE, Meghan....... g 2-8 0-2 2-4 3 4 7 2 6 3 1 1 1 37
01 MARINCIC, Tatjana... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 6
03 KNIGHT, Melissa..... 3-7 0-2 1-2 1 3 4 4 7 1 3 1 1 26
34 HARTLAUB, Alicia.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
TEAM................ 3 4 7
Totals.............. 19-51 1-11 17-25 11 23 34 23 56 9 19 3 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-29 41.4% 2nd Half: 7-22 31.8% Game: 37.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-6 0.0% 2nd Half: 1-5 20.0% Game: 9.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-10 80.0% 2nd Half: 9-15 60.0% Game: 68.0% 3
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HOME TEAM: Rutgers
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 HURNS, Shalicia..... f 3-8 0-0 2-5 7 4 11 3 8 2 2 1 1 38
34 CAMPBELL, Michelle.. f 3-8 0-0 1-2 2 2 4 4 7 0 1 0 1 22
15 HORTON, Mauri....... g 3-9 1-2 0-0 2 1 3 4 7 0 4 0 2 21
25 PONDEXTER, Cappie... g 7-16 1-5 6-7 0 6 6 2 21 7 5 1 3 35
32 NEWTON, Chelsea..... g 0-6 0-2 2-3 4 3 7 3 2 3 3 1 2 30
03 LOCKE, Courtney..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
35 McCULLOUCH, Dawn.... 5-13 0-4 1-2 0 3 3 2 11 1 2 0 2 35
42 THEODORIS, Mariota.. 2-4 0-0 5-6 5 3 8 2 9 0 0 1 0 17
55 RICHMAN, Rebecca.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
TEAM................ 4 2 6
Totals.............. 23-64 2-13 17-25 24 25 49 20 65 13 18 4 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-29 34.5% 2nd Half: 13-35 37.1% Game: 35.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-6 16.7% 2nd Half: 1-7 14.3% Game: 15.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-8 50.0% 2nd Half: 13-17 76.5% Game: 68.0% 2,1
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Officials: June Courteau, Nan Sisk, Tom Danaher
Technical fouls: Miami, FL-None. Rutgers-None.
Attendance: 2210
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Miami, FL..................... 32 24 - 56
Rutgers....................... 25 40 - 65
