No. 17/18 Rutgers Cruises Past Oregon State, 77-53
Nov 26 | Women's Basketball
ST. THOMAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – The No. 17/18 Rutgers women’s basketball team (3-0) outscored Oregon State (1-2) 36-18 in the second half on its way to a 77-53 victory at the University of the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Nov. 26 at UVI’s Sport and Fitness Center on St. Thomas.
The Scarlet Knights blew open a six-point game at halftime (41-35) with a 25-4 run to start the second period, jumping ahead 66-39 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game. The “55” press once again was the spark for the Scarlet Knights, as Rutgers created six steals during the spurt.
RU held the Beavers to 24.1 (7-29) shooting in the second half, scored 28 points off a total of 24 Oregon State turnovers and registered a total of 16 steals. On the other end of the court, the Scarlet Knights shot an efficient 27-of-53 (.509) from the field, marking the third straight game RU has converted better than 50 percent of its field goal attempts, and turned the ball over just 10 times in 40 minutes.
Senior guard Chelsea Newton (Monroe, LA) scored 14 of her team-high 16 points in the first half, making six of eight (.750) field goals, and added four steals. Junior forward Michelle Campbell (Princeton, NJ) collected 13 points and a career-high five steals, while freshmen Matee Ajavon (Newark, NJ) and Tudy Reed (Chicago, IL) each added 12 tallies. Ajavon contributed five rebounds, five assists and three steals without committing a turnover in 29 minutes as the point guard. Senior center Rebecca Richman (Bronx, NY) posted a team-high six rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench, and redshirt junior Mariota Theodoris (Riviera Beach, FL) had five points and two rebounds, making her first start since February of 2003.
The Scarlet Knights will finish play at the Paradise Jam Saturday, Nov. 27, at 4:30 p.m. AST (3:30 p.m. EST) against Kentucky. The game will be carried on WRSU 88.7 FM and will be shown on the Madison Square Garden Network (MSG). A live feed of the radio broadcast will be available on www.scarletknights.com.
POSTGAME QUOTES – C. Vivian Stringer
On the “55” press getting the offense started in the second half:
“The first 10 minutes of the second half, they only scored four points. But in the first half, they had 35. It just really has to be a mindset. It has to be a stingy mindset. We have to get out there and defend the three. Chelsea (Newton) did a much better job of getting into the lanes. The offense starts with the defense, but we didn’t believe it (in the first half) and we just went out there and exchanged baskets. We weren’t being as aggressive as we needed to be.”
On her team’s scoring threats in the first three games:
“If I was a person looking at those numbers, I would say that any one of them is capable of scoring in a big way. I don’t think that we have to force anything. I think that we just have to let it flow.”
Chelsea Newton
On having a different high scorer in each game:
“South Dakota State tripled Michelle (Campbell) after she had 33 points in the first game. Yesterday, Matee had 29 points. In this game, I was the leading scorer. It’s hard to guard our team because we can have different scorers every night.”
On the advantage of this year’s depth:
“It seemed like I was out there for the whole first half, but the second half I was only out there for a few minutes. I only ended up playing 26 minutes. It’s good for our legs. We don’t feel so beat up.”
Official Basketball Box Score
Rutgers vs Oregon State
11/26/04 2:00 p.m.AST at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
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VISITORS: Rutgers 3-0
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
34 CAMPBELL, Michelle.. f 4-5 0-0 5-8 1 2 3 5 13 1 3 0 5 24
42 THEODORIS, Mariota.. f 2-2 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 0 5 0 1 0 0 12
13 JETT, Nikki......... g 2-4 2-4 0-0 0 1 1 2 6 3 1 0 0 27
22 AJAVON, Matee....... g 3-9 0-2 6-8 1 4 5 3 12 5 0 0 3 29
32 NEWTON, Chelsea..... g 6-8 0-0 4-5 1 1 2 1 16 1 0 0 4 26
03 LOCKE, Courtney..... 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 11
05 CARSON, Essence..... 2-7 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0 4 0 0 1 2 19
12 ADAMS, Katie........ 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
20 REED, Tudy.......... 5-11 0-1 2-2 3 0 3 2 12 0 3 1 0 20
52 CAHOE, Aquisha...... 1-1 0-0 1-3 1 1 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 9
55 RICHMAN, Rebecca.... 2-2 0-0 2-2 1 5 6 5 6 1 1 2 0 17
TEAM................ 1 1 2 1
Totals.............. 27-53 2-10 21-30 11 16 27 19 77 14 10 4 16 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-27 51.9% 2nd Half: 13-26 50.0% Game: 50.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-6 33.3% 2nd Half: 0-4 0.0% Game: 20.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 11-15 73.3% 2nd Half: 10-15 66.7% Game: 70.0% 3,1
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HOME TEAM: Oregon State 1-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
12 BUNN, Casey......... f 2-3 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 2 4 0 2 1 1 15
31 RIVERA, Anita....... f 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 0 3 0 0 12
03 DUCKER, Tiffany..... g 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 0 6 3 6 0 3 0 0 23
24 CLOSE, Mandy........ g 2-10 0-0 0-0 3 2 5 1 4 4 1 0 1 32
33 HOWELL, Shannon..... g 5-14 2-7 2-2 1 2 3 1 14 3 2 0 0 29
00 YOUNG, Ebony........ 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 4 2 0 0 0 1 9
14 MELLINGER, Jessica.. 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 18
22 STRANE, Alcha....... 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 8
23 CASEY, Melanie...... 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 7
32 BROSTERHOUS, Kerstin 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 5
42 BUTLER, Kim......... 4-9 1-1 8-9 6 4 10 5 17 0 5 1 2 28
44 VICKERY, Karen...... 1-3 0-0 0-1 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 7
55 BROWN, Brittney..... 1-2 0-0 0-1 1 1 2 1 2 0 1 0 0 7
TEAM................ 5 2 7 1
Totals.............. 20-56 3-8 10-16 24 19 43 22 53 8 24 2 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-27 48.1% 2nd Half: 7-29 24.1% Game: 35.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-6 50.0% 2nd Half: 0-2 0.0% Game: 37.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-9 66.7% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 62.5% 1,2
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Officials: (R) Bonita Spence, (U) Rita Roach, Dee Kanter
Technical fouls: Rutgers-None. Oregon State-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Rutgers....................... 41 36 - 77
Oregon State.................. 35 18 - 53
2004 Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament, Presented by Basketball Travelers.
