Women's Basketball to Play at 2005 Junkanoo Jam
Jun 30 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - The Rutgers women's basketball team will participate in the third-annual Junkanoo Jam Nov. 25-26, 2005, on Grand Bahama Island.
The Scarlet Knights will face North Florida in the Junkanoo Jam Freeport Division's first round Nov. 25 at 8:30 p.m. Iowa State and North Carolina State will meet in the other first-round game (Nov. 25 at 6:00 p.m.), with the consolation game being contested Nov. 26 at 6:00 p.m., followed by the championship game at 8:30 p.m. All games will be played at St. George's High School on Grand Bahama Island.
Rutgers will return nine letterwinners and three starters from a 2004-2005 team that posted a 28-7 overall record and a 14-2 mark in the BIG EAST Conference, earning the Scarlet Knights their first outright BIG EAST regular-season title. RU advanced to the final of the BIG EAST Tournament and the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, and finished seventh in the final WBCA/ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll.
North Florida will be making its Division I debut at the Junkanoo Jam after securing a 13-16 record in the Division II Peach Belt Conference during the 2004-2005 campaign. Iowa State advanced to the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament, compiling a final record of 23-7. The Wolfpack also played in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament, and finished the season with a 21-8 mark.
The 2005 Junkanoo Jam also will feature a four-team Lucaya Division that will include Purdue, George Washington, South Carolina and Texas. Those games will also be contested Nov. 25-26, with tipoff times of 1:00 and 3:30 p.m.
This will mark the second straight Thanksgiving that Rutgers will play in a Basketball Travelers tournament. Last fall, RU won the St. John Division of the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands, defeating South Dakota State 68-50 Nov. 25, Oregon State 77-53 Nov. 26 and Kentucky 75-60 Nov. 27.
