Pondexter, Vaughn Lead Rutgers in Rout of Louisville, 80-55
Jan 21 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Three Scarlet Knights scored in double figures, including senior All-American guard Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL), who poured in a game-high 27 points, as the No. 9/9 Rutgers women's basketball team defeated Louisville 80-55 in BIG EAST action on Saturday afternoon at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
Coming off a tough upset loss to No. 21/20 Temple this past Thursday, the Scarlet Knights came into today's game inspired and on fire, as they put together several runs en route to a 41-15 halftime lead.
RU got out to 6-0 lead on a trio of baskets by sophomore guard Katie Adams (Ogden, UT), senior forward Mariota Theodoris (Riviera Beach, FL) and Pondexter. Louisville cut the early lead to three (10-7) before the Scarlet Knights commenced on a 27-1 run to give Rutgers its largest lead of the game (29 points) and make the score 37-8 with 6:04 remaining in the half.
Following a lay-up by sophomore guard Matee Ajavon (Newark, NJ), the Cardinals hit a pair of shots to cut Rutgers' advantage to 39-15, before RU would close the half on an Essence Carson (Paterson, NJ) jumper, giving Rutgers a 41-15 lead going into the locker room.
Pondexter completed the first half with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Ajavon added nine points of her own and four assists. The Scarlet Knights closed the first stanza with each of its five starters scoring at least four points, including Carson, who also had a team-high five assists.
The Cardinals began to chip away at RU's lead in the second half, coming within 14 points with 7:47 remaining in the game (59-45), before the Scarlet Knights would pull away for good on the hot shooting of Pondexter and freshman center Kia Vaughn (Bronx, NY). Vaughn scored all 13 of her points in the second and blocked four shots, while also grabbing a season-high 15 rebounds. Pondexter added 11 of her 27 points in the final half.
Ajavon was the team's second-leading scorer with 14 points and seven assists. Three Scarlet Knights finished with six points, including junior forward Michelle Campbell (Princeton, NJ), Theodoris and Carson, who also added seven rebounds and a career-high eight assists. Theodoris added six rebounds.
Rutgers will return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 24, when it hosts BIG EAST rival Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES
WITH THIS WIN…
Rutgers recorded its 325th all-time victory at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. The Scarlet Knights are 325-69 (.825) when playing at the RAC. During the tenure of Hall of Fame head coach C. Vivian Stringer, the Scarlet Knights are 118-36 (.766) all-time, including a 104-22 (.825) mark since the beginning of the 1997-98 season. RU is 5-1 (.833) at home this season.
SCARLET KNIGHTS CONTINUE TO RUN
Long scoring runs are not unusual for the Scarlet Knights and against the Cardinals, RU did just that. With the score 10-7 at the 14:53 mark in the first half, Rutgers went on a 27-1 run to extend its lead to 29 points (37-8), the largest of the afternoon.
RUTGERS GETS IT DONE IN FIRST HALF
The Scarlet Knights held a 41-15 advantage over Louisville in the first half. It was the most points scored in the first half this season for RU and the 26-point lead was the largest halftime edge for Rutgers this season. Both marks were previously set in RU's 77-41 win against Old Dominion, when the Scarlet Knights led 40-18 at the half.
SCARLET KNIGHTS SHOW OFF ALL-AROUND GAME
Rutgers dominated several categories on its way to an 80-55 victory against Louisville. The Scarlet Knights controlled points in the paint (20-4), points off turnovers (17-5), second-chance points (6-0), fast-break points (12-2) and bench points (9-6).
RUTGERS RECORDS SEASON-HIGH POINT OUTPUT
Rutgers' 80 points against Louisville are the most points scored this season by the Scarlet Knights. RU's previous season high came against Old Dominion, when Rutgers claimed a 77-41 victory over the Lady Monarchs.
PONDEXTER CARRIES SCORING LOAD
With her 27 points against Louisville, senior All-American guard Cappie Pondexter has scored 10 or more points in 22 consecutive games dating back to last season. It also marks the 10th time this season that Pondexter has scored 20 points or more.
More impressively, Pondexter scored 16 of her 27 points in the first half, outscoring the Louisville Cardinals, who managed just 15 points at the half.
VAUGHN MAKES PRESENCE FELT
Freshman center Kia Vaughn dominated the paint for the Scarlet Knights, as she posted her second career double-double. Vaughn ended the game with 13 points (all in the second half) and a career-high 15 rebounds, while also matching her career high of four blocked shots.
CARSON POSTS CAREER HIGH IN ASSISTS
Sophomore guard Essence Carson dished out a career-high eight assists in RU's 80-55 victory against Louisville. Carson also chipped in six points and pulled down seven rebounds.
AJAVON CONTINUES TO PROVIDE SPARK
Sophomore guard Matee Ajavon came off the bench to score 14 points in the Scarlet Knights' victory Saturday afternoon. Ajavon has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games and 11 times this season. Ajavon also recorded seven assists.
ADAMS MAKES MOST OF START
Sophomore guard Katie Adams earned her second start of the season (third of her career) and quickly seized the opportunity, scoring four points in less than three minutes. Adams score her first basket at the 19:02 mark and added her second jumper 2 minutes and 40 seconds later at 16:22. Prior to today's game, Adams had just 10 career points.
Official Basketball Box Score
Louisville vs Rutgers
1/21/06 2:00 p.m. at Louis Brown Athletic Ctr; Piscataway, NJ
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VISITORS: Louisville 13-4, 4-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
31 TAYLOR, Missy....... f 2-7 1-4 0-0 3 0 3 1 5 2 1 0 0 22
12 COVINGTON, Jazz..... c 3-7 1-2 2-3 1 2 3 1 9 1 4 0 1 31
22 HUGGINS, Jessica.... g 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 19
23 NEAL, Connie........ g 3-7 3-7 1-2 0 1 1 2 10 0 1 0 0 18
33 OLSON, Katie........ g 2-7 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 0 5 1 1 1 3 21
03 BARLOW, Patrika..... 3-7 0-1 2-2 0 0 0 3 8 3 1 0 1 20
04 MUSINA, Valeriya.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4
05 TOKOVA, Yuliya...... 1-3 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 3 2 1 1 0 1 16
32 JOHNSON, Helen...... 3-8 2-4 0-0 1 2 3 1 8 2 4 0 0 22
35 McCOUGHTRY, Angel... 3-8 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 3 6 0 2 1 1 18
42 WRIGHT, Chauntise... 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 2 2 0 1 0 0 9
TEAM................ 2 2
Totals.............. 21-56 8-23 5-7 10 13 23 16 55 13 16 2 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 6-28 21.4% 2nd Half: 15-28 53.6% Game: 37.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-11 18.2% 2nd Half: 6-12 50.0% Game: 34.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-2 50.0% 2nd Half: 4-5 80.0% Game: 71.4% 0,1
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HOME TEAM: Rutgers 13-3, 5-0
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 2-4 0-0 2-2 2 0 2 2 6 0 2 0 1 13
42 THEODORIS, Mariota.. f 3-4 0-0 0-0 3 3 6 1 6 0 0 0 1 27
05 CARSON, Essence..... g 3-10 0-0 0-0 2 5 7 1 6 8 3 0 1 39
12 ADAMS, Katie........ g 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 10
25 PONDEXTER, Cappie... g 11-17 2-4 3-3 0 3 3 4 27 4 3 1 2 35
03 LOCKE, Courtney..... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
15 VAUGHN, Kia......... 6-11 0-0 1-2 6 9 15 1 13 0 1 4 1 31
20 REED, Tudy.......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3
21 ZURICH, Heather..... 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1
22 AJAVON, Matee....... 5-10 1-2 3-4 2 1 3 2 14 7 3 1 1 31
40 THRASH, Sammeika.... 1-1 0-0 0-2 0 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 6
TEAM................ 3 3 6
Totals.............. 34-64 3-7 9-13 18 26 44 11 80 20 14 6 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 19-36 52.8% 2nd Half: 15-28 53.6% Game: 53.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 1-2 50.0% Game: 42.9% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-1 100 % 2nd Half: 8-12 66.7% Game: 69.2% 2,1
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Officials: Dennis DeMayo, Kathleen Lynch, Kathy Lonergan
Technical fouls: Louisville-None. Rutgers-PONDEXTER, Cappie.
Attendance: 4759
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Louisville.................... 15 40 - 55
Rutgers....................... 41 39 - 80
