Vaughn, Carson Lead No. 18 Rutgers Past Penn State
Nov 24 | Women's Basketball
ST. THOMAS, V.I. - Junior Essence Carson (Paterson, N.J.) had 16 points and sophomore Kia Vaughn (Bronx, N.Y.) just missed a double-double, scoring nine points and grabbing 11 rebounds, to lead No. 18/18 Rutgers to a 57-44 victory over Penn State in the nightcap of the 2006 Paradise Jam at the University of the Virgin Islands.
Freshman guard Epiphanny Prince (Brooklyn, N.Y.) posted her fourth straight game in double figures, registering 13 points and adding four assists. The Scarlet Knights (2-2) face Arizona State (13 AP/12 USA Today/ESPN Coaches') at 8:30 p.m EST on Saturday, November 25 in the championship game of the tournament.
After jumping out to a 5- 0 lead, the Scarlet Knights stretched the advantage to ten points (13-3) following a three-pointer from Carson just over nine minutes into the first half. The Lady Lions fought back, closing to five before Prince tallied Rutgers' next six points to build a 19-8 lead with 6:40 left in the half.
The Scarlet Knights would falter in the closing minutes of the half, turning the ball over five times and converting just one of four field goals to close the stanza. Penn State capitalized on RU's miscues, behind a barrage of three-pointers. The Lady Lions had five field goals in the half, all coming from 3-point range as Rutgers took a 22-21 lead into the locker room.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first stanza with Rutgers shooting 34.8 percent to Penn State's 29.4 percent clip.
In a game of cat and mouse, the Scarlet Knights pushed ahead 32-25 on a lay-up from Vaughn with 13:01 showing. The cushion was short-lived as RU would miss its next four field goals over the next two and half minutes allowing Penn State to pull within two (33-31).
A baseline trey from junior Katie Adams (Ogden, Utah) and a pair of free throws pushed RU's lead back to seven (38-31) with 8:03 to play. The Lady Lions, once again, would not go away quietly as two baskets in the paint quickly pulled them within reach at 38-35.
Key defensive rebounds by Vaughn coupled with some timely field goals would allow Rutgers to grab its first double digit lead of the game. A lay-up from Myia McCurdy (Cincinnati, Ohio) at the 4:31 mark capped off a 9-0 run to give the Scarlet Knights a 47-35 lead, one they would never relinquish.
GAME NOTES:
All-Time Versus PSU
Rutgers has a 20-18 all-time record against the Lady Lions after its victory on Friday evening. The win ended a two game skid for the Scarlet Knights in the series.
Turnovers Equal Points
The Scarlet Knights forced Penn State into 21 turnovers in Friday's contest. RU scored 21 points off the Lady Lions' miscues.
Sophomore Kia Vaughn just missed her third double-double of the season, scoring nine points and registering 11 rebounds. The contest marks the third double digit rebound effort of the short year for the second-year player. Vaughn has 10 double digit rebounds games in her career and has now paced the team in the boards in 19 career games.
Vaughn had 11 of the team's 26 total boards in the game.
Freshman Epiphanny Prince is the only player who has registered double figure scoring in every contest this season.
Friday's contest marked the first time this season Rutgers, known for its stingy defense, held an opponent under 50 points. Last season, the Scarlet Knights held an opponent to 50 or fewer points in 13 games and finished second nationally in scoring defense.
Rutgers shot 58.6 percent from the free throw line (17-for-29), the lowest clip since March 6, 2006. The Scarlet Knights shot 46.2 percent in a BIG EAST semifinal loss to West Virginia.
