Defense Keys Rutgers Women's Basketball in Win Over Iowa
Dec 16 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's basketball team (5-4) scored 29 points off 22 Iowa turnovers en route to a 70-53 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes (7-4) on Saturday night at the Louis Brown Athletic Center (RAC).
Freshman Epiphanny Prince (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Scarlet Knights with 18 points, her ninth double-figure performance in as many games. The first-year player added a game and career-best six steals.
Sophomore center Kia Vaughn (Bronx, N.Y.) scored 16 points and grabbed five boards, while rookie Brittany Ray (Bronx, N.Y.) added 14 points, including a 4-of-5 performance from the three-point arc. Freshman forward Myia McCurdy (Cincinnati, Ohio) tied a team-high with six rebounds to go along with six points.
RU caused two turnovers early and moved to a 5-2 lead after Vaughn grabbed an offensive board and completed the old-fashioned three-point play with 17:57 in the first half. Ray nailed a three-pointer from the left baseline to give the Scarlet Knights an 8-2 advantage with 17:35 left in the half.
Following an Iowa basket that made it 8-4, the Scarlet Knights turned up the offensive heart erupting on an 16-2 run. McCurdy scored her second bucket of the night at the 14:05 mark to commence the spurt and junior Matee Ajavon (Newark, N.J.) got a steal and converted the subsequent fast break lay-up to push RU to a 24-6 advantage.
Iowa cut the lead to nine on a three-pointer from Wendy Ausdemore with 3:27 remaining but Ajavon answered with a bucket for Rutgers RU forced a 24-second shot clock violation on the Hawkeyes' next trip down the floor.
Iowa cut the lead back down to eight with 1:45 to play on another triple from Ausdemore, but RU scored on its next two possessions with Ray nailing her second triple and Prince putting up a runner. Vaughn came up with a huge block at the end of the half, securing a 35-22 advantage for the Scarlet Knights at the break.
Rutgers took a comfortable 45-27 lead with 17:03 showing when Prince found Vaughn inside for two plus the foul. Vaughn again, converted the three-point play and on RU's next possession, Ajavon again looked to Vaughn, lobbing it inside to the center who drew the foul and made both free throws to give Rutgers a 47-29 edge.
With 14:54 to play, Ajavon got a steal and went coast-to-coast to put two more points on the scoreboard for the Scarlet Knights, extending the lead to 20 (49-29). McCurdy drove baseline and scored with 11:10 left in the game, followed by a Zurich bank-shot from the left wing on RU's next offensive opportunity.
Iowa cut the lead to 15, but Ray's trey from the right baseline with 5:52 to play and a bucket by Vaughn on the next RU possession, kept RU out in front. After another Hawkeye turnover at the 4:58 mark, Prince got the ball on a fast break and finished the three-point play to give Rutgers a 23-point lead (63-40), its largest of the game.
The Scarlet Knights are idle until Saturday, Dec. 30 and a 2:00 p.m. meeting with Old Dominion. The contest in Norfolk, Va. will be televised by the Comcast Network.
WITH THE WIN'?
Rutgers' 70-53 win over Iowa improved the team's record to 5-4, the first time RU has been over .500 this year. The Scarlet Knights also remain undefeated all-time against Iowa, improving to 2-0 against the Hawkeyes. They are 33-24 (.580) all-time against current members of the Big 10 Conference.
DOUBLE-DIGITS
Freshman guard Epiphanny Prince scored 18 points against the Hawkeyes and has now posted double-digit points in all nine of RU's games, the only Scarlet Knight to do so this season.
Sophomore center Kia Vaughn's streak of consecutive games with a double-double came to an end at three, but she did record her fourth-straight double-digit scoring performance with 16 points against Iowa. It included a 4-of-4 performance from the free throw line. Vaughn has reached double-figures in seven of RU's nine games this season.
OTHER CAREER HIGHS
Freshman forward Myia McCurdy set a career-mark in rebounds with six against Iowa, eclipsing her previous high of five, which she had reached twice this season. McCurdy also tied a career-high with six points in 26 minutes against the Hawkeyes, a mark she had previously reached against Penn State on Nov. 24.
Sophomore forward Heather Zurichalso tied her career-high in points with six against the Hawkeyes, matching her six-point performance against DePaul on Dec. 7. Zurich also played a career-high 34 minutes, surpassing her previous high of 27 set against Ole Miss on Dec. 12. The Montvale, N.J. native also registered a career-best two blocks.
FANTASTIC FOUR
RU's starting lineup of Brittany Ray, Epiphanny Prince, Kia Vaughn, Myia McCurdy, and Heather Zurich was the fourth different starting line-up for the Scarlet Knights this season.
Four different Scarlet Knights scored the team's first four baskets: Zurich, Vaughn, Ray and McCurdy.
THIS AND THAT
Junior Essence Carson was not in the starting lineup for the first time in her career. She suffered a mild concussion and abdominal bruise in RU's win over Ole Miss on Dec. 12.
The Scarlet Knights shot 85 percent from the free throw line, the highest percentage by the team this season. The previous high for Rutgers was a 75 percent performance against Georgia on Nov. 12.
RU's 13-point halftime lead (35-22) was the largest of the season, topping the Scarlet Knights' 11-point halftime lead over Ole Miss on Dec 12.
The Scarlet Knights' 23-point lead at the 4:56 mark in the second half was the team's largest lead of the season, topping RU's previous game-high lead of 20 points, which the Scarlet Knights had reached in two previous games this season.
