Rutgers Drops BIG EAST Opener at DePaul 87-73
Dec 07 | Women's Basketball
CHICAGO, Ill - Sophomore Kia Vaughn (Bronx, N.Y.) tallied her third double-double of the young season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, but it was not enough as Rutgers (No. 14 AP/No. 12 ESPN/USA Today) dropped an 87-73 decision to No. 18/20 DePaul in the BIG EAST opener for both teams.
Freshman Epiphanny Prince (Brooklyn, N.Y.) paced five players in double-figure scoring with 19 points. Junior Matee Ajavon (Newark, N.J.) andfreshman Brittany Ray (Bronx, N.Y.) had 12 points each. Junior guard Essence Carson (Paterson, N.J.) added 10 for the Scarlet Knights (2-4).
The Blue Demons stretched their win streak to six games, improving to 6-1 on the year. DePaul junior Allie Quigley led all scorers with 37 points, the third-best showing in NCAA Division I this season. Classmate Caprice Smith registered 20 points a game-best 16 rebounds.
With a six-point halftime lead DePaul opened the second half, continuing its hot hand from behind the arc. Caprice Smith nailed a triple and followed it with a lay-up to push the home team to a 59-45 lead with 16:05 remaining. RU used a 14-6 spurt, fueled by a three's from Prince and Matee Ajavon and capped by six-footer by Essence Carson to close to six (65-59).
Quigley again answered the call, pushing it back to nine points before Rutgers ran off seven of the game's next nine points - capped by Ray's fourth three-pointer of the game- to pull to within a pair of field goals, 70-66. Following a DePaul basket to take the lead back to six, Prince hit the first of two from the free throw line to cut the margin to 72-67, but that would be as close as the Scarlet Knights would come.
A three-pointer from Heather Zurich gave Rutgers an early 9-8 lead. DePaul responded, using a 16-4 run to take a 24-13 lead mid-way through the first half. Quigley scored seven of her 19 first half points during the five-minute span.
Prince answered by draining a10-footer and then a 3-pointer from the far side to cut the deficit to six (24-18) with 9:48 left in the first stanza. After DePaul's fourth triple of the half, Rutgers answered with back-to-back treys from Ray and Zurich to close the Scarlet Knights to 27-26. With the teams trading baskets from long-range, Prince tied the contest at 38-38 with 2:57 on the clock, RU's last field goal of the half. DePaul added six unanswered points to take a 44-38 advantage into the locker room.
GAME NOTES
The Scarlet Knights (2-4) hit for a flurry of three-pointers, 12 in total, setting a school record. RU bested the previous mark of 10 reached on three occasions, twice in 1994 and earlier this season versus Florida. Previous program-best of 10: vs. Saint Joseph's, Feb. 26, 1994; vs. Massachusetts, Feb. 28, 1994; vs. Florida on Nov. 18.
The 31 three-point field goals attempted are also a program high. The previous of 28 was recorded versus UMass on Jan. 12, 1995, a 78-67 loss.
The 2-4 start is the slowest start to a season for RU since 1994-95 under Theresa Grentz.
Freshman Epiphanny Prince is the only player for RU this season to register double figures in each contest (6). Her four three-pointers were a season-best for the first-year player.
Sophomore Kia Vaughn tallied her third double-double of the year and sixth of her career (38 games). She has recorded double-digit rebound totals in five of the team's six games.
Junior Matee Ajavon saw her second showing since returning from injury, playing 27 minutes. She scored 12 points, raising her points per game to 13 to two games.
For the second straight game, Rutgers gave up more than 80 points. The last time a Scarlet Knights team gave up 80 or more points to an opponent in two straight contests. was the 1994-95 campaign; a 100-58 loss to Penn State (11/27) and an 88-80 win over Providence. The last time an RU team gave up more than 75 points in back-to-back games was the 1996-97 season; a 76-61 loss at Notre Dame (1/21) and an 84-68 set-back at Seton Hall (1/25)
