Rutgers Routs TCU to Advance to Sweet Sixteen, 82-48
Mar 21 | Women's Basketball
TRENTON, NJ – Third-seeded Rutgers (27-4) dominated 11th-seeded TCU (19-12), running away with an 82-48 victory in the NCAA Tournament second round March 21 at Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ. Thanks to the win, RU will advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the second straight year, and the eighth time overall in program history.
With the Scarlet Knights’ victory against TCU, Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer picked up her 750th win in her 1,000th Division I game as a head coach (750-250). She joined Tennessee’s Pat Summit (909-175) and Texas’ Jody Conradt (882-292) as the only Division I women’s coaches to reach the milestone.
Finding themselves down by six points (2-8) 2:30 into the game, the Scarlet Knights came alive and put together one of their best offensive performances of the season. Rutgers gained the lead at 13-12 at 11:38 remaining in the first after a layup by freshman Kia Vaughn (Bronx, NY) and never looked back, thanks to back-to-back three-pointers by Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) and Matee Ajavon (Newark, NJ). Shooting a blistering 65.4 (17-26) percent in the first half, the Scarlet Knights held a 41-22 lead at the half.
Plagued by offensive droughts in recent games, RU showed no signs of a letdown against TCU. Starting the second half on a 15-5 run, Rutgers built leads as large as 35 (72-37, 6:12). For the game, the Scarlet Knights hit 55.4 (31-56) percent of their shots overall, 54.5 (6-11) percent of their three-pointers and 73.7 (14-19) percent from the free throw line.
The Scarlet Knights featured a balanced attack as all five starters scored in double figures for first time all season. Pondexter again led the way, putting on a show by shooting 7-of-11 (.636) overall from the floor and 5-for-6 (.833) from beyond the arc to finish with a game-high 24 points. Pondexter also dished out six assists while pulling down four rebounds.
Ajavon shot 7-for-10 (.700) from the field for 18 points. She also dished out a career-high 13 assists and added five rebounds in 36 minutes of action for her first double-double of the season, and second of her career. Classmate Essence Carson (Paterson, NJ) made seven of 12 attempts (.583) for 14 points.
The Rutgers frontcourt duo of senior Michelle Campbell (Princeton, NJ) and Vaughn dominated inside, helping the Scarlet Knights outrebound the Horned Frogs 46-28 and outscoring them 28-10 in the paint. Campbell finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Vaughn tallied her third double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The 34-point victory was the second-largest margin of the season for RU (36, 77-41, vs. Old Dominion Dec. 9). The 82 points were the most for the Scarlet Knights during the 2005-2006 campaign, while the 41 firs-half tallies tied the season high.
The Scarlet Knights will face the Tennessee Volunteers in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals Sunday, March 26. The game will tip off at either 12:00 (ESPN) or 2:30 (ESPN2) p.m. The game will be carried on WCTC 1450 AM and WRSU 88.7 FM, and a live stream of the audio, as well as live statistics, will be available via www.scarletknights.com.
Game Notes
Offensive Outburst
The Scarlet Knights shot a blistering 65.4 (17-26) percent from the field in the first half, which was their best for a half this season. The 41 first-half points also tied for the most first-half points scored by the Scarlet Knights this season, with the other being against Louisville Jan. 21. The 82 total points scored by Rutgers is also the highest output by the team this season, with the previous high coming against Louisville (80).
Familiar Place
After defeating the Horned Frogs, the Scarlet Knights will return to the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive year where they will face Tennessee. Rutgers split the series last year with the Volunteers, winning in the regular season (65-51, Dec. 29), but falling to the Lady Vols in the Elite Eight (59-49, March 29). This will mark the eighth appearance for the Scarlet Knights in the Sweet Sixteen. All-time the Scarlet Knights own a 5-2 record in the regional semifinals.
Official Basketball Box Score
TCU vs Rutgers
3/21/06 9:28 p.m. at Trenton, NJ (Sovereign Bank Arena)
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VISITORS: TCU 19-12
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
14 BUTLER-RAYFORD,Lorie f 3-9 1-2 2-2 4 4 8 0 9 1 2 0 2 30
22 CLEMENTINO, Vanessa. f 4-10 2-5 0-0 1 2 3 2 10 0 1 0 0 36
40 LOHSE, Jenna........ c 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 20
33 ROSS, Adrianne...... g 4-10 1-1 1-1 0 3 3 4 10 4 6 0 2 30
34 DAVIS, Ashley....... g 4-16 2-10 0-0 2 3 5 2 10 1 1 0 1 37
00 PURDOM, Brittany.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
03 THIEL, Stephanie.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2
05 HEJNY, JimAnne...... 3-9 0-5 1-1 0 2 2 2 7 0 0 0 0 14
10 KNIGHT, Moneka...... 0-5 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 22
21 REGIAN, Whitney..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
31 RIVERA, Marissa..... 0-2 0-0 2-2 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 1 6
55 YOUNGER, Micaela.... 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
TEAM................ 3 3
Totals.............. 18-63 6-25 6-8 11 17 28 14 48 8 12 3 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-30 30.0% 2nd Half: 9-33 27.3% Game: 28.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-12 8.3% 2nd Half: 5-13 38.5% Game: 24.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-3 100 % 2nd Half: 3-5 60.0% Game: 75.0% 1
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HOME TEAM: Rutgers 27-4
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 5-8 0-0 2-3 4 5 9 2 12 0 2 0 2 36
15 VAUGHN, Kia......... c 4-7 0-0 2-6 2 9 11 1 10 0 3 1 1 34
05 CARSON, Essence..... g 7-12 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 1 14 2 2 1 1 38
22 AJAVON, Matee....... g 7-10 1-3 3-3 0 5 5 2 18 13 4 0 2 36
25 PONDEXTER, Cappie... g 7-11 5-6 5-5 0 4 4 1 24 6 1 0 1 34
03 LOCKE, Courtney..... 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 0 1 6
12 ADAMS, Katie........ 0-2 0-0 0-0 3 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
20 REED, Tudy.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
21 ZURICH, Heather..... 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
40 THRASH, Sammeika.... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
42 THEODORIS, Mariota.. 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 8
TEAM................ 1 4 5 1
Totals.............. 31-56 6-11 14-19 11 35 46 11 82 22 14 2 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-26 65.4% 2nd Half: 14-30 46.7% Game: 55.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-5 80.0% 2nd Half: 2-6 33.3% Game: 54.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 11-15 73.3% Game: 73.7% 2
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Officials: Barbara Smith, Wesley Dean, Lisa Jones
Technical fouls: TCU-None. Rutgers-None.
Attendance: 4194
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
TCU........................... 22 26 - 48
Rutgers....................... 41 41 - 82
RU-C.Vivian Stringer 750th career win (750-250)
Rutgers advances to NCAA 3rd Round
