No. 6/6 Rutgers Stunned by West Virginia, 56-40
Mar 06 | Women's Basketball
HARTFORD, CT - Top-seeded Rutgers (25-4, 16-0 BIG EAST) saw its hopes for its first BIG EAST Tournament title come to an abrupt end, losing to West Virginia (15-15, 4-12 BIG EAST) 56-40 in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals March 6 at the Hartford Civic Center.
The Cinderella of the tournament, the 12th-seeded Mountaineers pulled off their third consecutive upset, previously defeating fifth-seeded Louisville 54-45 in the first round March 4, and fourth-seeded St. John's 55-49 in the quarterfinals March 5. West Virginia came out determined against the Scarlet Knights, erasing a 13-6 lead with a 12-3 run to take an 18-16 advantage into the locker room.
No. 6/6 RU forced a 22-22 tie early in the second half (16:51), but the Mountaineers again stretched their lead to nine (26-35, 10:13). A steal and basket by Matee Ajavon (Newark, NJ) was followed two possessions later by a steal by Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL). She raced down the court and seemingly cut the lead to five, but as the ball rattled through the hoop, Essence Carson (Paterson, NJ) grabbed the rim on the follow and was called for interference, negating the basket. WVU regained the momentum, scoring the next five points (28-40, 6:55), and Rutgers was unable to get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Pondexter was the only Scarlet Knight in double figures with 21 points.
Freshman Kia Vaughn (Bronx, NY) added 12 rebounds and tied the BIG EAST Tournament record with seven blocked shots.
RU, which had averaged 10.0 turnovers in its previous six games, tied its season high with 23 against West Virginia. The Scarlet Knights shot just 28.3 (15-53) percent from the field and attempted 21 fewer free throws (13-34). The loss snapped Rutgers' 13-game winning streak.
Rutgers will now await the announcement of the 64-team field for the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The bracket will be announced Monday, March 13, at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN.
Official Basketball Box Score
West Virginia vs Rutgers
3/6/06 6:00 p.m. at Hartford Civic Center Hartford, CT
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VISITORS: West Virginia 15-15
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
45 SANNI, Olayinka..... c 3-10 0-0 0-2 3 3 6 2 6 0 2 3 3 29
01 OWENS, LaQuita...... g 3-9 2-6 1-2 0 5 5 2 9 2 2 1 3 40
11 DAVIS-WHITE, Britney g 3-9 1-3 14-20 0 3 3 2 21 0 1 1 1 35
22 COLE, Chakhia....... g 6-12 0-0 6-8 1 8 9 1 18 1 5 2 1 40
23 POWELL, Ashley...... g 0-2 0-0 0-1 1 3 4 2 0 3 1 0 1 33
12 BUCAR, Sarah........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 7
33 LEUCHANKA, Yelena... 1-2 0-0 0-1 0 2 2 4 2 1 0 0 1 16
TEAM................ 2 6 8 3
Totals.............. 16-44 3-9 21-34 7 30 37 13 56 8 16 8 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 6-24 25.0% 2nd Half: 10-20 50.0% Game: 36.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-4 0.0% 2nd Half: 3-5 60.0% Game: 33.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-9 66.7% 2nd Half: 15-25 60.0% Game: 61.8% 9
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HOME TEAM: Rutgers 25-4
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 2-6 0-0 1-2 4 1 5 4 5 2 3 2 1 33
15 VAUGHN, Kia......... c 1-2 0-0 1-2 3 9 12 2 3 0 1 7 0 32
05 CARSON, Essence..... g 1-7 0-1 0-0 0 5 5 3 2 1 7 0 1 38
22 AJAVON, Matee....... g 3-11 0-2 3-6 0 3 3 4 9 5 5 0 3 26
25 PONDEXTER, Cappie... g 8-25 4-8 1-3 0 2 2 3 21 0 5 0 3 40
03 LOCKE, Courtney..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
12 ADAMS, Katie........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
20 REED, Tudy.......... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 7
21 ZURICH, Heather..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4
42 THEODORIS, Mariota.. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 1 13
TEAM................ 5 2 7 1
Totals.............. 15-53 4-11 6-13 12 25 37 22 40 8 23 9 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 6-22 27.3% 2nd Half: 9-31 29.0% Game: 28.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-1 100 % 2nd Half: 3-10 30.0% Game: 36.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 3-5 60.0% Game: 46.2% 3
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Officials: Dee Kantner, Angie Lewis, Susan Blauch
Technical fouls: West Virginia-None. Rutgers-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
West Virginia................. 18 38 - 56
Rutgers....................... 16 24 - 40
2006 Women's BIG EAST Championship Semifinal Round game
No. 1-seed Rutgers against No. 12-seed West Virginia
WVU advances to Tuesday's 7:30 p.m. Championship against UC-DePaul winner
ID-430878
