Scarlet Knights Defeat Creighton, 62-43, in First-Ever Meeting
Nov 16 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The No. 6/7 Rutgers women's basketball team used a 17-2 run late in the second half to pull away from Creighton and earn a 62-43 win Friday night at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. The win was Rutgers' first of the season, while the game marked the first-ever meeting between the Scarlet Knights and the visiting Blue Jays.
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Rashidat Junaid finished with 10 points. Photo by Jim O'Connor/NJ Sport Pics |
Forward Sara Cain and guard Ally Thrall each notched ten points for Creighton (1-1).
Trailing 29-18 at halftime, the Blue Jays opened the second half on a tear. After going cold from downtown in the first on a 1-for-13 clip, Creighton nailed five of its first six three-point attempts - all in a five-minute span - to pull to 37-35 with 14:43 to play. But the Scarlet Knights would then open up the 17-2 late run to lead by as many as 21 with 35 seconds to play. During that stretch, Rutgers received a spark from Prince, who connected on eight of her 12 points over the span.
The run began when junior center Kia Vaughn (Bronx, NY) delivered on a three-point play with 13:45 to go in the game. Prince sank a pair of free throws minutes later, followed by two lay-ups to pad the lead. Creighton would not score for over six minutes until a lay-up by Cain broke the Blue Jays' drought. Prince extended the lead to 21 on a lay-up and the Scarlet Knights wrapped up the 62-43 triumph in front of the home crowd.
Creighton had answered RU's first score of the evening with a jumper by Cain to tie the score at 2-2. But after that, Rutgers scored the next 11 points to jump out to an early 13-2 lead and would never trail in the game. Sophomore guard Heather Zurich (Montvale, NJ) scored the first two buckets of the game for the Scarlet Knights. The Blue Jays never got closer than eight in the first half.
Rutgers dominated Creighton in the paint, outscoring the Blue Jays, 46-10. The game marked the first action seen by senior Katie Adams (Ogden, Utah) and freshman Khadijah Rushdan (Wilmington, Del.) this season. Rushdan picked up three assists and two steals in her 15 minutes of play. The Scarlet Knights avenged last Sunday's rebounding deficit against Stanford by grabbing 44 boards as opposed to 32 for Creighton. That includes a 34-19 mark on the defensive end.
Rutgers travels to No. 12/14 George Washington (3-0) Sunday evening, in the team's first road game of the season. The contest is slated for an 8:00 p.m. tip on ESPNU.
POSTGAME NOTES
WIRE-TO-WIRE
The Scarlet Knights never trailed in the game. After the score was knotted at 2-2, RU went on an 11-0 run and never looked back. Rutgers led by as many as 21 points.
DOMINANT IN THE PANT
Rutgers dominated the play down low, outscoring the Blue Jays 46-10 in the paint.
FIRING FROM THE OUTSIDE
Creighton shot 6-27 from beyond the three-point line. The 27 three-point attempts are the most by any team since Villanova hoisted 31 attempts on February 17, 2007. After going 1-13 in the first half, the Blue Jays caught fire hitting five of their first six attempts in the second half.
GETTING BACK ON THE BOARDS
After being out-rebounded by 18 against Stanford, the Scarlet Knights took control of the boards against Creighton. RU held a 44-32 advantage in the win.
WITH THE WIN '?
Rutgers improves to 3-0 all-time against the Missouri Valley Conference.
MISCUES
Rutgers committed 20 turnovers, matching most turnovers by a RU team since committing 20 against Providence last season (Feb 20, 2007). The Scarlet Knights had gone 11 games with less than 20 turnovers.
BLOCK CITY
Sophomore center Rashidat Junaidset a new career-high with her four blocked shots. She also tied a career-high in rebounds and minutes played with seven boards and 18 minutes on the floor. She last posted seven rebounds against East Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
MYIA ON FYIA
Sophomore forwrad Myia McCurdy (Cincinnati, Ohio) set a new-career high with eight points. She also posted new career-highs in field goals made with four and field goals attempted with seven.
NEW FACES
Freshman guard Khadijah Rushdan (Wilmington, Del.) saw her first action in a Scarlet Knights uniform as she entered the game at the 8:39 mark of the first half. Rushdan finished with three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 15 minutes.
Senior guard Katie Adams (Ogden, Utah) also received her first action of the season. She grabbed two rebounds and swiped a steal in 11 minutes of action.
