No. 6 Rutgers Rolls Past Temple, 70-34
Dec 30 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Three players scored in double figures as the No. 6 Rutgers women's basketball team picked up its fourth straight win, a 70-34 home victory over Atlantic 10 opponent Temple Sunday afternoon at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
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Kia Vaughn chipped in 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. (Photo by Tom Ciszek/NJSportsPhoto) |
Rutgers put on a first half scoring clinic, shooting 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the field. They finished the contest, draining 27-of-48 shots from the floor for a season-best 56.3 percent. The 70-point output is the highest of the season for the Scarlet Knights, while the 34 scored by Temple is the Owls' lowest of the season and fewest points since 1998. RU's previous high was 68 against Maryland Dec. 3.
Sophomore guard Epiphanny Prince (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tallied a game-high 20 points, the third time this season she has reached that mark.
Senior guard Matee Ajavon (Newark, N.J.) scored 14 points -all in the first half- and junior center Kia Vaughn (Bronx, N.Y.) chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore center Rashidat Junaid (Chesilhurst, N.J.) also added eight rebounds, earning the starting nod for the fourth time this season.
For Temple, guard Ashley Morris led the way with 15 points, and Jasmine Stone pulled down nine rebounds.
Powered by Prince and Ajavon, Rutgers raced out to a 20-12 lead halfway through the first period. The backcourt duo combined for 16 of the Scarlet Knights first 20 points. A pair of free throws by Junaid capped a 10-0 run and gave Rutgers a 26-12 advantage with 7:33 left in the opening stanza.
Temple recorded a bucket on the next play - a lay-up by Shenita Landry- but would not score for the final seven minutes of the half as Rutgers took a 28-14 lead into the intermission. Prince and Ajavon combined for 23 first-half points.
The Owls got within 20 points (43-23) early in the second half following a three-pointer by Morris but Rutgers answered as Prince scored four and Vaughn added two to move the score to 49-23 with 14:32 to play.
Prince finished with six of RU's 13 total steals, tying a career-high. Ajavon recorded eight of the team's 13 assists, a season-best.
RU honored assistant coach Tasha Pointer and Shawnetta Stewart at the half. The duo, who helped lead RU to its first Final Four in 2000, will be enshrined into the Rutgers Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in April.
The Scarlet Knights return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 2. Rutgers entertains Pepperdine at 7:30 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES
SCARLET KNIGHTS ENJOY HOT START
Rutgers opened the first half of its contest against Temple with 38 points on 15-of-23 (.652) shooting from the floor. The 38 first half points marked the most points scored this season by the Scarlet Knights in a half and the most since March 18, 2007 when Rutgers had 43 points against East Carolina in the NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights topped their season high of 37 points which was set against No. 7/8 Stanford on Nov. 11.
RU's 65.2 shooting percentage from the field was also a season best. It was the Scarlet Knights most productive shooting performance since Feb. 3, 2007 when RU went 19-of-28 from the floor for a 67.9 percent clip.
RUTGERS TAKES THE LEAD
The Scarlet Knights entered the locker room against Temple with a 24-point lead, marking the largest halftime margin for Rutgers this season. RU previously led George Washington by 17 points at halftime on Nov. 18.
RUTGERS POSTS A NUMBER OF SEASON HIGHS
The 36-point victory over Temple marked the season's largest margin of victory for the Scarlet Knights (previously defeated George Washington by 25 points this season). The last time Rutgers defeated a team by more than 30 points was Feb. 20, 2007, when the Scarlet Knights downed Providence 69-34. RU's 70 points were also the most scored this year, eclipsing the previous high of 68 points against Maryland.
In addition to scoring its most points for a first half, Rutgers also narrowly missed topping its season-best output in a second half. The Scarlet Knights scored 32 points in the second half, just one point shy of the 33 points they scored in the second stanza against Creighton Nov. 16.
AJAVON, PRINCE GUIDE RU IN FIRST HALF
Senior guard Matee Ajavon and sophomore guard Epiphanny Prince combined to score 16 of Rutgers' first 20 points against Temple. For Ajavon, who ended the first half with 14 points, it tied the most points she has scored in a half (14 points, four times). Ajavon scored 14 points in a half earlier this season against LSU on Nov. 25.
RUTGERS DEFENSE SHINES AGAINST TEMPLE, AGAIN'?
In Rutgers 70-34 win over Temple, the Scarlet Knights limited the Owls to just 14 points in the first half. It was Temple's lowest first-half output of the season, topping the previous mark of 21 which the posted against Georgia on Nov. 16.
The 34 points scored by Temple marked the team's lowest scoring output of the season. The Scarlet Knights have held the Owls to their lowest scoring totals of the year for the past three consecutive seasons. (2005-06, 48 points; 2006-07, 48 points; 2007-08, 34 points)
THREE SCARLET KNIGHTS SCORE IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Three Scarlet Knight players finished with double figure scoring for the seventh game this season. Prince scored a game-high 20 points, while Ajavon added 14 points and junior center Kia Vaughn chipped in 12.
