No. 5/3 Rutgers Downs the Family, 84-44
Nov 09 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Junior guard Epiphanny Prince (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 18 points, 10 of those in the second half, to lead No. 5/3 Rutgers to a 84-44 win over the Family on Sunday afternoon at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Freshman Brooklyn Pope (Fort Worth, Texas) added 16 points in the exhibition win, including a 10-for-11 performance from the free throw line.
Each player on the roster scored at least two points for the Scarlet Knights. Center Kia Vaughn (Bronx, N.Y.) had a team-best nine rebounds and four blocks.
| Epiphanny Prince scored a team-high 18 points in the exhibition win. (Tom Ciszek/NJSportsPhoto) |
The Family, comprised of former collegiate players from Indiana, New York and New Jersey, took its second lead, 4-2, at the 7:50 mark. It would be the last time the squad -which included former Rutgers player Linda Miles - would be ahead. A three-pointer by redshirt freshman guard Khadijah Rushdan (Wilmington, Del.) and a basket in the paint from junior center Rashidat Junaid (Chesilhurst, N.J.) pushed the home team ahead by five. Both teams struggled offensively in the first 10 minutes as the teams combined to shoot 26 percent in the early going.
After The Family closed to four points on a pair of free throws by Renee Taylor at the 6:38 mark of the half, the Scarlet Knights put together a 13-0 run. Junior guard Brittany Ray (Bronx, N.Y.) commenced the run with a three-pointer and Pope closed it with two free throws to give RU a 32-15 lead with 1:47 to go before the halftime horn.
Leading by 16 (36-20) at intermission, the Family pulled to 10 with 16:39 following a free throw by Lafeefa Joye. That would be as close as the visitors would come as Rutgers reeled off the 23 points of the game over a five-minute span.
Freshman guard Nikki Speed (Pasadena, Calif.) scored the first four points and classmates Pope and Chelsey Lee (Miami, Fla.) each had six points over the scoring drive. A two plus the foul from Lee closed the massive scoring run for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights led by no fewer than 29 points the rest of the way.
Rutgers shot 42.5 percent from the floor while the Family was at a 21.3 percent clip.
RU opens the 2008-09 season by entertaining Saint Joseph's at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. The Hawks, picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic 10, return four starters and nine letterwinners from a squad that finished 17-14 overall and sixth (8-6) in the conference a season ago.
"I always feel better in January," Stringer said of opening the season on Friday. "I am never ready to play a game (in November). St Joe's is never an easy school to play. I am not looking forward to it but we will be ready to play."
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