No. 7/4 Rutgers Welcomes No. 1/1 Connecticut
Feb 04 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 7 Rutgers welcomes top-ranked Connecticut to the Louis Brown Athletic Center on Tuesday evening, February 5 at 7:00 p.m. in a battle for first place in the BIG EAST. The game will be televised on CSTV.
The Scarlet Knights (18-3, 8-1 BIG EAST) are looking to build upon a 10-game home winning streak and give Connecticut its first loss of the season in the process.
After having its 12-game winning streak snapped at West Virginia last Tuesday, Rutgers bounced back on the road on Saturday handing Pittsburgh its first conference loss of the year. Senior guard Matee Ajavon (Newark, N.J.) paced the Scarlet Knights with a team-high 15 points and sophomore Rashidat Junaid (Chesilhurst, N.J.) exploded for 11 points in the second half to carry Rutgers to a 64-60 come-from-behind victory.
Connecticut (21-0, 8-0 BIG EAST), the only undefeated team in Division I women's basketball, is coming off an 80-54 blowout victory over Providence Saturday. Freshman Maya Moore tallied 16 points and sophomore Tina Charles posted 15 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.
The Huskies lead the all-time series 20-5, but the Scarlet Knights did win the last meeting between the two squads. The 55-47 win on March 6, 2007 gave the Scarlet Knights their first-ever BIG EAST Tournament Championship. Essence Carson (Paterson, N.J.) led the way for RU as she hit for a game-high 15 points and added eight rebounds in the win.
Rutgers last met a team ranked No. 1 on the hardcourt on March 24, defeating the Duke Blue Devils, 53-52 in the 2007 NCAA Tournament Greensboro Regional semifinals.
The last No. 1 team to play at the RAC was LSU on Jan. 5, 2005. Rutgers - down by 13 at one point - posted a 51-49 overtime win over the Lady Tigers. The win was sandwiched by victories over No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Ohio State. Rutgers is 78-146 (.348) against ranked teams. Tuesday's contest is the 225th overall versus a ranked opponent.
Tuesday's match-up between the two squads is the highest combined ranking ever. Previously, Rutgers was ranked #8 and UConn #2 on March 5, 2001. On March 7, 1999, the Huskies were No. 1 while the Scarlet Knights were ranked eighth. During the 2005-06 season (Feb. 27), Rutgers had a sixth place national ranking to UConn's No. 7 showing.
Rutgers joins with the WBCA in its "Think Pink" initiative on Tuesday evening. The program is global, unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Fans are encouraged to show their support in the fight for breast cancer. In addition, Boston Scientific along with the Black Coaches Association are teaming together on Tuesday evening to raise awareness of heart disease risk factors for women. Close the Gap, a national initiative aimed at addressing disparities in cardiovascular care for the underserved patient populations of women, black Americans and Latino Americans, will staff an educational booth on the topic on the RAC concourse on Tuesday. 
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