Rutgers Women's Basketball Moves Past Providence, 55-42
Feb 21 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Three players scored in double figures as Rutgers posted a 55-42 win over Providence in BIG EAST women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
| Kia Vaughn tallied 14 points including 10 in the first half. (Tom Ciszek/NJSportsPhoto). |
The win was the 300th victory at Rutgers for head coach C. Vivian Stringer.
The Scarlet Knights (16-10, 7-6 BIG EAST) jumped out to a 7-0 start to the contest, five of those points coming from Vaughn. The Friars answered with seven straight points of their own to tie the contest at the 14:09 mark.
RU would be perfect from the field on its next three opportunities and connect on its next four straight from the free throw line to pull ahead, 18-9 with 12:18 left in the first. Vaughn and Rushdan combined for all 11 points during the run.
After PC (9-17, 3-10) closed to within three points (20-17) with 2:23 to go in the half, Rutgers used a 15-4 spurt to take a 36-21 lead. Prince, quiet for most of the half, erupted for six of her eight first half points in the final 1:17 of the half. RU took a 36-23 lead at intermission.
The Scarlet Knights missed 16 of their first 19 shots in the second as PC cut the deficit to seven. M-Khida Hankins scored two consecutive baskets to pull the Friars to 43-36 with 8:46 on the clock. Junior Rashidat Junaid (Chesilhurst, N.J.) ended a nearly five-minute scoring drought with her put-back with 8:06 remaining. Vaughn and Rushdan capped the 6-0 drive with back-to-back buckets in the paint to give Rutgers a 50-36 lead.
RU stretched its advantage to 16 (55-39) following a three-pointer from Prince with 2:29 to go en route to the 55-42 victory.
POSTGAME NOTES
With the win
* The Scarlet Knights have won 16 straight against the Friars
* RU improves to a perfect 11-0 at home all-time against Providence
* Rutgers improves to 11-3 at home this season
*Scarlet Knights head coach C. Vivian Stringer has now won 300 career games at Rutgers
Dominate down low
The Scarlet Knights had a distinct advantage in the paint in their 55-42 victory over Providence. RU recorded 20 points down low compared to only six for Providence. Rutgers is now 18-8 in games this season where it led in scoring in the paint.
Scoring trio
The trio of Epiphanny Prince, Kia Vaughn and Khadijah Rushdan combined for 43 of RU's 55 points. Prince led the way with a team-best 16, while Vaughn tallied 14 points including 10 in the first half. Rushdan posted her seventh double figure scoring effort with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
66 and counting
Providence shot 31.8 percent against the Scarlet Knights, marking the 66th consecutive opponent that has shot under 50 percent against the stingy RU defense. The Friars hit on 9-of-26 shot attempts in the first half and only managed five field goals on 18 shots in the second half.
Owning the boards
Rutgers held a 41-32 edge in the rebounding category in its 55-42 win over Providence. Most impressively, the Scarlet Knights grabbed 15 offensive boards to only six for the Friars. RU holds a 12-4 record when it tops its opponent in the rebounding category.
And one
Senior center Kia Vaughn converted on two conventional three-point plays in the first half of today's game. Prior to today's game, Vaughn had only two "and one's" all season.
Prince leading the way
Junior guard Epiphanny Prince led all scorers in today's game with 16 points. Prince has now scored in double figures in 21 straight games, a career-high. The junior has now led Rutgers in scoring 20 times on the year and 40 times in her career.
Freshmen woes
Rutgers' four true freshmen combined to shot 0-of-9 in 30 minutes of action in today's win. April Sykes was 0-of-6 from the floor, Nikki Speed was 0-of-2, Brooklyn Pope missed her only shot and Chelsey Lee did not attempt a shot.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer
Feelings on Kia Vaughn's Improvements:
"Kia has been playing better each game since the Connecticut game. It's a start, but it's real late, it's not too late though. It's good to see Kia step up, command the ball and regain her confidence. As I was telling the team, it's amazing. Brittany (Ray) and Epiphanny (Prince) have been carrying the load for a great number of games. Now, if you look at Brittany's last couples games, she's slumped. I think, man can we have three people play together at the same time? It's disturbing but we need to make everyone aware of that."
On RU's offense becoming stagnant at times:
"Epiphanny needs to stay a lot more involved, because I feel like that's what's causing some of these bad shots. Now that Kia's doing well, they pass the ball in and just stand there. We need to make ourselves move and continue to get everyone involved in the offense. I'm disturbed because on the press, Epiphanny had a number of two-on-one breaks. Why are we slowing down when it's two-on-one? It doesn't make sense."
On some of the players that have been stepping it up:
"Even if your not scoring, Epiphanny just causes things to happen. She, like no one else, does those things, her and Kia Vaughn, bright spots. Khadijah Rushdan is a bright spot. She hasn't played 30 minutes without major mental errors. I thought today she was real calm and focused. She had a good feel for the game."
Kia Vaughn
On Setting the Tone Early:
"I was looking for myself today. I just tried to be that spark. I don't know how long its been since I've had my starting spot back, but I think it was good for them to know that they had that inside person. We basically did what we always said we would, work it inside-out, and it worked well. We started with me and ended up with Epiphanny and Khadijah."
Feeling on Improve Self Confidence
"It's helping a lot, but I also to have my two sidekicks, (Epiphany and Khadijah) and my other one, Brittany, it's a good feeling. Knowing that if one of us goes down, we have each others back feels good. I'm being a little more focused, and having a better understanding of the game, and I am really cherishing every moment I get. I didn't understand what went wrong, and now I'm just happy."
Epiphanny Prince
Feelings on Vaughn's Fast Start:
"I think its good when we get her involved early because it makes it easier on us. We don't have to force a lot of things and when she's scoring, it's like no one can stop her."
On the Team's Improvement:
"I think they did step up, and they just playing within the offense, taking the shots that they should have been taking in the beginning. I think that they're doing a good job right now."
Khadijah Rushdan
On Getting a Second Straight Win:
"It's always good to get a win at the end of the day, but we have to focus on the little things. Like Coach (Stringer) has been stressing, we can take these wins and be happy, but when we're trying to progress and move forward, the little things that we're not doing now are going to come back and bite us in the end."
