Rutgers 51
Villanova 39
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Considering the ride this season has been for the Rutgers women's basketball team, it's hard to believe it could all come down to 40 minutes.
But with the Big East regular season title and the fate of the long season on the line, the Scarlet Knights did what they've done all year.
They won when it mattered most.
"When I think about the season, it brings tears to my eyes just to think of how far we've come," senior guard Chelsea Newton said after defeating Villanova last night at the Pavilion by a score of 51-39.
The Knights never trailed in the contest and successfully secured themselves the first Big East outright regular season title in school history.
"It's special because it was our first Big East title," Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "To me, that's incomprehensible. We've all seen the domination of Connecticut in the conference, and for it to be us that wins it, wow, that's special."
Rutgers avoided succumbing to another slow start by jumping out to a quick 13-3 lead over Villanova with six minutes gone by in the contest. The Wildcats were a mere 1-6 from the field at that point, but slowly clawed back as a result of clutch three-point shooting from Liad Suez and Jennifer Hilgenberg.
RU's lead was cut to four with just over seven minutes to play in the first, but a Michelle Campbell bucket and two Matee Ajavon scores gave the Knights control temporarily. With 2:20 to play, a Jackie Adamshick lay-up and a Stacie Witman jump shot pulled Villanova to within two, the closest margin since early in the half.
Freshman Essence Carson then stuffed a Villanova player twice on the same possession, but a Cappie Pondexter foul gave control back to the Wildcats in time for a late bucket to pull the score to 27-25 going into the locker room.
Michelle Campbell, coming off her sixth double-double performance of the season against Pittsburgh last week, continued her commanding post play by corralling five rebounds and going 5-of-6 from the field for 11 of the Knights 27 first-half points against a considerably taller 'Nova squad.
Carson was huge for the Knights underneath as well, posting eight rebounds and four points while Ajavon led all scorers in the first stanza with 12.
Fortunately for RU, the Wildcats were cold to start the second half, and a Nikki Jett three-pointer followed by an Ajavon jumper and two Campbell free throws established the lead at eight with five minutes gone by.
Forward Kate Dessart-Mager then put home seven straight points to bring Villanova back to within two. But RU quickly converted on eight straight and extended its lead to double digits.
As soon as senior Rebecca Richman entered the game for the Knights, the Wildcats were limited in the post, as Richman used her size and toughness to dominate the boards.
"Rebecca made the difference in the game today," Stringer said.
Richman posted six rebounds for the Knights to go along with her eight points in 12 minutes of play.
After a three-minute lapse in scoring on both sides, Jett knocked down a 15-foot jumper with 2:34 to play in the game. Newton was then sent to the line for a one-and-one free-throw, and her missed shot fell into the hands of Richman who put it back in for an easy lay-up.
The score was then 47-36 in favor of Rutgers with 48 seconds to play, as the first chants of "Big East Title" erupted in the highly-concentrated RU half of the arena.
A pair of Pondexter free throws extended the lead to 49-39, before Rutgers ended the game dribbling the clock out and fittingly sending it in to Richman with just enough time left for the regular season's final bucket.
For the Knights, Ajavon and Campbell led the way with 14 and 13 points respectively, with Pondexter and Richman combining with 16. Carson finished with 10 rebounds and Newton with eight.
Villanova was held to a lowly four offensive rebounds and had only one player reach double figures.
"Our problem is offensive in that we don't score that much," Wildcats head coach Harry Perretta said. "The difference in speed was dramatic...they have too many players that can make too many plays."
The Knights came into the game in complete control of their own postseason destiny and the win made the complicated Big East bracketing a little simpler - at least as far as they're concerned.
The Knights are now the last team standing at the top of one of the most competitive conferences in the nation.
"We now look forward to the challenge of winning the Big East tournament," Stringer said. "I think that would say a lot."
So although they hoisted Stringer on their shoulders after the game and marched into the locker room on top of the world, the Knights know that this may very well be just the beginning of an exciting journey.
"Our ultimate goal is to win a national title," Pondexter said. "This is just one chapter that's closed."
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