Maybe Sylvia Fowles said it best.
"It doesn't get any better than that," the LSU center said following the Rutgers women's basketball team's 45-43 win yesterday afternoon over the Lady Tigers.
The reported 4,763 in attendance witnessed a defensive battle that prominently featured Scarlet Knights center Kia Vaughn's battle with Fowles down low.
"Kia always gives 110 percent," Fowles said of Vaughn. "She got out there and she gave her all and she showed up tonight."
The post play, combined with an outcome that was unsure even until the final second, made for a fitting ESPN televised showcase for women's basketball.
Fowles finished the game with 13 points and 12 rebounds, but was on the other end of a play that gave Rutgers its opportunity to pull out the win.
With 25 seconds remaining, and RU leading LSU by one point, Fowles received the ball on the baseline and attempted to back Vaughn down.
As Fowles put the ball on the floor RU guard Matee Ajavon saw her opportunity to save the game for the Knights, diving in for the steal - her final theft of a game-high four.
"Our gameplan was to sag off of certain players, and I just saw the opportunity to help Kia down low, and I saw Sylvia about to put the ball down," Ajavon said.
Fowles said she didn't even see Ajavon waiting to pounce.
When Rutgers' regained possession, the Knights pushed the ball up the court before LSU's Quianna Chaney fouled sophomore guard Epiphanny Prince with 10 seconds remaining.
Prince, who finished the game with eight points, hit the first half of a one-and-one but did not convert on the back end.
Tiger guard Allison Hightower rebounded the miss, giving LSU the opportunity to tie the game with a two-point basket.
Chaney fired off a three-pointer, attempting to win the game for LSU, but missed and Hightower's offensive rebound was too late to earn a second chance shot.
Both coaches noted the physicality of the game in the post, with LSU head coach Van Chancellor saying it was the most physical game he had seen in over a decade.
Vaughn led Rutgers with 13 points of her own but managed only four rebounds, mostly because of an altered gameplan due to game long foul trouble.
Sophomore Rashidat Junaid filled in admirably when Vaughn had to go on the bench, and both centers picked up four fouls apiece.
Fowles attempted a dunk with 15:45 to go in the second half, but it bounced harmlessly off of the rim and was rebounded by RU's Myia McCurdy.
The miss elicited a loud response from an excited RAC crowd that seemed offended Fowles would attempt a dunk in their house.
"I tried to throw one down, but it kinda came off my fingertips when I went off," Fowles said of the dunk. "I didn't have full control of the ball."
The game, televised on ESPN, was seen as a great example of women's college basketball by both coaches.
Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer noted that Rutgers has been involved in many games that fit that mold.
"It was a great game, for it to not be decided until the last second. Probably, lot of people thought that Stanford was too," Stringer said. "We just happen to be the common denominator."
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