 "Photo: William Shneekloth/Targum Associate Photography Editor")
TRENTON - Last Friday, St. Patrick's Day, belonged to everyone who wore the color green.
And though the Dartmouth Big Green and senior guard Angie Soriaga made last night's contest awfully close with a barrage of three pointers toward the game's end, Rutgers made sure Sunday belonged to those who wore Scarlet.
Rutgers defeated Dartmouth in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament by a final score, 63-58, that was closer than the distance between RU's third seed and Dartmouth's 14th.
Playing in front of what was basically a home crowd - Trenton is a mere 45 minutes away from RU's home court in Piscataway - Matee Ajavon (19 points, 4 steals) didn't allow Rutgers to get off to its customary slow start. Playing the role of thief to perfection, the sophomore swiped the ball three times leading to six transition points and a 13-0 lead for RU.
And it was that home atmosphere that Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer feels she owes the game to.
"There's no question that our fans made a difference," she said. "If our fans weren't there and we were somewhere else, we would have lost."
And despite that hot start, Rutgers almost did lose.
Down by as many as 16, Dartmouth mounted a near miraculous comeback based on long distance three pointers. Leading the charge was Soriaga (23 pts, 6-of-10 from three-point land). The senior didn't convert her first field goal until a half-court buzzer beater to end the first half.
It seemed to get her rolling.
"The three pointer, yes, it's my first make of the game," Soriaga said. "It got me some confidence."
With Rutgers clinging on to victory and one game left to be played, between No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 11 TCU, the first weekend of NCAA tournament action in the Cleveland bracket saw a rarity - no upsets. In what's being regarded as one of the toughest regional groupings ever, everything went according to plan. All the top seeds, No. 1-8, defeated their No. 9-16 seeded opponents.
Rutgers, the regular season Big East champion, was one of seven teams from the conference to earn an NCAA berth. The Big East started out 3-2 with Connecticut and South Florida still to play last night. The only other conference foe in the Cleveland bracket, No. 9 Louisville, lost 76-64 to No. 8 Vanderbilt. No. 8 Notre Dame lost to No. 9 Boston College 78-61 in the Albuquerque region.
Wins for the Big East also came from No. 7 St. John's over No. 10 California, 78-68 in the Bridgeport region, and No. 4 DePaul over No. 13 Liberty, 68-43 in the San Antonio region.
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