 "Photo: Jennifer Gregory/Staff Photographer")
As C. Vivian Stringer watched Saturday's game unfold, she had no choice but to feel uneasy.
Her Scarlet Knights came out strong, and save for a Notre Dame bucket a minute into the game that put the Irish up 2-0, her squad never trailed in the first half. The upperclassmen came out in-charge of the game with an early Cappie Pondexter three-pointer and Michelle Campbell lay-up, setting the tone and sending the Knights on their way to an early 12-4 lead.
The separation grew to as many as 13 in the first and RU went into the locker room guarding a 32-20 advantage after holding the Irish to 25-percent shooting.
Bring on the flashbacks.
Recalling the first Notre Dame game in which the Knights held an 11-point lead at the midway point before being completely obliterated by Jacqueline Batteast's tremendous second-half surge, Stringer couldn't feel at all comfortable with the lead - especially when the second half began in much the same fashion.
The Irish came out hoping to use the same kind of heroics this time around, scoring 11 of the second half's first 12 points to chop the RU lead to two.
But Stringer saw it coming from a mile away, and called her team together to regroup and recharge.
"Had we not taken that timeout and readjusted five minutes into the second half, it would have been the same," Stringer said. "We needed to remind ourselves what happens when that ugly face shows itself."
The Knights were able to halt the threat, piecing together a 7-0 run of their own - sparked by an off-balance jumper by Matee Ajavon that narrowly beat the shot clock. The basket made it a 39-31 Rutgers advantage at the 12:55 mark in the second half.
"I thought that was the game, that little stretch right there," Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said.
The difference this time, fortunately for RU, was the absence of the uncanny 23-0 run that destroyed the Knights last month - and the fact that somebody apparently forgot to tell Batteast when the second half rolled around.
RU was able to contain the All-American and the Big East's second leading scorer, thanks to stellar defense from Campbell and Rebecca Richman, who held her to 3-of-14 shooting from the field. Her total of 14 points was only a result of the nine free throws the Knights gave her.
"It was a team effort," senior guard Chelsea Newton said of the daunting task that is guarding Batteast. "We were focusing on her, and we promised each other that if we needed help we'd be there for each other."
It was the same story on the other side as well, with Notre Dame going to an unusual box-and-one defense to pinpoint and shut down RU's own All-American. The plan seemed to work, as Pondexter only scored one second-half point.
"She was playing well [in the first], which is why we went to box-and-one on her," McGraw said. "She's so hard to guard... I think this was a game she looked at and said 'I need to score."
But it was Newton who stepped up for the Knights when they needed it, posting 12 of her 14 points in the second half and finishing the game with a career-high five steals. Her eight assists matched another career high, as she took on much of the same role of feeder that Notre Dame's Megan Duffy used to hurt RU last game.
The Knights had three players reach double figures and forced the Irish to commit a devastating 23 turnovers, which tied for most on the year.
Richman turned in her second consecutive impressive showing, tying Campbell for the team-high in rebounds with six, while chipping in five points and two blocks. Junior guard Courtney Locke met Duffy with tough defense while adding a three-pointer and three rebounds.
"I was pleased with Rebecca and Courtney today," Stringer said.
With just over a minute to go in the contest, the Irish had an ugly possession consisting of two airballs and a blocked shot, but Duffy was able to convert on a three-pointer the next time down the floor, bringing the score to 57-45 in RU's favor.
The 48-point display was the fewest for Notre Dame on the year, and the loss broke their previous 10-game winning streak.
"I thought Rutgers played really well defensively," McGraw said. "It's the best we've seen all year. We had a lot of trouble executing."
As for Stringer, she could finally rest a little easier, as she watched her team write a much more desirable ending to a story that had begun to look all too familiar.
"We withstood the same face they gave us last time, and we were able to bounce back," Stringer said. "We were able to recognize when we were starting to slip."
The victory makes this the third consecutive season in which Rutgers has posted 20 wins or more. It also boosted the Knights to a commanding 12-0 record at the Louis Brown Athletic Center with still one home game left to play this year.
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