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"We knew that we were in for a battle," junior guard Cappie Pondexter said referring to last nights 54-44 victory over Seton Hall. "It's an inner-state rival and it's all about pride."
A battle is the precise word to use for a matchup that was not for the faint of heart. With the Rutgers women's basketball team being in the friendly confines of the Louis Brown Athletic and with it being Senior Night - in which guard Dawn McCullouch was honored - the Scarlet Knights were able to come away with the hard fought double- figure victory, but did it in ugly fashion.
With both teams struggling throughout the game to find their shot, the Knights were able to find their touch late in the game and improve to 18-10. In doing so, the Knights secured the seventh seed in this weekend's Big East Tournament, which sets up a rematch between these very two teams.
Prior to the game, McCullouch was honored as the lone senior and received nearly a five-minute standing ovation. Perhaps, however, all the emotions got the best of the RU players because the team came out and shot blanks for nearly the entire first half. Pondexter led the Knights in the first with seven points and got help from sophomore Michelle Campbell, who scored five in the first.
Despite the team shooting only 36 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, they were able to go into the locker room with a 23-22 lead because of a suffocating defense that allowed the Pirates to shoot only 33 percent from the field. Seton Hall head coach Phyllis Mangina believed that the Pirates inability to put back second chance shots led to the downfall of her team.
"We got 20 more boards and couldn't put many back," Mangina said. "If we put a few in, we would have won."
In the first half, the Knights were able to hang in there on the boards with the Pirates. The second half proved to be a different story with the team being completely dominated on the boards by SHU. The Hall outrebounded the Knights 42-31 for the game, but the Knights were able to improve their defense even more in the second. Rutgers held Seton Hall to only 29 percent from the field after the half and eventually were able to take over the contest.
The turning point in the game came with six minutes remaining on a fluke play that saw Pondexter and junior guard Chelsea Newton collide on a defensive scramble for the play. On the play, Newton injured herself and was unable to return to the game. Head coach C. Vivian Stringer said that Newton's injury would be further assessed today.
After the tangle, Pondexter stood up and seemed dazed and a bit out of it. However, that didn't last long.
With the score 43-40 with six minutes remaining, the Chicago native went on a tear scoring seven of the team's final 11 points to end the game with 18 for the game. The final stretch run was highlighted by a steal by Pondexter and a circus shot that she was able to drop.
"Cappie took one step at a time today," Stringer said. "Nikki was also a very pleasant surprise once again."
Junior guard Nikki Jett was again able to come off the bench and step up when the team was in need of an offensive boost. Jett was able to contribute nine points with a three-pointer in each half, both of which stopped a Pirates' attempt to come back. Newton was able to reach double-digits with 10 points prior to leaving the matchup.
McCullouch, despite starting and playing 26 minutes of action, struggled and was 0-for-3 from the field. The senior was, however, able to pull down three boards and was able to get on the scoreboard in her final game at the RAC with 12 seconds remaining in the game. After grabbing a rebound and being fouled by a Seton Hall opponent, McCullouch stepped to the free-throw line with the crowd - all on their feet - cheering her on. She was able to sink both shots and then exited to another standing ovation.
"We were not going to loss on senior night, not for Dawn," Pondexter said. "We refused to lose."
With the win, the Knights will now travel to Hartford, Conn. for the Big East Tournament, in which they will face this same SHU team on Saturday at 6:00 pm.
"We remember what it felt like last year when we were supposed to win the tournament and didn't," Stringer said. "We feel we can do it this year and don't want that feeling again."
KNIGHT NOTE: The Knights have now won six straight home games against the Seton Hall Pirates and improved to 14-1 on the season at the RAC.
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