 "Photo: Matt Moss/Staff Photographer")
Seton Hall 40
Rutgers 67
SOUTH ORANGE - The Rutgers women's basketball team picked up their fourth road win on the season by downing in-state rival Seton Hall, 67-40.
But as far as the Scarlet Knights were concerne it may as well have been a home game.
The Pirates - previously averaging a miniscule 424 fans per game - packed 2,600 people into the Walsh Gymnasium for their first sellout of the season.
It took only minutes to realize, however, that a significant portion of those in attendance were Scarlet supporters - or those simply wishing to see a big-time team up close.
"It's always good to have our fans," senior guard Chelsea Newton said. "That's always a plus. We're glad they came to support us, and we hope they keep coming."
The contest between the No. 11 Knights (17-5, 8-2) and the unranked Pirates began with RU jumping out to an early lead off the tip.
But the Pirates quickly answered back and took advantage of another sluggish start for the Knights, establishing a 7-2 lead early.
The teams continued to battle hard, resulting in a total of eight lead changes and three ties throughout the opening stanza, creating some déjà vu of the Syracuse game in which neither squad could take control.
"I didn't worry about the score," head coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "I know if we do what we have to do, it will take care of itself."
Chelsea Newton - who missed the last two contests with a concussion - made her return less than five minutes into the first half. Newton appeared to pick up right where she left off, registering 21 minutes, seven points, and three steals on the night.
What the Knights missed most during her absence, though, was the relentless hustle and energy she brings to the squad.
"I help with the energy level," Newton said. "They needed me, so I went in...I was just playing, playing hard."
It wasn't until there were 11 minutes remaining that RU snatched back the lead they were expected to have. The dynamic duo of Cappie Pondexter and Matee Ajavon combined for twelve first-half points, while Michelle Campbell and Newton chipped in five apiece.
It was another issue of fouls that allowed the Pirates to hang around, as the Knights found themselves in the penalty with still over three minutes to play in the first.
But a three-pointer by Newton and consecutive buckets by Campbell helped the Knights gradually build on the lead, resulting in a score of 31-23 in favor of Rutgers heading into the locker room.
The Knights recharged at halftime and came out completely in control. Early in the second half, Ajavon exploded for seven points in a stretch of just over a minute, giving the Knights a thirteen-point lead, which silenced the Seton Hall part of the crowd. After that point, the Pirates never got within 12 points in what turned out to be an all-RU second half.
A Pondexter jump shot with 43 seconds remaining gave the Knights the 27-point advantage to stay, the largest separation in the contest.
Ajavon and Pondexter again led the attack for RU, finishing with 13 and 12 points each. They combined for eleven assists and seven steals.
"Something we feed off is defensive pressure. Our steals and transitions opened the game up." Pondexter said.
Campbell just missed double figures with nine points, adding four boards.
The Knights out-rebounded the Pirates by ten, only the fifth time all season the Hall has been beaten in that category.
"Not many teams are going to out-rebound us, but they did," Seton Hall head coach Phyllis Mangina said.
The game also marked the second consecutive time the Knights have forced the opposition to commit more than 20 turnovers, which amounted to 23 points for Rutgers.
The Knights answered the two biggest Seton Hall threats by shutting down senior Ashley Bush and sophomore Monique Blake from the start. The two leading scorers for the Pirates were held to a combined nine points in the first half, and 13 overall.
There is now nothing standing between the Knights and their homecourt rematch with the Connecticut Huskies Sunday.
"We don't have a choice but to be ready," Pondexter said. "That loss is still in the back of our minds because we didn't play to our potential. To have them on our home court is a good thing."
KNIGHT NOTE: Rutgers is now 2-0 since Stringer abandoned the familiar bun for her new 'do, which Pondexter referred to as "old school."
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