For the second consecutive year, the No. 5 Rutgers women's basketball team will host the women's Jimmy V Classic. The Scarlet Knights take on No. 3 Maryland at 7 p.m. tonight at the Louis Brown Athletic Center, with the Terrapins coming off of a 77-53 win over No. 17 Ohio State Friday night, sending the Buckeyes to their second loss of the season. Rutgers' last appearance was less impressive, as the Knights struggled to make up for the loss of senior Essence Carson to injury in a 56-50 win over Saint Joseph's. Junior center Kia Vaughn helped will RU to a win with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the contest in Philadelphia, including key rebounds late the game that helped the Knights seal the win. Rutgers shot just 33.8 in the game, during a season when the Knights are shooting 41.6 percent as a team while St. Joe's 50 points were the most RU had allowed since a season opening loss to Stanford - when the Cardinal scored 60 points. Rutgers has had assists on 63.8 percent of its baskets this season, while the Knights are averaging 10 more points-per-game then their opponents. The third-ranked Terps are the first team in the NCAA this year to win 10 games and boast five players that average double digit scoring per game, led by Kristi Toliver's 18.4 per contest. Maryland is averaging 81.2 points per game, where the Terps' opponents are managing 60.8 points against them. Last year, Rutgers lost to Duke in the Jimmy V Classic, also played at the RAC, by 40 points in a game that could be seen as the turning point of the Scarlet Knights' season. Rutgers lost its next game, falling to 2-4 before winning 25 of the team's next 30 games and advancing to the national championship. Tonight will be the first meeting between Rutgers and Maryland since 1998, with the Terrapins leading the series 18-10. Carson is expected to return from the injury that kept her out of the St. Joseph's match to help RU defend the hot-shooting Terps. Undefeated Maryland has posted 12 double-doubles and had at least one in eight of their games. The Knights will need to play their best defense in order to win, as the team averages just 57.6 points per game. Carson is also RU's second leading scorer, netting 11.3 points-per-game. The game marks the sixth iteration of the women's Jimmy V Classic, an event started by the V Foundation for Cancer Research started by ESPN and Rutgers alum Jim Valvano, the former head basketball coach of North Carolina State. Valvano died of cancer in 1993, after a year-long battle. Valvano led North Carolina State to the 1983 national title, his women's counterpart at N. C. State, Kay Yow will be in attendance for an announcement to be made by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the V Foundation.
Scarlet Knights look to shell Terrapins at home
Published: Sunday, December 2, 2007
Updated: Sunday, February 22, 2009
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