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HARTFORD, Conn. - Maybe it's the fact that the Rutgers women's basketball team has only eight players dressed and only seven that saw court time. Perhaps it is the fact that the Scarlet Knights played 24 hours prior to this game.
Whatever it was, the Knights found themselves behind by double-digits very early on and missed 12-of-13 field goals to start the game.
What happened from that point on may be something that will go down in Rutgers history. The Knights buckled down, fought back and won a thriller, 51-45, over Notre Dame.
"As a team we said that we could either destruct or stick together," junior guard Cappie Pondexter said, referring to the deficit that RU faced early on. "We chose to stick together and fought hard to get back into the game."
Rutgers got off to a very sluggish start, to say the least. The Knights found themselves behind by double-digits with 12:41 remaining in the first half with the score 12-2. Irish guard Jacqueline Batteast started off strong for the Irish and had 11 points while the Knights could only register two as a team.
RU did not score their third and fourth points of the game until junior guard Cappie Pondexter hit two free throws with 9:45 remaining in the first. That was, however, followed by a layup by Pondexter and then a steal and put back by Shalicia Hurns to make it a 17-8 game with eight minutes remaining.
From that point on, Rutgers went on an 11-6 run to end the half, highlighted by a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining in the half by senior guard Dawn McCullouch.
"In a way, I like this," head coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "I like our backs against the walls. We needed to find out if we were survivors."
To say that this team is a group of survivors is an understatement. Only one minute into the second, RU tied it up at 23-23 on McCullouch's drive to the hoop and with three minutes gone, RU took the lead for the first time on another field goal by McCullouch.
The remainder of the game was a seesaw battle, with the lead switching numerous times. Finding themselves down by six midway through the second stanza, the Knights went on a 6-0 run with Pondexter scoring four of the points, to tie the game at 35-35 with 8:40 remaining in the contest.
The Knights were dealt a major blow when junior forward Rebecca Richman picked up her fifth foul of the game with over six minutes remaining.
"We have been shorthanded all year," Hurns said, laughing due to her own injuries. "I took an ice bath last night and will take another tonight. We will be ready for tomorrow."
With the teams continuing to go back and forth, Pondexter put the game away. She scored six of her 24 points in the final 50 seconds and helped send the Irish packing.
After a layup by Pondexter with 22 seconds remaining, ND's Batteast hit a two to give her 22 for the game. Pondexter, however, calmly took the inbounds pass, got fouled and drained two more free throws - she went 12-for-12 from the charity line. The Irish then turned the ball over, and McCullouch raced up the court to score to put the game out of reach.
"It isn't how you start but how you finish," McCullouch said. "We are finishing pretty strong."
In order to advance to the second round to face the Fighting Irish, RU had to take care of business against the Seton Hall Pirates for the second time in less than a week. By controlling the boards and shooting nearly 43 percent from the field, the Knights were able to hard the Pirates a 51-42 defeat.
Despite struggling to only five first-half points, Pondexter was able to score a game-high 18 points to lead the Knights. She got help from Hurns - who registered 11 points - and from McCullouch, who chipped in 15 points and a team-high six rebounds.
The Knights will now continue their journey in the Big East Tournament against West Virginia at 8 p.m. tonight.
KNIGHT NOTES: With the win the women's basketball program has now reach 20 wins in 20 of their 30 seasons...McCullouch is now two points short of 1,000 for her career.
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