Lee powers Knights past Trojans

ST. THOMAS — A sign in the crowd said it all.
‘Unbe-LEE-vable.’
With the first double-double of her career propelling the Rutgers women’s basketball team to a 66-51 victory today at the Paradise Jam, sophomore forward Chelsey Lee was just that — unbelievable.
Lee dominated the Trojans on both ends of the court, finishing with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The sophomore added two emphatic blocks and a steal for good measure, helping the Knights push the dagger into the Trojans’ armor. The game marked her career high in points and rebounds.
“I just wanted to play hard, Lee said. “After losing to Georgia by one point and we were leading the whole game.I know how badly [Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer] wanted it. And as a whole team we really wanted it, and I wanted to leave everything out there. I didn’t want to walk off thinking ‘I could have had this, I should have done that.’”
With Lee and her teammates dominating down low, the paint belonged to Rutgers.
The Knights outrebounded the Trojans 46-32, marking the second straight game Rutgers has grabbed 14 more boards than their opponent. In perhaps the most telling stat of the game, Rutgers scored 24 points in the paint, while USC managed only two.
“Some people see a rebound and it takes them forever to get up, but I think Chelsey just has a natural aggressiveness,” Stringer said. “As does Monique Oliver and Rashidat Junaid has gotten considerably better. That helps a lot. I think our post is the strongest it’s ever been.”
While they outplayed USC for large portions of the game, the Knights did not convincingly pull away until the final minutes. Rutgers did to push its lead past 10 points for the majority of the second half, keeping the sharpshooting Trojans within striking distance.
Whenever the Knights began pulling away, the Trojans drained a three-pointer to keep themselves alive. The Trojans were hot from beyond the arc all night, with 27 of their points coming from downtown.
Ashley Corral had the hot hand for USC, finishing with 24 points on 6-of-13 shooting from three point range.
Sophomore guard Khadijah Rushdan, dressed in warm ups, did not play in her first game since being diagnosed with bone spurs in her knee. Rushdan went down late in the Knights’ previous game against Georgia and had to be helped off the court.
Sophomore guard Nikki Speed earned her first start of the year in Rushdan’s stead.
Speed came alive in the second half, finishing with a career-high 13 points and three assists. The guard also contributed three steals and, most importantly, limited her turnovers to two.
“I was ready [to start],” Speed said. “I know how Coach Stringer wants [the offense run] and my main thing for her was slowing it down and not being so antsy, so I wanted to make good passes.”
The Scarlet Knights put their youth on display in the middle of the first half, as all three of Rutgers’ freshmen were out on the court simultaneously.
Freshman guard Erica Wheeler delivered a perfect pass from the top of the arc to forward Monique Oliver who was camped on the baseline. Oliver snagged the ball and laid it in to the basket untouched. Though the forward was pulled shortly after, the duo of Wheeler and classmate Christine Huber remained to finish the half.
In her first significant playing time of the season, Huber played a solid game, scoring four points on two jump shots and grabbing five rebounds in an 11-minute stretch. The forward finished with a career-high seven rebounds in the game.
“Chris [Huber] came in there as a freshman and had seven rebounds in 12 minutes, that’s real good to see,” Stringer said. “They’re spending a lot of time working on their shots and on the little things and I’m really proud of them.”
With their first game — and their first win — behind them, the Scarlet Knights now turn their attention to Mississippi State, a team they have never played before.
But the No. 19 Bulldogs are a challenge Rutgers and Speed are ready to embrace.
“We’ll be ready for it,” Speed said. “And I know as long as my teammates have confidence in me I’ll be fine.”
 

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