Rutgers ended an 11 game losing streak at UConn last night with a tight 60-56 victory. Leading by as many as 14 points in the second half, the Scarlet Knights withstood a late rally from the Huskies to hold on to the win.
Cappie Pondexter led all scorers with 18 points, including two free throws at the end of the game to seal the victory. Barbara Turner and Ann Strother led the Huskies with 17 and 15 points respectively, but were the only two UConn players in double figures.
Charde Houston, who has come up big for the Huskies in previous marquee games, finished with two points on 0-6 from the floor and played only 16 minutes. Mel Thomas also struggled offensively and only hit one of her 10 attempts.
Rutgers used an 11-0 run in the first half and responded to UConn's own 11-2 run by scoring the last four points of the half to take a 27-21 halftime lead. While UConn fought back in the second half to come within 55-53, Rutgers always seemed to have an answer. Twice in the second half, Strother hit three pointers only to have Pondexter go down on the other end and respond each time with her own three pointer.
With 22 seconds left in the game, the Huskies still had a chance to tie but Ketia Swanier was forced to try a wild shot on a drive after a play designed for Turner broke down. Rutgers ended up with the ball after they forced a tie-up on the rebound. Geno took blame after the game for the play break down. "I could have fixed it and I could have called a timeout and I didn't," Auriemma said.
While Pondexter and Matee Ajavon scored and hit big shots, Geno and his players gave credit to some of the other Scarlet Knights for the win. According to Wilnett Crockett, "They had other people step up, like Essence Carson, who's not really a threat. And their post players, who are pretty much not a threat, but came up big."
The teams battle again at Rutgers on February 27. While the difference in conference schedules may make it difficult to gauge who is truly the better team, a Rutgers win should give them the regular season conference title for the second year in a row. Strother hopes the next game features the best play of both teams. As she explains, "I would like to see us come out and play our best game, and have them play their best game at the same time."
Cappie Pondexter led all scorers with 18 points, including two free throws at the end of the game to seal the victory. Barbara Turner and Ann Strother led the Huskies with 17 and 15 points respectively, but were the only two UConn players in double figures.
Charde Houston, who has come up big for the Huskies in previous marquee games, finished with two points on 0-6 from the floor and played only 16 minutes. Mel Thomas also struggled offensively and only hit one of her 10 attempts.
Rutgers used an 11-0 run in the first half and responded to UConn's own 11-2 run by scoring the last four points of the half to take a 27-21 halftime lead. While UConn fought back in the second half to come within 55-53, Rutgers always seemed to have an answer. Twice in the second half, Strother hit three pointers only to have Pondexter go down on the other end and respond each time with her own three pointer.
With 22 seconds left in the game, the Huskies still had a chance to tie but Ketia Swanier was forced to try a wild shot on a drive after a play designed for Turner broke down. Rutgers ended up with the ball after they forced a tie-up on the rebound. Geno took blame after the game for the play break down. "I could have fixed it and I could have called a timeout and I didn't," Auriemma said.
While Pondexter and Matee Ajavon scored and hit big shots, Geno and his players gave credit to some of the other Scarlet Knights for the win. According to Wilnett Crockett, "They had other people step up, like Essence Carson, who's not really a threat. And their post players, who are pretty much not a threat, but came up big."
The teams battle again at Rutgers on February 27. While the difference in conference schedules may make it difficult to gauge who is truly the better team, a Rutgers win should give them the regular season conference title for the second year in a row. Strother hopes the next game features the best play of both teams. As she explains, "I would like to see us come out and play our best game, and have them play their best game at the same time."
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