Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Rutgers came back late to beat the Terps in New Jersey behind Ephipanny Prince's 22.

The startling comeback took place while Kia Vaughn sat with foul trouble, and proved that RU could make Maryland play Rutgers' way: scrappy, intense on defense, and without the smooth passing the Terps demonstrate when they're good.

Langhorne set a Maryland record for boards: "I wish it could have happened in another game," she said.

UPDATE: Hays at ESPN has more. Both coaches agree that the Scarlet Knights "wanted a low-scoring game" (Brenda); Rutgers "can take most [teams] 10, 15, 20, 25 points off their average" (CVS).

Pop quiz: Rutgers' recent successes are (a) good for the game as a whole, because CVS is a very good role model; (b) good for the game as a whole, because (as with UConn's rise in the 1990s) it's good to have another national contender close to the USA's biggest media market; (c) bad for the game as a whole, because the defense-first strategies, exhausting scrambles, and low-scoring outcomes that CVS favors make the game less entertaining, minute by minute, especially for casual fans; (d) good for the game as a whole, because defense is good for you. Justify your answers in writing, please: they're due sometime before coach Stringer's book.