MISSION STATEMENT
Rutgers overcame a sluggish start, as the Scarlet Knights fell behind 25-13 with 5:22 left in the first half. Rutgers chipped away and trailed 31-26 at intermission.
RU began the second half strong, scoring the first 10 points of the half to take a 36-31 lead with 14:16 remaining. RU built the lead to nine (48-39) with 6:45 left, but the Red Storm didn’t give up and outscored RU 10-2 over the next 3:02. Reka Szavuly hit a three-pointer with 1:28 left to tie the game at 52-52 and send the game into overtime, as RU sophomore guard Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) missed a layup as time expired.
The game was sent into a second overtime as SJU’s Shamika Stevens converted a layup with 15 seconds left to tie the game at 60-60. Pondexter again had a chance to win the game, but her jumper rolled off the rim as time expired.
Pondexter led Rutgers with 17 points, while adding seven rebounds and five assists. Three others scored in double figures for RU, as Horton, Shalicia Hurns (Indianapolis, IN) and Dawn McCullouch (Long Beach, CA) all tallied 13 points in the contest. Hurns also pulled down 11 rebounds to record her second double-double of the season.
The Scarlet Knights will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at Providence. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES
Home Court Advantage
With the win over St. John’s, the Scarlet Knights maintain their perfect
7-0 record at home.
Shooting Up the Charts
Mauri Horton has 96 career three-pointers, needing only three to tie Liz Hanson
(1992-96) for fourth place. She is ranked fifth in career attempts with 289.
Series History
The win increases Rutgers’ record against St. John’s to 22-4 and
12-1 in Piscataway, winning the last nine meetings.
Defensive Stance
The Rutgers defense forced nine turnovers, had seven steals and three blocks
in the first half. Overall, the Scarlet Knights had 19 steals and five blocks.
Shalicia Hurns led the team with a season-high 7 steals, surpassing the two
she grabbed against Villanova (Jan. 15).
Cleaning the Boards
Nine of the Scarlet Knights’ 19 rebounds in the first half were defensive.
In the first half RU out-rebounded SJU, 19-11. Overall, Rutgers out-rebounded
St. John’s 50-32.
Deficit Reduction
St. John’s 31-26 lead at halftime was the first time that Rutgers has
trailed at halftime at home this season. The only other time that RU came back
form a halftime deficit to win was at No. 21/20 Notre Dame on Jan. 18.
Holding the Lead
Rutgers captured its first lead of the game at 14:41 with a score of 32-31 during
a 10-0 that began at the start of the second half and put the score at 36-31
914:16). The Scarlet Knights did not relinquish the lead until St. John’s
tied the score at 52 with 1:28 left to go in regulation.
Overtime Performances
The 52-52 tie at the end of regulation gave the Scarlet Knights their second
consecutive overtime battle this season. On Jan. 22, the Scarlet Knights lost
to Virginia Tech, 64-66, in overtime. The only other time the Scarlet Knights
played back-to-back overtimes was Jan. 10 against Providence and Jan. 13 against
Boston College in 2001. RU won both those games, 81-76 and 75-66, respectively.
Double-Overtime
The Scarlet Knights are 3-0 all time in double-overtime games. The last time
RU played a double-overtime game was Jan. 20, 1999, when the Scarlet Knights
defeated Georgetown 67-64. This was the first double-overtime game ever played
by the Scarlet Knights at home.
Double Trouble
Shaclicia Hurns had 11 rebounds and 13 points to get her second career double-double
as a Scarlet Knight. Her first came in her Rutgers debut against Texas Tech
on Jan. 2. Hurns had a season-high 13 points, tied her season-high of 11 rebounds
and season-highs of three assists and seven steals.
Thief in the Paint
Hurns’ seven steals was three shy of the RU single-game record, held by
Denise Kenney (2/16/78). She was one shy of the RAC record, which Sue Wicks
holds from Jan. 3, 1987. Hurns now holds the most steals a Rutgers player has
acquired in a game against St. John’s, surpassing Tasha Pointer’s
five from Jan. 24, 1998.
Official Basketball Box Score
SJU vs Rutgers
01/25/03 2:00 pm at Louis Brown Ath. Center; Piscataway, NJ
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VISITORS: SJU 7-11, 1-6
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
15 KURTOSI, Kati....... f 2-5 0-0 1-3 3 4 7 3 5 0 3 0 1 36
34 GULAK, Patrycja..... f 2-4 0-0 1-2 1 2 3 4 5 0 4 0 1 35
10 STEVENS, Shemika.... g 5-15 2-8 6-7 0 5 5 2 18 5 8 0 3 48
45 SZAVULY, Reka....... g 4-11 4-8 0-0 1 0 1 5 12 2 3 0 1 36
54 RAINEY, Danielle.... g 6-11 2-4 6-6 2 0 2 3 20 4 2 0 1 41
13 BROWN, Sherri....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 12
21 PETERSEN, Dana...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 7
23 ANDREWS, Crystal.... 1-4 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 11
52 FOWLER, Creasie..... 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 2 2 0 0 0 1 24
TEAM................ 6 4 10
Totals.............. 21-54 8-20 14-18 14 18 32 21 64 12 23 0 8 250
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-19 47.4% 2nd Half: 7-19 36.8% OT: 5-16 31.3% Game: 38.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 5-11 45.5% OT: 0-5 0.0% Game: 40.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 10-13 76.9% 2nd Half: 2-3 66.7% OT: 2-2 100 % Game: 77.8% 0
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HOME TEAM: Rutgers 10-5, 4-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
32 NEWTON, Chelsea..... f 3-10 0-1 2-2 2 2 4 5 8 0 3 1 1 24
34 CAMPBELL, Michelle.. f 1-2 0-0 2-2 3 1 4 4 4 1 3 1 2 28
22 PETILLON, Amber..... c 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 1 13
15 HORTON, Mauri....... g 5-14 1-6 2-3 2 5 7 2 13 1 3 0 3 42
25 PONDEXTER, Cappie... g 6-17 2-5 3-4 3 4 7 2 17 5 4 2 2 46
00 HURNS, Shalicia..... 4-5 0-0 5-7 7 4 11 1 13 3 2 1 7 37
03 LOCKE, Courtney..... 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 9
35 McCULLOUCH, Dawn.... 5-16 0-0 3-5 1 3 4 2 13 1 3 0 3 42
42 THEODORIS, Mariota.. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
55 RICHMAN, Rebecca.... 1-2 0-0 0-1 3 1 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 8
TEAM................ 4 2 6
Totals.............. 25-68 3-14 17-24 27 23 50 18 70 12 21 5 19 250
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-27 44.4% 2nd Half: 8-29 27.6% OT: 5-12 41.7% Game: 36.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-7 14.3% 2nd Half: 1-4 25.0% OT: 1-3 33.3% Game: 21.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-5 20.0% 2nd Half: 9-11 81.8% OT: 7-8 87.5% Game: 70.8% 5
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Officials: Wesley Dean, Deborah Allen, Bryan Brunette
Technical fouls: SJU-None. Rutgers-None.
Attendance: 3524
Score by Periods 1st 2nd OT OT2 Total
SJU........................... 31 21 8 4 - 64
Rutgers....................... 26 26 8 10 - 70
Points in the paint-SJU 22,RU 34. Points off turnovers-SJU 17,RU 21.
2nd chance points-SJU 12,RU 24. Fast break points-SJU 4,RU 10.
Bench points-SJU 4,RU 28. Score tied-6 times. Lead changes-6 times.
