VILLANOVA, PA - Rutgers’ Shalicia Hurns (Indianapolis, IN) put back a teammate’s blocked shot and scored as time expired to lift the No. 20/23 Scarlet Knights (20-5, 13-2 BIG EAST) to a 50-49 win at No. 18/17 Villanova (21-5, 11-4 BIG EAST) March 1. In the process, RU secured the second seed in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament and won its 11th consecutive game.

Rutgers was leading 48-47 with 15 seconds to play, but Villanova’s Trish Juhline rolled to the basket after inbounding the ball on her own baseline and scored with 7.1 ticks on the clock, giving the Wildcats a 49-48 advantage. RU immediately called its final timeout, and sophomore Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) brought the ball the length of the court, driving to the paint and trying to get off a clean shot, but she was blocked by Nova’s Jana Rediger. Hurns grabbed the loose ball, and her shot fell through the rim as the clock sounded.

Villanova jumped out to a 13-4 lead to begin the game, but Rutgers scored nine unanswered points later in the half to pull ahead 18-16 with eight minutes to play. The lead changed hands four more times before Dawn McCullouch’s (Long Beach, CA) score with 24 seconds remaining gave RU a 24-23 halftime lead.

The lead changed hands three more times in the first three minutes of the second half, but the Knights seemed to take control of the game with a 19-11 run, pulling ahead 46-38 with 5:00 on the clock. The Wildcats would not go away, though, as they scored 11 of the next 13 points, capped by Juhline’s basket.

Pondexter scored a game-high 20 points, shooting 7-for-13 (.538) from the field and 2-of-2 (1.000) from three-point range. Hurns just missed a double-double with her 14 points and game-high nine rebounds.

For the BIG EAST’s two best teams in terms of protecting the basketball, it was a turnover-prone game. Rutgers, a team which is tied for 16th nationally (14.6 pg), had 15 miscues, while Villanova, the national leader with 9.8 turnovers per game, also threw the ball away 15 times.

RU will finish the regular season Tuesday, March 4, with a home contest against No. 23/21 Boston College. The Scarlet Knights will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. as the home finale also will serve as “Senior Night”.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Villanova Wildcats
3/1/03 2:05 pm at The Pavillion  Villanova Pa.  *BIG EAST*
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VISITORS: Rutgers Scarlet Knights 20-5 (13-2)
                          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  1-3    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   3   2  0  3  1  1  40
34 CAMPBELL, Michelle.. f  0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   5
15 HORTON, Mauri....... g  4-12   0-3    0-0    2  3  5   1   8  5  5  0  2  40
25 PONDEXTER, Cappie... g  7-13   2-2    4-6    1  2  3   0  20  0  6  0  1  34
35 McCULLOUCH, Dawn.... g  1-5    0-2    1-2    1  5  6   1   3  1  1  0  2  40
00 HURNS, Shalicia.....    5-9    0-0    4-5    4  5  9   3  14  0  0  0  0  31
03 LOCKE, Courtney.....    1-1    1-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   3  1  0  0  0   8
52 CAHOE, Aquisha......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  1   2
   TEAM................                         2  4  6
   Totals..............   19-44   3-8    9-13  11 21 32   8  50  7 15  1  7 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-22 40.9%   2nd Half: 10-22 45.5%   Game: 43.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-5  40.0%   2nd Half:  1-3  33.3%   Game: 37.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-4  100 %   2nd Half:  5-9  55.6%   Game: 69.2%    2

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HOME TEAM: Villanova Wildcats 21-5 (11-4)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
04 Davis, Katie........ f  5-7    5-7    0-0    0  1  1   2  15  2  2  0  0  29
52 Druckenmiller, Nicol f  1-4    1-4    0-0    1  0  1   1   3  1  1  0  0  29
21 Rediger, Jana....... c  1-2    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   3   2  0  2  1  0  19
11 Juhline, Trish...... g  5-15   3-9    2-2    0  3  3   4  15  3  2  0  0  37
23 Mix, Courtney....... g  2-8    0-2    1-2    3  3  6   0   5  6  2  1  1  39
03 McManus, Betsy......    2-3    2-3    0-0    0  1  1   0   6  0  1  0  0   9
25 Hilgenberg, Jennifer    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   2
31 Dessart-Mager, Kate.    1-1    0-0    1-2    0  1  1   2   3  0  1  0  0  10
33 Viani, Jenna........    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  1   6
42 Nash, Kelly.........    0-3    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  1  0  2  18
44 Roantree, Courtney..    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  0  0  0   2
   TEAM................                         3  3  6             1
   Totals..............   17-44  11-26   4-6    7 15 22  12  49 13 15  2  4 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  8-22 36.4%   2nd Half:  9-22 40.9%   Game: 38.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  6-12 50.0%   2nd Half:  5-14 35.7%   Game: 42.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  1-2  50.0%   2nd Half:  3-4  75.0%   Game: 66.7%   1,1

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Officials: Yvette McKinney, Jack Plunkett, Sue Blauch
Technical fouls: Rutgers Scarlet Knights-None. Villanova Wildcats-None.
Attendance: 3319
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Rutgers Scarlet Knights.......   24   26  -   50
Villanova Wildcats............   23   26  -   49