Rutgers Beats Providence

Scarlet Knights Cruise Past Friars

Feb 21, 2009 Mark Fontes

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights furthered their conquest back to the Top 25 Saturday with a 55-42 stomping of Providence.

It was a game of balance at the RAC. Rutgers started fast, slowed down once, but then sped up again to cruise through a late-season conference meeting with the Friars.

As expected, junior guard Epiphanny Prince led all scorers with 16 points. She also grabbed three rebounds and two assists.

"Everyone is assuming their positions...everyone is playing well," says Prince about the team's newly-found cohesion. "We just played within the offense...we don't have to force a lot of things"

Prince's scoring was well-balanced, dropping 8 points in each half. Her efforts were followed closely by center Kia Vaughn's 14, and fellow guard Khadijah Rushdan's 13. Vaughn also finished with the game-high rebound tally, 9.

"I just try to be that spark," says a boisterously, bubbly, happy Vaughn. "I don't know how long it's been since I had my starts." It was January 24 at DePaul.

"My birthday?" Vaughn asked the media. "That's depressing. "It was good for them to know that they had an inside presence. It went well. It started with me, and ended up with Piph and Khadijah."

Rutgers' lead was 13 at the half, and 13 at game's end, as both teams scored 19 in the second half.

Unprolific Providence

The Friars continue to struggle. At 9-17 overall (3-10 in conference play), there is little to make of the remainder of their season.

"They killed us on offensive boards," says coach Phil Seymore. "We had 18 turnovers. We didn't really convert in transition when we needed to, and make a run at it. They played extremely hard and they played good defense."

Guard Chelsea Marandola led Providence with 11 points. She was followed by forward MiKhida Hankins' 10 and guard Trinity Hull's 8. Hull also pulled 8 boards.

Providence does return home now, to face Marquette, one of three remaining Big East games.

Rutgers Still Alive?

The Knights also face three more conference opponents, two of them at home. They take on the University of Cincinnati Bearcats Tuesday at the RAC.

Should they finish 19-10, many experts feel they can still make a strong showing in the Big East Tournament in early March.

"I continue to hold out hope," says Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer. "Some people will break...my intentions are always to see if they break, but some don't. Epiphanny needs to be more assertive, from the beginning. Kia is a whole 'nother level. We shall see!"

After Cincinnati, the Knights will travel to Queens to play St. John's, and then return home to try and beat UCONN on March 2nd.

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