Rutgers Roundup

Three players scored in double figures as the No. 6 Rutgers women's basketball team picked up its fourth straight win, a 70-34 home victory over Atlantic 10 opponent Temple Sunday afternoon at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

The Scarlet Knights improved to 9-2 on the season, while the Owls fell to 7-7. Rutgers now holds a 32-9 edge in the alltime series against the Temple.

Rutgers put on a first half scoring clinic, shooting 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the field. They finished the contest, draining 27-of-48 shots from the floor for a season-best 56.3 percent. The 70-point output is the highest of the season for the Scarlet Knights, while the 34 scored by Temple is the Owls' lowest of the season and fewest points since 1998. RU's previous high was 68 against Maryland Dec. 3.

Sophomore guard Epiphanny Prince tallied a game-high 20 points, the third time this season she has reached that mark.

Senior guard Matee Ajavon scored 14 points - all in the first half - and junior center Kia Vaughn chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore center Rashidat Junaid also added eight rebounds, earning the starting nod for the fourth time this season.

For Temple, guard Ashley Morris led the way with 15 points, and Jasmine Stone pulled down nine rebounds.

Powered by Prince and Ajavon, Rutgers raced out to a 20-12 lead halfway through the first period. The backcourt duo combined for 16 of the Scarlet Knights first 20 points. A pair of free throws by Junaid capped a 10-0 run and gave Rutgers a 26-12 advantage with 7:33 left in the opening stanza.

Temple recorded a bucket on the next play - a lay-up by Shenita Landry - but would not score for the final seven minutes of the half as Rutgers took a 28- 14 lead into the intermission. Prince and Ajavon combined for 23 first-half points.

The Owls got within 20 points (43-23) early in the second half following a three-pointer by Morris, but Rutgers answered as Prince scored four and Vaughn added two to move the score to 49-23 with 14:32 to play.

Prince finished with six of RU's 13 total steals, tying a career-high. Ajavon recorded eight of the team's 13 assists, a season-best.

RU honored assistant coach Tasha Pointer and Shawnetta Stewart at the half. The duo, who helped lead RU to its first Final Four in 2000, will be enshrined into the Rutgers Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in April.

The Scarlet Knights returned to action last night against Pepperdine.

Junior J.R. Inman registered his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, to help lead Rutgers (8-5) to a 73-67 win over Manhattan (7-5) Saturday afternoon at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights shot a season-best 47.2 percent (25-53) from the field and withstood a late Jaspers charge to finish 2007 on a positive note.

"We hung in there and we made the plays we had to in the end," said Rutgers head coach Fred Hill. "We were able to come away with a good victory. We shot the ball a little better today and we did a great job of driving the basketball. We also did a great job of getting to the free throw line and using the free throw line as an offensive weapon."

A trio of juniors scored in double figures to propel the home squad. Guard Anthony Farmer made five of nine field goal attempts and five of six free throws en route to 16 points, his fourth straight game in double figures. Fellow ball handler Courtney Nelson deposited four of eight shows and converted all three of his attempts from the charity stripe to tally a season-high 12 points.

The lead changed hands on six occasions in an opening half that also saw three ties. A Nelson three-pointer with 6:32 remaining before the break provided RU a 25-22 advantage. Rutgers would maintain the lead from that point forward and entered the locker room and the midpoint with a 36-32 lead.

A back-and-forth affair ensued after intermission. Manhattan reduced its deficit to a single point (43-42) after a Brandon Adams three-point play with 14:36 on the clock. The Scarlet Knights answered the challenge, however, scoring 23 of the contest's next 27 points to establish a 66-46 lead with 6:42 to go. It marked Rutgers largest lead of the game, but the Jaspers did not relent. A little over five minutes later on the game clock, the advantage was down to just five points, 70-65, after Darryl Crawford made two of the free throw attempts.

The 6,015 Scarlet-clad fans in attendance were sitting a little uneasy, but Rutgers responded for a second time in decisive fashion. A thunderous slam dunk by Inman with 33 seconds remaining brought the crowd to its feet and squelched any hope of a late comeback.