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Tuesday, Dec. 21 7:30pm ET
Bruins find no answer to Rutgers' defense | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) -- Rutgers' women's basketball team delivered a message Tuesday night. "Our defense is back," coach C. Vivian stringer said after (No. 16 ESPN/USA Today, No. 15 AP) Rutgers' 72-46 rout of UCLA (No. 9, No. 6). "We demonstrated some stuff to ourselves and sent a message across the country that our defense is going to be as stingy as it was last year." Rutgers (6-2) was third nationally in scoring defense last year and was ranked sixth this season at 54.6 points per game. The Bruins, who led the nation by averaging over 80 points per game through the first seven games, had no answers for Rutgers' matchup zone Tuesday night. Shawnetta Stewart scored 28 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and added six assists to lead Rutgers. Stewart scored 18 points in the second half as Rutgers broke away after leading just 28-24 at the half. "Shawnetta has been shooting with more confidence," Stringer said. "When she's playing with confidence, everybody else plays with confidence." UCLA (5-3) trailed the entire first half, but forged a 33-32 lead 4½ minutes into the second half when Erica Gomez completed a three-point play. Tammy Sutton-Brown put Rutgers back in front with a layup, triggering a 17-3 run that ended with Stewart's 3-pointer with 9:52 to play. Rutgers then kept the Bruins at bay before the Scarlet Knights began a succession of trips to the foul line. Rutgers was 8-of-10 from the line. Rutgers kept the Bruins at bay while adding to its margin from the foul line. Rutgers was 8-of-10 at the line in the last five minutes while holding UCLA scoreless. "Coach gave us an inspiring speech before the game," said Rutgers' Linda Miles, who spearheaded the defensive effort. "We just played the best 40 minutes of basketball we could." Rutgers built a 25-9 lead in the first half with a 15-0 run that saw UCLA go almost nine minutes without scoring. The Bruins made a run of their own in the final five minutes, outscoring Rutgers 15-3 with Maylana Martin getting eight of her 19 points. Rutgers' three points during that stretch came on free throws. "Our offense depends on being aggressive," UCLA coach Kathy Olivier said. "They kind of disrupted our offense, forced us to take bad shots and in the second half they just dominated the boards on us. "They (Rutgers) have a very athletic and active team that just did the job defensively. They gave us a look up top that we hadn't seen before and we didn't adjust to it." Tasha Pointer had 16 points and Linda Miles 12 for the Scarlet Knights. | ALSO SEE Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
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