March 5, 2006

Box Score

HARTFORD, Conn. - Cappie Pondexter scored 20 of her 24 points in the second half to lead No. 6 Rutgers to a 60-37 win over Villanova in the Big East Conference tournament on Sunday.

The Scarlet Knights (25-3), the top-seeded team in the tournament, will play 12th-seeded West Virginia (14-15) in Monday's semifinal.

Rutgers' center Kia Vaughn also came up big in the second half, grabbing 13 of her game-high 14 boards and adding three blocked shots. The inside-outside combination of Pondexter and Wright helped the Scarlet Knights pick up the tempo of a sluggish offensive effort by both teams in the first 20 minutes.

Betsy McManus led the eighth-seeded Wildcats (19-10) with 11 points and finished 3-of-8 from 3-point range.

The Scarlet Knights are coming off their second straight regular-season title, but are looking for their first tournament crown.

Rutgers led just 17-13 at the break before turning to Pondexter, the Big East player of the year, to spark the offense.

With Rutgers leading 21-17, the senior guard scored six straight points in a 60-second span with 16:11 remaining. It was all the cushion the Scarlet Knights would need.

McManus hit a 3 and Jackie Adamshick's runner with 13:27 left got the Wildcats within seven. But Pondexter countered with a pair of layups and a 3-pointer while the Rutgers' defense, the best in the nation at 51.3 points allowed per game, did the rest.

Matee Ajavon finished with 10 point and three steals for the Scarlet Knights. Essence Carson and Vaughn combined for 16 of Rutgers' 36 defensive boards. The Scarlet Knights outrebounded the Wildcats 49-23 and outscored them 22-8 in the paint.