Miami Falls To Rutgers, 65-56
Feb. 5, 2003
PISCATAWAY, NJ – The Rutgers women’s basketball team (13-5, 6-2 BIG EAST) overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to defeat Miami (13-7, 5-4 BIG EAST) tonight at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
The Scarlet Knights trailed by 12 points (41-29) with 15:22 left, but went on a 22-4 run over the next 7:03 to gain a 51-50 lead with 8:19 remaining. Rutgers outscored Miami 36-15 over the final 15 minutes, as sophomore point guard Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) scored 19 of her 21 points in the second half.
Pondexter’s 21 points led the team and she also contributed six rebounds and seven assists. One of the keys to the victory was the play of sophomore forward Mariota Theodoris (Riviera Beach, FL), as she came off the bench to record a season-high nine points and tie her career high with eight rebounds. She also hit some clutch free throws in the second half, going 5-of-6 (.833) from the line.
Rutgers led just once in the first half, trailing by as many as nine before Mauri Horton (Minneapolis, MN) hit a jumper to cut the lead to 32-25 at the half. Miami came out strong in the second half and built the lead to 12, the biggest lead of the game, before Rutgers mounted their comeback.
Horton finished the game with seven points, while junior Dawn McCullouch (Long Beach, CA) added 11 points and three rebounds. Shalicia Hurns (Indianapolis, IN) pulled down 11 rebounds and added eight points.
