Tasha Pointer, the smallest player on the court at 5-foot-6, lived up to her
billing as a Naismith Player of the Year candidate, scoring a go-ahead basket
with :38 left. Her spinning, underhanded scoop gave Rutgers a 62-61 lead, which
she extended five seconds later with a free throw. Pointer finished with a
team-high 16 points.
"(The defender) actually went for my pump fake," said Pointer of
her winning shot. "But she did not jump in to me, so I had a clear look at
the basket. I was just reacting to what she gave me."
After blowing a nine-point bulge -- Wisconsin used a 17-2 run to take a 57-51
lead with 4:07 remaining -- the Scarlet Knights turned on their full-court press
to turn the game around. Rutgers scored 12 of the game's final 14 points,
including a 7-0 run that gave the team a 60-59 lead with 1:19 left.
"Their quickness and aggressiveness make it a great press," said
Wisconsin coach Jane Albright. "It's everything you want a press to be. We
can't simulate that press in practice and we bring guys in to play against
us."
Wisconsin, which committed three turnovers in the final 2:00, broke the press
to take a 61-60 lead on a turnaround jumper by Tamara Moore with :58 left. She
had a potential game-tying jumper blocked by freshman Kourtney Walton with two
:02 left.
Rutgers played without starting center Tammy Sutton-Brown (left ankle
sprain), who netted 14 points on 6 of 6 shooting in a win over Wisconsin last
year (all but one player returned on both teams from that meeting).
Dana Boonen and Davalyn Cunningham, who replaced Sutton-Brown at center,
combined for just eight points before they both fouled out. The Scarlet Knights,
who outrebounded Wisconsin 34-17 last year, were beat 32-28 on the boards.
With forward Shawnetta Stewart, another Naismith candidate, struggling from
the floor (0-for-6), Linda Miles had to pick up the scoring slack, and did,
pouring in 12 points. But she could not single-handedly offset Wisconsin's
starting frontcourt, which combined for 35 points. Coach C. Vivian Stringer
received the total team effort she needed.
"In the four years I've been here, that was the greatest team
effort," Stringer said. "I knew this game would be one of four or five
this season that would be a defining moment for this team. It showed our
character heart and pride."
Christina Fowler, one of four newcomers or reserves from a year ago that
Stringer started for the second straight game, was key down the stretch. She
stole an inbound pass and scored a layup, closing Wisconsin's lead to 59-58 with
1:32 left.
Fowler and her backcourt mates made it difficult for the Badgers to work the
ball into the low post by denying the entry pass and took precious seconds off
the shot clock by picking up Wisconsin's guards with halfcourt pressure.
"Their guard pressure made us start our offense so far out,"
Albright said. "Rutgers is very efficient in their perimeter defense.
Defensively they really picked it up a notch and forced (21) turnovers."
Rutgers (2-1) plays next at Ohio State on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
WISCONSIN (2-1): Sims 5-14 0-2 11, Stomski 3-5 7-7 13, N. Smith 4-7 3-4 11,
Paulus 0-5 0-0 0, Moore 5-7 8-10 19, C. Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Hefte 0-0 0-0 0, Pate
0-0 0-0 0, Black 1-2 2-2 4, Bird 1-1 0-0 2, Konieczny 0-0 1-4 1, Seeger 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 19-42 21-29 61.
RUTGERS (2-1): Miles 5-6 2-2 12, Cunningham 2-4 1-3 5, Washington 2-5 0-0 4,
Fowler 2-7 3-5 7, Horton 0-1 0-0 0, Gilmore 2-3 0-2 4, Walton 1-3 2-2 5, Stewart
0-6 5-6 5, Boonen 1-3 1-1 3, Pointer 6-10 2-2 16, Clemente 0-0 2-2 2. Totals
21-48 18-25 63.
Halftime--Rutgers 35, Wisconsin 28. 3-Point goals--Wisconsin 2-9 (Moore 1-2,
Sims 1-3, Black 0-1, Paulus 0-3), Rutgers 3-11 (Pointer 2-4, Walton 1-3,
Washington 0-1, Horton 0-1, Stewart 0-2). Fouled out--Cunningham, Boonen.
Rebounds--Wisconsin 32 (N. Smith 6), Rutgers 28 (Pointer 6). Assists--Wisconsin
9 (Stomski, Moore, C. Smith 2), Rutgers 14 (Pointer 4). Total fouls--Wisconsin
22, Rutgers 22. A--2,811.