#7/8 Rutgers Outlasts the Orange, 69-61

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Cappie Pondexter tallied 21 points to lead No. 7/8 Rutgers to a 69-61 victory against Syracuse in BIG EAST women's basketball action on Sunday, Feb. 6 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J. The Orange is now 11-10 overall and 3-7 in the league, while the Scarlet Knights improved to 16-5 overall and 7-2 in conference play.

Freshman guard Jessica Richter led the Orange with 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. Richter also had two assists and two steals. Senior Chineze Nwagbo recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go with two assists and two steals. Freshman Vaida Sipaviciute also filled up the stat sheets with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists, three blocks and two steals for the Orange. Senior guard Rochelle Coleman had eight points and four assists. Sophomore Lauren Kohn tallied eight points and was a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Freshman Mary Joe Riley finished with four points, two rebounds and two assists in her first-career start.

Michelle Campbell was the only other Scarlet Knight in double digits with 18 points.

Richter nailed a three-pointer to give the Orange a 7-4 lead before Rutgers used a 6-0 run to take a 10-7 advantage with 13:11 left in the opening stanza. Syracuse evened the score at 10-10 on a three-point play by Nwagbo with 11:53 on the first-half clock. With the score tied at 14-14, Richter hit her second three-pointer of the first half and Sipaviciute tallied a layup to give SU a 19-14 cushion with four minutes left. The Scarlet Knights scored the last six points of the half. Campbell netted two of the final three baskets, including a jumper to end the half and give the Knights a 20-19 halftime edge. Campbell finished the first half with 10 points. Richter had eight points and seven boards in the first 20 minutes, while Nwagbo netted seven points and grabbed six rebounds. Rutgers was 0-for-11 from behind the arc in the opening frame.

With the score tied at 21-21, Rutgers used a 10-2 run to take a 31-23 advantage. With 15:33 on the second-half clock, Kohn hit her first three-pointer to make the score 31-26. The Orange pulled to within four at 32-28 on a basket by Sipaviciute with 14:45 on the clock. The Scarlet Knights went on a 7-0 run to take its first double-digit lead of the game at 39-28. SU cut it to five at 41-36 on an 8-2 run ignited by a Coleman three-pointer. SU got as close as three, 48-45, on another Coleman three with 7:19 left in the game. Rutgers extended to its largest lead of the day at 59-47 with 4:04 remaining in the contest. SU cut it back to seven at 66-59 with 18.8 seconds left, before losing 69-61. SU went 16-of-24 (66.7%) from the field in the second half, including 6-of-8 from long range. Rutgers tried to keep pace and shot 17-of-29 (56.8%) from the floor in the second.

For the game, SU shot 50% from the field, while Rutgers shot 41.9%. The Orange outrebounded the Knights, 33-30, but committed a season-high 26 turnovers. Rutgers outscored the Orange off turnovers by a margin of 34-9 and tallied 14 fastbreak points. The loss is only the second this season when Syracuse scores 60-or-more points.

"We talked about trying to handle Rutgers pressure, but because they didn't score so much in the first half it was a little easier," head coach Keith Cieplicki said. "We are really learning how to compete against some of the top teams in the country and Rutgers showed today that they are one of those teams."

SU travels to Villanova on Wednesday, Feb. 9 for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff with the Wildcats.

Syracuse University Athletics

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