BOX SCORE
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. Rutgers overcame a one-point halftime deficit to escape Walsh Gymnasium with a 62-50 win over Seton Hall.amp; The Pirates (9-7, 1-4) have dropped four straight, while the Scarlet Knights (9-5, 4-1) have won four in a row.
Monique Blake (Union, N.J.) led SHU with 16 points and 12 rebounds, her seventh double-double of the season. She also went over the 1,000-point mark for her career with a first half jump shot, making her the 18th player in school history to reach that plateau.
Epiphanny Prince paced Rutgers with 16 points, seven rebounds, and five steals. Essence Carson added 13 while Brittany Ray scored 10.
With the Pirates trailing 12-4 early on, Jadis Rhodin (Lakehurst, N.J.) scored the next seven SHU points to cut the deficit to 16-11 at the 11:19 mark. Blake’s historic bucket four minutes later brought the Pirates to within 21-19. The Scarlet Knights responded with a 7-2 run, highlighted by a Ray three-pointer, to go up 28-21 with 6:26 remaining.
SHU controlled the remainder of the first half, quickly cutting into the lead before a Nicole Emery (Baldwin, N.Y.) triple evened the score at 30. Heather Zurich hit from beyond the arc to put Rutgers back ahead at 34-33 before Ela Mukosiej (Bialystok, Poland) knocked down a jumper as time expired to give the Pirates the one-point advantage at the break.
A 12-2 Rutgers spurt early in the second half saw the visitors take a 48-39 lead with 15 minutes remaining before SHU showed renewed resolve on the defensive end, holding the Scarlet Knights without a field goal for the next 10:39. Blake sparked the Pirate comeback with a jumper and fast break lay up on consecutive possessions before later adding another basket to cut the deficit to five. SHU finally fought back to tie when Noteisha Womack (Fort Washington, Md.) and Blake connected on the interior to even the score at 50 with 5:48 to go.
Rutgers regrouped down the stretch as the Pirates would not score again. Baskets by Ray and Kia Vaughn put the Scarlet Knights back in control, and the visitors hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final two minutes to hang on for the victory.
SHU shot just 25 percent in the second half after hitting a blistering 52.4 percent in the first. The Pirates outrebounded the taller Scarlet Knights 37-32, including a 19-9 edge in the opening 20 minutes.
Emery had seven points, three rebounds, and two steals for SHU, who return to the court on Jan. 16 at West Virginia. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.
