PISCATAWAY, NJ -- The No. 6/7 Rutgers University women's basketball team (7-0) extended its home winning streak to 18 games, defeating the Lady Monarchs of Old Dominion, 77-41, on Friday night at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
The Lady Monarchs were led in scoring by junior Tish Lyons (Newport News, Va.) and senior Lawona Davis (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) with 10 points apiece. Junior Sherida Triggs (Norcross, Ga.) had a team-high 11 reboudns in the loss.
Rutgers' guard Cappie Pondexter matched her season high with 26 points adding in eight assists and three steals. Freshman Kia Vaughn finished the game with a double-double with a career-high 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Scarlet Knights and the Lady Monarchs exchanged baskets for the first few minutes of the game. However, from the 13:33 mark until the 5:12 mark, RU went on a 22-4 run that was fueled by six ODU turnovers, resulting in 10 Scarlet Knight points. Rutgers stretched its first half lead to as many as 22 points and went into the break up 40-18. Rutgers held Old Dominion to two field goals in the final 14 minutes of the first half.
Old Dominion was outscored 37-23 in the second half for the final margin. A Paula Muxiri (Luanda, Angola) lay-up with 17:49 left put the score at 42-26 and got Old Dominion as close as 16 points.
The Lady Monarchs will look to get back into the win column next week when they continue their road trip beginning with a match-up at Charlotte next Saturday. The game will be televised by Comcast Sportsnet (Hampton Roads - Ch. 35).