Rutgers Splits pair on the road

Rutgers went an even .500 on Saturday afternoon. The women ran by Providence 62-43, and in doing so, were able to notch win no. 799 for Hall of Fame Coach C. Vivian Strnger. The men didn't fare as well and though they hung tough for one half, Marquette was able to blow by the Scarlet Knights, outscoring RU 43-19 in the second stanza, en route to a 78-48 victory.

Women's Basketball
The Scarlet Knights opened up a 21-8 lead over host Providence in the first 9 minutes of play. #4/#5 Rutgers (22-4, 12-1) was paced by Essence Carson's 8 points during this early stretch. Rutgers led Providence by as many as 23 points during the first half of play - 37-14 - and twice forced the Friars (12-14, 2-11) into scoring droughts in excess of 4 and one-half minutes.

With the victory, RU extended its winning streak versus Providence to 15 games, upped their record against unranked opponents to 15-0 on the season and has tied UConn for first place in the Big east Conference.

Essence Carson paced Rutgers with 16 points (8-14 FG), 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Kia Vaughn added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The win, however, was special for one additional reason. The Knights' 22nd win of the season was also Coach Stringer's 799th career victory, leaving her just shy of the magical 800. Only Tennessee's Pat Summit and former Texas coach Jody Conradt have eclipsed this threshold. RU will next be in action on Tuesday, against DePaul, and Coach Stringer will have the opportunity to become the third major women's college basketball coach to reach 800 victories.

Big East Conference Standings
TEAM	CONF W-L	TOTAL W-L
#1 Connecticut	12-1	25-1
#4 Rutgers	12-1	22-4
#13 West Virginia	10-2	21-4
#14 Notre Dame	8-4	20-6
#21 Pittsburgh	8-4	18-7
#24 Syracuse	8-5	20-6
Louisville	8-5	19-7
DePaul	7-5	18-7
Marquette	6-7	14-12
Villanova	5-8	15-11
St. John's	4-8	13-12
Georgetown	4-9	14-12
Seton Hall	3-10	13-12
South Florida	3-10	13-13
Providence	2-11	12-14
Cincinnati	2-12	11-15

Men's Basketball
Rutgers hung tough with #24/#25 Marquette for one half, trailing the Golden Eagles by only 6 midway through the game. Marquette then used a 16-2 run that spanned the first and second halves to put Rutgers away early in the second stanza.

Jerel McNeal, Dominic James and Wesley Matthews combined for 39 points for the Eagles and the Scarlet Knight's offense, red hot in the first half, could not keep up with Marquette.

Rutgers (10-18, 2-13) has now dropped seven straight contests.

RU was paced by 12 points from freshman Corey Chandler and 11 from J.R. Inman.

The Scarlet Knights, who last lost eight straight in 2001 [Jan. 2-27, 2001] will next be in action on Tuesday (2/26) as RU hosts #13 Connecticut (21-6, 10-4). The Huskies dropped a road contest at Villanova earlier on Saturday, 67-65.

Big East Conference Standings
TEAM	CONF W-L	TOTAL W-L
#11 Georgetown	12-3	22-4
#23 Louisville	11-3	21-6
#21 Notre Dame	10-3	20-5
#13 Connecticut	10-4	21-6
#24 Marquette	10-5	20-6
Cincinnati	8-6	13-13
Pittsburgh	7-6	19-7
West Virginia	7-6	18-8
Villanova	7-7	17-9
Syracuse	7-7	17-10
Seton Hall	5-8	15-11
DePaul	5-8	10-15
Providence	4-10	13-13
St. John's	4-10	10-15
South Florida	2-12	11-16
Rutgers	2-13	10-18