January 06, 2005

No. 14 Rutgers Stuns No. 1 LSU 51-49 in OT

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Cappie Pondexter scored 16 points and Rutgers rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half Wednesday night to knock off No. 1 LSU 51-49 in overtime for its third win over a Top 10 team in eight days.

Chelsea Newton, who hit the go-ahead basket in overtime, stole a pass at midcourt with about two seconds left to put the finishing touches on the greatest week-plus of women's basketball in Scarlet Knights history and hand LSU its first loss of the season.

No. 14 Rutgers (9-2) beat then-No. 8 Tennessee at home last Wednesday and then snapped No. 4 Texas' 41-game home winning streak on Sunday, rallying from an 18-point second-half deficit.

Seimone Augustus had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Tigers (13-1), but she missed a potential game-winning 15-foot shot at the end of regulation and two free throws in overtime, when LSU missed four from the line.

Michelle Campbell added 12 points and Nikki Jett had 11 for Rutgers, which forced 21 turnovers, including eight by usually steady LSU point guard Temeka Johnson.

The win over a No. 1 team was the fourth in Rutgers history. The Scarlet Knights beat Penn State 84-70 on Jan. 12, 1991, Tennessee 87-77 on Jan. 17, 1994, and eventual national champion Notre Dame 54-53 on Feb. 17, 2001.

After Wendlyn Jones missed two free throws early in overtime, Newton hit a jumper to give Rutgers a 49-47 lead with 3:29 to go.

Pondexter stretched the lead to four points with two free throws with 2:11 to go. Augustus made one of two free throws with 1:52 left and again with 1:06 to play, cutting it to 51-49.

After Essence Carson missed a layup for Rutgers, Tillie Willis of LSU missed in the lane with 10 seconds to play.

Pondexter missed the front end of a one-and-one with 4.9 seconds to play, but Newton stole the pass upcourt to send the crowd of 7,214 into a delirious roar.

Rutgers, which was having a woeful game shooting, hit eight of nine shots to wipe out an 11-point second-half deficit.

A driving layup by Pondexter with 3:20 to play gave the Scarlet Knights a 43-42 lead.

Augustus put LSU right back in front by grabbing the rebound of a missed 3-pointer by Scholanda Hoston and scoring underneath for a 44-43 lead. A driving layup by Johnson and a free throw by Sylvia Fowles stretched the lead to 47-43 with 1:39 to go.

Pondexter drove the right side of the lane for a layup with 1:17 to go to get Rutgers to 47-45.

After Jones was called for an offensive foul, Pondexter fed Campbell for a tying layup with 40.9 seconds to play.

LSU had two chances to win in regulation. Johnson missed a wild drive with just under 20 seconds to go, but Jones got the rebound.

After a timeout with 14.1 seconds to go, Augustus missed a 15-foot jumper with about two seconds to go.

Trailing 14-13 with less than eight minutes left in the first half, LSU went on a 13-6 spurt with Augustus scoring eight points and setting a great back screen that led to a layup by Willis.

No. 25 Boston College Upsets No. 10 UConn

Craig Smith made sure Boston College kicked off its final Big East season with a bang Wednesday night.

No. 5 Duke Stops Princeton 59-46

J.J. Redick made all 14 of his free throws and scored 21 points, helping No. 5 Duke celebrate the 65th anniversary of Cameron Indoor Stadium in style with a 59-46 victory over Princeton on Wednesday night.

Georgetown Upsets No. 16 Pittsburgh 67-64 :-( :-( :-(

Brandon Bowman drove the lane for the go-ahead basket with 8.4 seconds remaining and No. 16 Pittsburgh then failed twice to get off a shot, falling 67-64 Wednesday night in the Panthers' second upset loss in as many games.

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