Pirates Fall To Scarlet Knights In First Round

Matee Ajavon scored 20 and Kia Vaughn had 14 points and seven rebounds, helping fourth-seeded Rutgers rout the 13th-seeded Lady Pirates 77-34 on Sunday night in the first round of the Greensboro Regional.

The Scarlet Knights (23-8) advanced to play Michigan State (24-8) on its home floor Tuesday night.

When the possible matchup was revealed, Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer was not happy.

“I am not going to say anything because I have thousands of dollars in fines right now,” Stringer said last Sunday night.

On Jan. 28 at home, the Scarlet Knights rallied to beat Michigan State 63-57 with a 12-2 run to end the game.

Rutgers went on a 13-0 run to lead 31-12 with 7:24 left in the first half.

The Scarlet Knights scored the first 12 points of the second half and were ahead by 34 points.

Stringer took out most of her starters midway through the second half ahead by 30-plus points.

“Any time a team makes a run like that, it’s going to get into your head,” Lady Pirates centerCherie Millssaid. “Still, we’re not supposed to give up.

“We’ll learn from it. I’m pretty sure, that’s not the last time you’ll see East Carolina.”

East Carolina made its second appearance in the NCAA tournament and first since 1982, when it lost 79-54 to South Carolina.

“Rutgers is very well-balanced, they can score inside and out, but I never would’ve thought we would shoot 16 percent from the floor,” Lady Pirates coachSharon Baldwin-Tenersaid. “I’m not sure if we were nervous, or what, but Rutgers had a lot to do with it.”

Cherie Millsscored 13 and Jasmine Young had eight points for the Lady Pirates, who had won their previous 10 games.