Rutgers deserves credit for beating Duke
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by user Leslie Monteiro
After the selection show was over couple of weeks ago, Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach C. Vivian Stringer said that everyone is going to know her team soon enough once they beat Michigan State and Duke.
Well everyone will get to know them now because they are a game away from going to the Final Four. They defeated the Duke Blue Devils 53-52 thanks to ACC Player of the Year Lindsey Harding missing two free throws in the end.
Harding will be the culprit for not getting the job done, but she should have never been in this position. Duke led most of the game, but Rutgers got them in a vulnerable position.
The Blue Devils seemed frustrated every time Rutgers defended them which led to poor shot selection.
There were many evidences that indicated that they were not focused at times.
They were not doing a good job of finding an open player out there. They were not communicating at one another. They were preoccupied with the refs in which they were hoping that they would get calls.
Rutgers made Duke's guards a non-factor. They worked very hard to frustrate Abby Waner, Harding, and Wanisha Smith. Those three guards combined to score 17 points overall for the Blue Devils. This was not going to cut it.
Their guards have been the big reason why Gail Goestenkors's team had a great regular season, but they failed at a very bad time.
Allyson Bales had 21 points, but she did not make the impact of a difference maker in this game. She was off at times especially when Duke needed her the most. She could have done more. She had to work very hard against Kia Vaughn, who was fantastic again, to get those 21 points.
They clearly did not know how to handle Rutgers defense, which is why they lost the game.
It was a matter of time till Rutgers found a way to make shots and they did just that in the end.
In this site, it was suggested that Rutgers needed Vaughn and Epiphany Prince to play very well if they want to go further.
They did a good job, but the story of this game was Matee Avajon, who scored 20 points. She played her best game at the nick of time. Her defense and her clutch shooting in the end was the reason why the Knights advanced to the Greensboro Regional Final game.
She made sure Duke was not going to score in the paint or in the arc. She got the big buckets that cut the deficit in the second half. Not only was she able to score from the arc, but she was able to score from the paint. She was able to get her own rebounds and score. She played like she wanted this win.
Coach Stringer deserves credit for this victory. She had them prepared for this game. She coaxed a lot out of her roster as she put everyone in a situation to perform well in this game.
She pushed the right buttons by inserting the right players on the team. She was not afraid to use her freshmen in Epiphany Prince and Myla McCuddy down the stretch.
Her strategy paid dividends as those two scored couple of big points to get Rutgers within striking distance. They also made the big plays defensively especially when Prince swipe the ball from Duke to score the game-winning basket.
This win was a big-time win for this program. They needed a very good run in this tournament. They finally got it done against Michigan State and now against the best team in the nation.
It is safe to say that they have grown up now. They are now considered an elite team. They finally beat a powerhouse team. It took awhile, but now they finally got to the level.
With this win yesterday, it is time to everyone to consider the Scarlet Knights as a national championship contender. They definitely have the defense to get it done. They may finally have the scoring that the team needed. What is really going for them is they finally believe in themselves that they are as good as any contender in the nation.
They learned something about themselves yesterday. They know that they can beat any great team.
Instead of blaming coach Goestenkors, Bales, Harding, and etc, everyone should show some love for Rutgers for getting the job done.
