Notre Dame Stops Rutgers

Notre Dame clogged the inside, and Rutgers couldn’t make its outside shots.

The result was a 67-46 victory for the No. 3 Irish over No. 9 Rutgers on Saturday at South Bend, Ind.

“I think we played intimidated and it looked like it,” Rutgers Coach C. Vivian Stringer said.

Notre Dame, 14-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big East, was in control from the start, using a 15-0 run to open a 20-4 lead. The Scarlet Knights (8-4, 1-1) never got closer than 12 points the rest of the game.

Karlita Washington and Tash Pointer, who guided Rutgers to a Final Four appearance last season, struggled all game. Washington, Rutgers’ leading scorer, went two of 13 from the field for six points. Pointer, the team’s second-leading scorer, went one of eight for two points.

Ruth Riley led the Irish with 22 points and three blocked shots. Tammy Sutton-Brown was the only Rutgers player in double figures with 19 points.

No. 7 Iowa State 81, No. 19 Oklahoma 79--Megan Taylor’s 17 points included the game-winning jump shot at the buzzer as the Cyclones (11-1, 2-0 in the Big 12 Conference) won at Norman, Okla. LaNeishea Caufield had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma (9-4, 1-1).

Missouri 68, No. 12 Texas 52--Amanda Lassiter had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help the Tigers (10-3, 1-1 in the Big 12 Conference) to a victory at Columbia, Mo. Tai Dillard led Texas (13-3, 1-1) with 24 points.

No. 13 Texas Tech 67, Oklahoma State 55--Katrisa O’Neal scored a game-high 23 points as the Red Raiders (11-2, 2-0 in the Big 12) rallied in the second half for a victory at Stillwater, Okla. Oklahoma State (8-5, 0-2) had a 29-22 lead at halftime.

No. 15 Southwest Missouri State 86, Illinois State 51--Jackie Stiles, the nation’s leading scorer, had 39 points to lead the Lady Bears (9-3, 3-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference) to a win at Springfield, Mo. Nadia Peruch led Illinois State (3-10, 1-3) with 14 points.

Arizona 68, No. 21 Stanford 65--Elizabeth Pickney scored 18 points as the Wildcats (12-2, 2-0 in the Pacific 10) surprised the Cardinal at Palo Alto. Nicole Powell had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Stanford (7-5, 1-1).

George Washington 88, No. 22 Xavier 74--Lindsey Davidson made 11 of 12 shots and scored a career-high 26 points to lift the Colonials (8-5, 2-0 in the Atlantic 10) to a victory at Washington. Taru Tuukkanen scored 21 points for Xavier (10-2, 1-1).