Rutgers thwarts bid by Arizona State women

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Rutgers didn’t have much reason to believe it could be an NCAA women’s basketball Final Four team a few months ago.

The Scarlet Knights didn’t have any seniors, or seemingly any chance. Not without Cappie Pondexter, not after starting the season by losing four of seven. And not with a difficult draw in the NCAA tournament.

Believe now, Rutgers.

The scrappy Scarlet Knights are headed to their second Final Four, using a dominating performance from center Kia Vaughn and inspired play from the rest of the roster to claim a 64-45 victory over Arizona State on Monday night in the Greensboro Regional finals.

“It was sort of like a dream where we just felt … as long as we stuck to our game plan – and that’s to continue to believe in ourselves – then we can continue to get it done,” forward Essence Carson said.

Vaughn had 17 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots while owning the lane. Matee Ajavon had 20 points, Carson added 11 and Epiphanny Prince had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Scarlet Knights (26-8), who led by 24 and held a 48-26 rebounding advantage in winning their seventh straight.

“They put up a fight; they put up a good one,” said Vaughn, who at 6-foot-4 was two inches taller than primary defender Aubree Johnson. “I had the advantage only because I kept working. … They didn’t let me get anything easy. … I had elbows everywhere, in the back. … I just had to be strong and take control.”

“We definitely tried to go at her, but we didn’t go at her very smart,” said Post Falls’ Johnson, who had two of her shots blocked by Vaughn. “She’s obviously a great shot blocker.”

The youthful Knights – who have five freshmen on the roster – had no trouble dodging a letdown after Saturday’s emotional win over No. 1 Duke, thoroughly dominating third-seeded Arizona State and pulling another upset to reach their first Final Four since 2000.

“This has to be right there at the top, if not the top,” coach C. Vivian Stringer said.

Stringer, the first coach to lead three programs to the Final Four, is headed to college basketball’s biggest stage for the fourth time.

This game was supposed to be a rematch of a November game in the Virgin Islands, but that game was canceled when the 15-year-old brother of Johnson died of an enlarged heart, and players and coaches from both sides credited fate with setting up this matchup.

“After everything this team has been through this year, I was just going to tell them to have fun,” Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne said as her voice cracked. “I never thought we would make the tournament. With all the things we went through this year, I never thought we could do this. This is the most incredible team I’ve ever been a part of.”

Briann January (Lewis and Clark) had 12 points in returning to the starting lineup for the Sun Devils (31-5) after suffering a concussion a week earlier.