Scarlet Knights beat Panthers, one win away from Big East title

Rutgers turned to a pressure defense led by Michelle Campbell and Matee Ajavon to overcome a terrible first half and the No. 9 Scarlet Knights used a 15-1 run to overtake Pittsburgh 63-42 Friday night in women’s basketball at Pittsburgh.

Campbell scored 17 points and Ajavon and Chelsea Newton had 14 each as Rutgers (22-5, 13-2 Big East) won its seventh in a row and 17th in 20 games to move within one victory of the Big East Conference regular-season title. The Scarlet Knights began the night tied with Connecticut for the conference lead, but own the tiebreaker. The Huskies play at Boston College today.

Rutgers, which has never been seeded No. 1 in a Big East tournament dominated of late by UConn and Notre Dame, closes the regular season Tuesday at Villanova.

Pittsburgh (12-14, 4-11) was outscored by an average of 31 points in five previous games against ranked teams, only to seize a surprising 18-15 halftime lead.