Texas Tech's defense stymies Rutgers in
championship of 2003 Preseason WNIT
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November 23, 2003; Lubbock, Texas - Casey Jackson had 10 points and 19 rebounds to lead No. 7 Texas Tech to a 73-45 victory over No. 15 Rutgers in the women's Preseason NIT championship game Sunday.
The Lady Raiders (4-0) held their fourth consecutive opponent under 50 points and ran away from their second straight Top 25 rival. Tech defeated No. 18 UC Santa Barbara 68-41 Friday night in the WNIT semifinals. Tournament MVP Jia Perkins added 15 points for the Lady Raiders. She was joined on the all-tournament team by teammate Jackson; Cappie Pondexter and Dawn McCullough of Rutgers; Kristen Mann from UC Santa Barbara; and Michigan's Stephanie Gandy. Texas Tech led Rutgers 33-21 at halftime, then held the Scarlet Knights to eight points in the first 8:30 of the second half en route to a 49-29 lead. The Scarlet Knights got no closer than 16 points the rest of the way. Rutgers was led by Pondexter with 15 points. Michelle Campbell added 11 and McCullouch had 10. In the first half, the Lady Raiders scored on 10 of 11 possessions to build a 22-11 lead at the 9:03 mark. Rutgers scored six straight to pull within 22-17 on an inside basket by Pondexter with 7:11 left in the half, but a 3-pointer by Brooke Baughman with 6:52 left ended the run and gave Tech breathing room. |
2003 Preseason WNIT TeamsCincinnati
Jackson State Liberty Miami (Ohio) Michigan Mississippi Rhode Island Rutgers Saint Peter's San Diego Southeast Missouri State Texas-San Antonio Texas Tech UC Santa Barbara Utah Western Kentucky |
| 2003 Preseason Bracket |
