Maggie Dixon Classic first women's doubleheader at Madison Square Garden in 26 years

12/7/2007 2:46 PM

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - More than a quarter century has passed since the last women's doubleheader at Madison Square Garden.

C. Vivian Stringer, who was in the early stages of her Hall of Fame coaching career when she took Cheyney State into the Garden in 1981, fondly remembers the game.

``Of the many years and the many games that I have coached, to play in the Garden, I can count on one hand. It's very special,'' Stringer said.

Twenty-six years later, Stringer will lead fourth-ranked Rutgers into the Garden to play Army in the second game of the Maggie Dixon Classic on Saturday. Pittsburgh will play No. 17 Duke in the opener.

The inaugural Maggie Dixon Classic was played at Army last year. Dixon died April 6, 2006 of arrhythmia, probably caused by an enlarged heart. Her death came three weeks after leading Army to its first appearance in the NCAA tournament in her first season as head coach.

Army won the Patriot League championship and Dixon was selected conference coach of the year.

``It was appropriate that we played at West Point last year since it was the first,'' Army coach Dave Magarity said. ``With the raising of the coach of the year banner and the conference banner, it was the place to be.''

Pittsburgh men's coach Jamie Dixon, Maggie's brother, was part of the doubleheader last year at Army and he worked to get the Classic at the Garden.

``I give Jamie and Joel Fisher (MSG senior vice president) a tremendous amount of credit for getting this together,'' Magarity said. ``I've had the thrill of coaching in the Garden close to 20 times. I think its a great experience for the kids.''

Rutgers center Kia Vaughn is a New York City native, but never had the pleasure of playing at the Garden, despite going to school only one block away.

``The Garden is like no other place. It is my home,'' Vaughn said. ``For me, it will be the first time I have played there. I have always dreamed about it so my whole neighborhood can come and see me.''

Vaughn's grandmother will be at the Garden, watching her play for the first time.

On Thursday, Duke snapped Rutgers five-game winning streak, 49-44. The Blue Devils avoided their first four-game slide since 1994.

``We've been carrying those three losses, and we kind of needed this to get the ball rolling,'' Duke guard Abby Waner said.

The last doubleheader at MSG was played in 1981, with Rutgers, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion and Cheyney State.

A portion of the proceeds will go to C.A.R.E (Cardiac Arrhythmias Research and Education Foundation, Inc.). C.A.R.E. will also offer free heart screening for any child or teenager attending the classic.

``Response has been excellent, and we're hoping that the kids will take advantage of the screenings,'' said Mary Jo Gordon, the executive director of C.A.R.E. ``(Lack of) awareness is our No. 1 enemy. We are focused on trying to prevent the very cause that led to Maggie Dixon's death.''