No. 12 West Virginia 63, No. 4 Rutgers 54

1/29/2008 9:04 PM

By JOHN RABY
AP Sports Writer

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -When West Virginia's leading scorer Olayinka Sanni committed three quick fouls and went to the bench early in the second half against No. 4 Rutgers, the Mountaineers turned to LaQuita Owens.

Owens, limited to just three first-half points, stepped up and sparked the 12th-ranked Mountaineers' first win over a top 5 opponent. She scored a season-high 23 points to lift West Virginia to a 63-54 victory over Rutgers 63-54 on Tuesday night, ending the Scarlet Knights' 12-game winning streak.

``We couldn't dwell on 'Yinka not being in there. We had to play much harder,'' said Owens, who made 7-of-12 shots, including four 3-pointers. ``I kept my composure by not getting frustrated.''

Sparkle Davis added 14 points for West Virginia (17-3, 6-1 Big East), which trailed by 10 early in the second half, but jumped ahead to stay with a 21-4 run without the help of its top two scorers.

Rutgers (17-3 7-1) was knocked out of first place and suffered its worst loss of the season in the first game of its toughest stretch. The Scarlet Knights also have road games at No. 14 Pittsburgh and No. 2 Tennessee sandwiched around a home game with top-ranked Connecticut in the next two weeks. UConn and Pittsburgh now share the lead with 6-0 conference records.

Rutgers had 19 turnovers after committing 18 combined in its two previous wins over Villanova and Cincinnati.

``We threw it away and we didn't communicate,'' said Rutgers' Essence Carson. ``I feel like we were ready. We just could not stop that run. That was what did us in.''

Kia Vaughn and Matee Ajavon had 12 points apiece for Rutgers, while Carson and Epiphanny Prince scored 11 each.

Rutgers shot 53 percent (10-of-19) from the floor in the first half but couldn't keep up the pace, going more than six minutes without a field goal early in the second half.

Rutgers failed to take advantage when Sanni went to the bench with her fourth foul with 17:21 remaining. She didn't return until the closing minutes and finished with just six points, 11 below her average.

Meg Bulger wasn't there, either, missing her second straight game for the Mountaineers with a sore left knee.

Owens provided a spark for the third straight game, scoring 10 consecutive points for West Virginia after halftime, and freshman Liz Repella had all eight of her points off the bench in a 1:28 span during the key run that put the Mountaineers ahead 43-36 midway through the second half.

``Owens was all that,'' said Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer. ``We couldn't cover her, obviously. We didn't have anybody who could handle her. It woke the sleeping giant up. We played scared and tentative.

``When Sanni went out, we should have gone inside. But the truth is, we turned the ball over more there because we had to make an extra pass.''

West Virginia made 11-of-12 free throws in the final five minutes. Ajavon's 3-pointer brought Rutgers within 58-54 with 55 seconds left, but the Scarlet Knights got no closer.

``I could sit here and say it's just another game. But it's a big win,'' said West Virginia coach Mike Carey. ``It's a big, big win for us.''