Epiphanny Prince scored 13 points, including the go-ahead basket with 35 seconds to play, as No. 14 Rutgers avoided an upset with a 58-56 victory over Prairie View on Thursday night.
Held in check for most of the game, Prince scored Rutgers’ final five points. Heather Zurich and Brittany Ray alsa had 13 points each as Rutgers (5-2) won its 18th straight at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
Prairie View (2-6), which fell behind 17-3 and trailed 34-25 at intermission, erased the deficit by outscoring Rutgers 14-2 over the first eight minutes of the second half. The Scarlet Knights didn’t get their first field goal of the half until the 11:49 mark, shooting 1-for-10 and committing six turnovers during that span.
A 3-pointer by Prairie View’s Shondria Combs tied the score at 49, but baskets by Prince and Brittany Ray pulled Rutgers ahead 53-49 with 3 minutes to play.
Trinity Robinson’s basket tied the score at 53 with a minute to play before Prince hit the decisive jumper from 17 feet.
Combs had a game-high 15 points for Prairie View, which shot 47 percent from the floor and 6-for-12 from 3-point range.
great job representing the swac, lady panthers!