March 3, 2012

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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Monique Oliver had 18 of her 23 points in the second half to help No. 23 Rutgers rally to beat Marquette 52-43 on Saturday night in the second round of the Big East tournament.

Khadijah Rushdan added nine points and 12 rebounds for the Scarlet Knights (22-8), who will face No. 4 Connecticut in the quarterfinals on Sunday night.

Both teams struggled on offense for most of the game. Marquette built a nine-point lead and held a 22-16 halftime lead. They led 26-20 early in the second half before Rutgers finally got going behind Oliver. Her free throw and putback with 7:35 left gave Rutgers' its first lead since early in the first half.

Marquette trailed 44-41 before Gabi Minix's scoop shot in the lane brought the Golden Eagles within one. Oliver then made six of eight free throws in the final 3 minutes and Rutgers' held the Golden Eagles scoreless the rest of the way.

Katherine Plouffe scored 15 points to lead Marquette (14-17).

Game Notes
* The Golden Eagles finish the season 14-17 overall.
* Marquette is 4-7 all-time in the BIG EAST Conference Championship.
* Marquette is 1-2 in second round games of the BIG EAST Championship.
* Rutgers leads the all-time series 10-0, including a 3-0 mark in the BIG EAST Championship. The Scarlet Knights took the regular season meeting 69-58 in Piscataway, N.J.
* Marquette's game with No. 23/20 Rutgers marked the ninth ranked opponent Marquette has faced this season. MU finished the season 0-9 in those contests.
* Katherine Plouffe led Marquette with 15 points and nine rebounds. It was her 14th time leading MU in scoring (8-6) and 23rd game this season of 10-or-more points.
* Gabi Minix played a team-high 37 minutes and finished with four points, and game highs in assists (6) and steals (3) all while not turning the ball over for the second time this season. Minix's six assists matches an MU BIG EAST Championship record.
* Chelsie Butler came off the bench to chip in 12 points. It marked her fifth game of double-figure scoring of the season.
* Marquette led at halftime for the ninth time this season. MU finished the season 7-2 when leading at the half.