PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) – Leading Southwest Missouri State past
Rutgers in the NCAA Tournament is just what one would expect from
Jackie Stiles, the NCAA women's career scoring leader.
|  | | Jackie Stiles, left, made 16 free throws and scored 32 points Monday. |
But doing it two days after sustaining a mild concussion? Now
that's impressive.
Stiles scored 17 of her 32 points in the final 6:57 and
Southwest Missouri State ended Rutgers' bid for a second straight
Final Four berth by beating the Scarlet Knights 60-53 in the second
round of the West Regional.
"This is your senior year and you go for it with everything you
got," said Stiles, who missed the final 10 minutes of Saturday
night's first-round win over Toledo after being knocked woozy
running into a pick.
"My athletic training staff and the doctors traveling with us
did a great job of getting me healthy for this game," she said.
As soon as Stiles finished the sentence, Southwest Missouri
coach Cheryl Burnett quipped, "She plays like this, we're going to
knock her in the head again."
The victory was the eighth straight for the fifth-seeded Lady
Bears (27-5), who will play top-seeded Duke in the West Regional
semifinal at Spokane, Wash., on Saturday. The Blue Devils beat
Arkansas 75-54 Monday.
Fourth-seeded Rutgers, which had made at least the round of 16
the last three years, finished 23-8 after losing at home for the
first time in 14 games this season.
"I'm in shock," senior Linda Miles said. "We had the
opportunities. I just can't believe we didn't execute."
Stiles was the main reason Rutgers fell short this season,
scoring the final six points for the Lady Bears. The senior guard
hit 8-of-16 from the field and 16-of-19 from the foul line in
sending Southwest Missouri State to the round of 16 for the first
time since 1993.
"My hat's off to Jackie Stiles," Rutgers coach C. Vivian
Stringer said. "She is the hardest working player. She deserves
all the credit and all the respect. She is a WNBA player. I would
love to have her as a professional coach."
No other player scored in double figures for Southwest Missouri
State, although Carly Deer hit two go-ahead free throws and Melody
Campbell added a key baseline jumper for a 49-45 lead with 2:25 to
play.
Tasha Pointer had 15 points for Rutgers, but the senior point
guard had a crucial turnover with about 12 seconds left and the
Scarlet Knights down 56-53.
"I was hit, and then it went off my foot," said Pointer, who
kept Rutgers in the game until the late mistake.
Karlita Washington added 12 points, Davalyn Cunningham 11 and
Miles 10 for Rutgers.
Neither team led by more than seven points in the second half
and there were two ties, the last coming when Washington hit a
layup with 3:45 to play to make it 45-45.
Stiles missed a jumper on the Lady Bears' next possession, but
Deer got the rebound and was fouled. She sank both ends of the
1-and-1 with 3:20 to go to give Southwest Missouri State a lead it
never lost.
Nikki Jett missed two shots in the lane on Rutgers' next
possession and Stiles fed Campbell for her only basket.
Pointer, who set an NCAA record with 18 assists in a first-round
win over Stephen F. Austin, sandwiched two layups around a free
throw by Stiles to get Rutgers with 50-49 with 1:13 to play.
Stiles then came up big again. She drove and missed a shot, got
her own rebound and was fouled. She hit nothing but net for a 52-49
edge with 52.7 seconds left.
Pointer again got Rutgers within a point with a layup with 40
seconds left.
This time, Rutgers got smart and didn't foul Stiles, hitting
Erica Vicente instead. The backup point guard, a 60 percent
free-throw shooter, made both for a 54-51 lead.
Miles scored on a drive across the lane with 30 seconds left to
get Rutgers within 54-53 but that would be it.
Stiles hit two more free throws with 20.9 seconds left. She then
added two more after Pointer lost the dribble and fouled out by
fouling Stiles.
She hit those two free throws and a breakaway layup at the
buzzer, igniting a wild pile-on celebration under the Southwest
Missouri State basket.
"Jackie Stiles amazes me every day," said senior teammate Tara
Mitchem, who was held to two points after scoring 40 against
Toledo. "There was never a doubt in my mind she would take over
the game at the end. She's got such a great shot."
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ALSO SEE
Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
SW Missouri State Clubhouse
Rutgers Clubhouse
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