AU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Tigers face huge game at Rutgers tonight

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — DeWanna Bonner vs. Epiphanny Prince.

Auburn vs. Rutgers.

Second seed vs. seventh seed.

Ready. Set. Go.

Today’s second-round Oklahoma City Regional game, which tips at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2 (Channel 32 in Lee County), will showcase two of the top talents in women’s college basketball.

Bonner, an All-American senior and the SEC Player of the Year, comes in averaging 21.2 points per game.

Prince, a junior and a two-time first-team All-Big East performer, is dropping 19.2 points per contest.

Two heavyweights. One spotlight.

Bonner vs. Prince. No holds barred. Cue the music.

“(Bonner) represents more of an issue,” Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer said. “She can shoot inside and outside. Her skill set is incredible. She can put the ball on the floor. How many times do you see a 6-4 female do that?

“She’s a beautiful athlete to watch. She’s in another category. She’s in another category — she is.”

And Prince isn’t far behind, according to Auburn’s head coach Nell Fortner.

“I’ve watched Epiphanny Prince since she was a freshman in high school. I haven’t seen anybody really slow her down,” said Fortner, who was just announced as a finalist for the 2009 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Award. “She is just a tremendous scoring guard. She’s very, very difficult to contain. I’m not sure we can. We’ll try our best to see what we can do with her.”

Virginia Commonwealth couldn’t do much with Prince in Saturday’s first-round game, as the Rutgers guard scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Scarlet Knights’ 57-51 win.

Prince was the mainstay on the court for Rutgers, playing 39 minutes, with a handful coming in the second half with four freshmen on the floor with her.

After the Scarlet Knights built an 18-point lead over the Rams, Stinger put in four freshmen. The lead quickly went down to 6 points. But Prince was there to make sure it didn’t get any closer, leading Rutgers to the second round.

Bonner, just a few hours prior, spent most of the second half on the Tigers’ bench as her team coasted past Lehigh, 85-49.

By the time the senior came off the floor, with about nine minutes remaining, she had already scored 26 points and pulled down seven rebounds, setting up tonight’s game.

And according to Fortner, Bonner and Prince won’t be the only show in town.

“I think it’s a good matchup between two teams with phenomenal athletes,” the Auburn coach said. “It’s going to be 10 kids going after each other. Both teams are going to play their tails off and we’ll see what happens.

“It’s a great match up. I know we’re looking forward to it.”

On thing the Tigers might not be looking forward to is playing in front of a hostile crowd, as the Louis Brown Athletic Center will be packed with Scarlet Knight fans.

But it’s not something they can control, nor want to worry themselves with.

“We could debate that all day long, but it is what it is,” Fortner said about playing Rutgers at home. “The system is what it is. This is the way it is right now, and we’ve got to play in it.

“I’m sure Rutgers feels pretty good about playing at home. They’ve been on the road many years when they’ve been the higher seed. If you want to win the whole thing, you have to play in some tough environments. Everybody wants to win the whole thing all the time, so you’re just prepared to play where we’re going to jump the ball.

“Let’s play.”

mszvetitz@oanow.com | 737-2513

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