Prince supplies the offense while No. 24 Rutgers' 'D' shuts down WVU

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Epiphanny Prince put a scare in her teammates when she went down with an ankle injury.

Prince put them at ease a few minutes later when she returned and led Rutgers (No. 24 ESPN/USA Today, No. 21 AP) to a 60-44 victory over West Virginia on Tuesday night.

"I was nervous at first," Kia Vaughn said. "I was looking for who hurt her. Then I realized she hurt herself."

Prince, who had 24 points and nine rebounds, said she would be OK for the Scarlet Knight's next game, on Saturday against DePaul.

"It's good," the junior guard said. "I rolled my ankle on my own."

The Scarlet Knights' leading scorer was the catalyst during a 20-5 run in the first half that turned an 8-6 deficit into a 26-13 lead. She scored 11 points during the spurt, including starting it with a three-point play. Her free throws with 3:17 left in the half gave Rutgers (11-5, 3-2 Big East) a 26-13 lead.

West Virginia didn't hit a field goal during that run, going 0-for-5 with seven turnovers.

Sarah Miles finally ended the drought with a layup, but at that point the Mountaineers (11-7, 0-5) were down by double digits. They could only get within eight points in the second half.

"We had several wide open shots and we didn't hit them," West Virginia coach Mike Carey said.

Takisha Granberry had 13 points for West Virginia.

The Mountaineers trailed 32-18, then scored the first five points of the second half to cut the deficit to nine. Rutgers answered with a 7-0 run capped by Prince's 3-pointer to restore the double-digit lead.

Prince left the court with a right ankle injury a minute later.

"I tried not to dwell on it," Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "Unless I saw or heard a certain sound I knew she was OK."

Rutgers could ill afford to lose their star, who averages over 20 points. She was 9-for-14 from the field.

Khadijah Rushdan added 12 points and Vaughn had nine points, eight rebounds, and five blocks for Rutgers, which has won three straight since a three-game losing streak.

The Mountaineers lost four starters from last season's team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. West Virginia has been decimated by injuries and has eight healthy players on its roster.

"We lost eight seniors to graduation and four players to season-ending injuries, including three posts," Carey said. "The only players who had experience last year were Liz [Repella] and Ashley [Powell]."

Repella, who averages 16.1 points, finished with nine on 3-for-17 shooting. The Mountaineers shot 29 percent (13-for-45) from the field, including 3-for-20 in the first half.

"You can't shoot 15 percent and be in the game," Carey said. "We didn't attack the basket enough."