Rutgers women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer spent more time than ever working on her team’s offense prior to this season.
She confessed it felt strange. After all, her signature ‘‘55 press’’ defense has been her basketball bible.
Stringer, who usually controls every offensive possession from the bench, has loosened the reins.
She has given her players the green light to take a shot — if it's a good one.
That new philosophy paid huge dividends tonight as five Rutgers players scored in double figures in an 88-59 rout of North Carolina A&T at the RAC. It was the most points the Scarlet Knights have scored in regulation since they rang up 93 in a victory over Georgetown in 2002 and the first time five players scored in double-digits since a 2007 win against Cincinnati.
It was Rutgers’ (2-2) second straight victory and a tune-up for its trip to Las Vegas this weekend to play in the Lady Rebel Roundup Tournament.
‘‘We have to play these kinds of games in which we share the ball and so we can know this is what it feels like,’’ said Stringer, adding she thinks the Knights can become a top-20 team this season.
‘‘The way our offense is, you don’t know who is going to take the shot, which is unusual for me. We’re trying to get them to react to concepts.
‘‘We shot well. What’s interesting is we’re still taking the same number of shots. It has to do with us trying to find the open teammate.’’
Perhaps no one was reacting better than redshirt junior point guard Khadijah Rushdan. One game after she hit a game-winning jumper with 4.4 seconds left in a victory over Princeton, she poured in a game-high 26 points to lead the Knights, sinking eight of 12 shots.
She was 10-of-11 from the foul line and added 10 rebounds and three assists.
Forward April Sykes chipped in with 14 points, center Monique Oliver had 12 points and guards Erica Wheeler and Daisha Simmons added 10 each as Rutgers shot 53.2 percent (33 of 62).
Guard Nikki Speed had a career-high 10 assists.
‘‘If it (the shot) is there, I’m going to take it,’’ said Rushdan. ‘‘I’m just trying to stay aggressive and take a shot when I have it. We’re not usually a team that scores a lot of points. A lot of that came from our press. If we get that going and get teams to cough up the ball, it gets our offense flowing.’’
North Carolina A&T (1-3) shot just 36 percent (18 of 50) and had 22 turnovers. Guard Jaleesa Sams paced the Aggies with 17 points.
The Knights turned up the heat in the second half, when they scored 57 points. They entered the game averaging 53.7 points per game.
That the Knights came on in the second half was an accomplishment because they were concerned they had a reputation for tiring in the second half because of their short bench.
‘‘It’s all about how you finish,’’ said Rushdan. ‘‘We came out with a lot more intensity in the second half and we had rhythm.’’
Leading 46-36 with 12:45 left to play and unable to shake a pesky A&T team, the Knights went on a 19-4 blitz to take a 65-40 lead.
The Knights led 31-23 at the half as Rushdan led the charge with 14 points and seven rebounds, controlling the paint despite her 5-9 size. She was aggressive down low and the Aggie guards couldn’t hold her off.
Dave Hutchinson: dhutchinson@starledger.com