Rutgers Rutgers/Tennessee Tennessee Women's College Basketball recap on ESPN

Disguised in No. 55 instead of her regular No. 24, Catchings still dominated for No. 2 Tennessee in a 58-51 victory over No. 9 Rutgers in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.

Somebody swiped Catchings' jersey after Tennessee lost at Connecticut on Sunday, so the Player of the Year last season showed up wearing a spare shirt with no name on the back. She fooled nobody, scoring 13 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.

Tennessee (12-1) was completing a grueling three-game road trip that began with an outdoors game against Arizona State at Phoenix, a trek through a snowstorm to lose to No. 1 Connecticut in Hartford, and the game against the Scarlet Knights.

"Playing the best teams on the road has to help," Catchings said. "We learned a lot on the trip."

Tennessee looked sluggish in the first half, leading by just two points, 26-24. So, coach Pat Summitt made some adjustments.

"We got impatient in the first half," she said. "In the second half, we got the ball inside a lot better. Our man-to-man defense was great. Once we reversed the ball and let the post get it, we were fine."

With Catchings dominating the backboards, Tennessee had a 45-27 rebounding edge that Rutgers (8-3) could not overcome.

The Scarlet Knights came from nine points down to tie the score in the final minute of the first half. In the second half, they came from nine back to cut Tennessee's lead to two.

Still, Summitt said she was not worried.

"I never thought we'd lose," she said. "I don't coach that way."

Rutgers coach Vivian Stringer was impressed with the Volunteers.

"Tennessee played well," she said. "We played the pressure we wanted, but they're such a great team, they found a way."

Michele Snow had 15 points to lead Tennessee. Tammy Sutton-Brown and Karlita Washington had 15 apiece for Rutgers.

Tennessee opened a nine-point lead early and held the Scarlet Knights off, responding every time Rutgers made a run. Rutgers tied the score at 22 and 24 in the final minute of the first half, but two baskets by Ashley Robinson had Tennessee up at the break 26-24.

Catchings began the second half with a basket. Then she fed Snow for another as Tennessee opened the lead to six points.

After Sutton-Brown and Washington cut it to two again, Catchings, Robinson, Snow and Kara Lawson led an 8-1 run that put Tennessee in command. Rutgers narrowed it to two again on a 3-pointer by Tasha Pointer and a basket by Washington, But Lawson, Snow and Catchings restored the lead to eight.

Lawson and April McDevitt came off the bench to give Tennessee a lift with some scrappy floor play, but it was Catchings' scoring and rebounding that made the difference.

Now, Tennessee heads back to Knoxville and not a moment too soon for Summitt.

"I hate snow," she said. "I want to go home."

Attendance was announced as 10,753. Two years ago, Tennessee and Rutgers drew 15,735, the largest crowd ever to see a women's college game in the Garden.

The game was a rematch of the NCAA Final Four contest last year won by Tennessee 64-54.

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Women's College Basketball Scoreboard

Rutgers Clubhouse

Tennessee Clubhouse