PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) -- With leading scorer Shawnetta Stewart sitting on the bench with a knee injury, it wasn't surprising that point guard Tasha Pointer took over with the game on the line for Rutgers (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 13 AP).

The play of backup guard Karlita Washington was another story.

	Seton Hall's Starr Fuller, middle, tries to grab a rebound before Rutgers center Tammy Sutton-Brown can get to it on Wednesday.

Washington scored 10 of her career-high 12 points in a game-ending 28-8 run and Rutgers defeated Seton Hall 62-46 on Wednesday in the Pirates' first game since a dormitory fire killed three students last week.

Pointer had 14 of her 16 points in the second half and Tammy Sutton-Brown added 12 for Rutgers (13-4, 6-2 Big East), but the story of the game also was the valiant effort by the Pirates in the wake of the tragedy.

"I think the community really worked hard to come together to make it as good a situation for the students returning to Boland (Hall)," Seton Hall coach Phyllis Mangina said. "We had an opportunity to practice and we tried to keep our team in a routine as much as possible."

Despite losing its fifth straight, Seton Hall (6-9, 0-5) was on the verge of pulling one of the biggest upsets of the season when it used a 10-0 run to open a 35-30 lead with 11:47 to go.

Rutgers went to its press to stem the tide but it didn't really get in gear until Pointer hit a 3-pointer to get the Scarlet Knights within 38-37 with 9:36 to go. It also started a 14-point run.

"Offensively we got stagnant because Shawnetta wasn't on the floor and some of us were wondering who was going to take the shots," Pointer said. "I just put it in my mind that if somebody was going to control things I felt like I could be that player because as a point guard I have to do whatever it takes."

Washington, a backup junior guard, gave Rutgers the lead for good with a floater with 7:18 to go. After Pointer made two free throws to extend the lead to 41-38, Washington made a 3-pointer and added a baseline jumper for a 46-38 lead with 5:25 left.

"It wasn't that I was feeling it," Washington said. "Certain shots just weren't falling and I just figured I had to step up. The way the offense was swinging and Tasha really creating, it was pretty easy."

Seton Hall, which was led by Arminda Morena with 11 points, didn't threaten after that. The Pirates turned the ball over 24 times.

"I told our team we're not into moral victories," Mangina said. "We need to be better in the last seven minutes and this could be our basketball game. It's another step for us to make."

Just before the starting lineups were introduced, a moment of silence was observed for the students who died in last week's early-morning fire. Players and coaches wore blue and white ribbons to honor the victims.

Seton Hall got off to a horrible start, falling behind 10-0. The Pirates missed their first five shots and turned the ball over nine times before Cecilia Lindqvist hit a 3-pointer with 11:33 left in the half.

A 3-pointer off the glass by Yolanda Rouse got the Pirates to 26-20 at the half and their run early in the second half put them in position to win, but Rutgers had too much talent.

The Scarlet Knights won despite losing Stewart (15.9 points) with a sprained right knee early in the first half. The extent of the injury wasn't immediately known.

"We've got to find another player that can fill it up and give us double-digit numbers," coach Vivian Stringer said. "We need somebody who wants to shoot, who knows how to shoot and who can get us points on the board."

The game was the first for Seton Hall since Jan. 15. It postponed games against Boston College and Syracuse in the wake of the fire.