Move over, Connecticut. There's a new champ in the Big East.

Matee Ajavon scored 14 points and Michelle Campbell added 13, helping No. 9 Rutgers win its first outright Big East Conference regular-season title with a 51-39 win against host Villanova last night.

The Scarlet Knights (23-5, 14-2) shared the 1998-99 crown with Connecticut, which had won or shared 11 consecutive regular-season titles.

Rutgers, which has won 18 of its past 21 games, earned its first No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament that begins Saturday at the Hartford Civic Center.

Liad Suez had 12 points for the Wildcats (17-10, 10-6), scoring just two in the second half.

Villanova has a recent history of knocking off Top 10 teams, including No. 1 Connecticut in the season finale last year and then-No. 4 Notre Dame last month.

Other Top 25 women

Notre Dame 41, Seton Hall 35: Freshman Charel Allen (Monessen) had 14 points and nine rebounds as visiting Notre Dame (25-4, 13-3 Big East) overcame a school record-tying low point total for a road game in beating Seton Hall. The 41 points tied the school record set in a 66-41 loss at Marquette in 1978. Ashley Bush had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Seton Hall (14-13, 6-10).

Connecticut 71, West Virginia 41: Ann Strother scored 19 points as the Huskies (20-7, 13-3 Big East) grabbed a win against host West Virginia (16-11, 7-9). Connecticut is in a second-place tie with No. 10 Notre Dame, which beat Seton Hall. West Virginia sophomore Meg Bulger (Oakland Catholic) clinched her first conference scoring title despite being limited to eight points.

Iowa State 61, Kansas 52: Mary Fox and Katie Robinette scored 18 points apiece and Anne O'Neil made eight consecutive free throws in the final 2 minutes, enabling host No. 20 Iowa State (22-5, 12-4) to escape with a Big 12 victory against Kansas. Erica Hallman led Kansas (12-15, 5-11) with 15 points. O'Neil finished with 16 points and four assists.

Boston College 64, St. John's 45: Kathrin Ress scored 22 points to lead No. 22 Boston College to a victory against host St. John's in the final regular-season game for both teams. Sarah Marshall and Aja Parham each added 10 points for the Eagles (19-8, 10-6 Big East). Kia Wright scored 19 points to lead the Red Storm (18-9, 7-9).

District women

California 55, Edinboro 35: Sara McKinney (Duquesne) registered her 13th double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and a career-high 20 rebounds to lead the Vulcans (24-4) to a win against the Fighting Scots (18-10) in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference quarterfinal.

Clarion 69, Shippensburg 49: Heather Cigich's 24 points and 11 rebounds led the host Golden Eagles (23-5) to a win against the Red Raiders (17-10) in the first round of the PSAC.

Gannon 69, Hillsdale College 61: Jen Gwin led the Golden Knights (18-10) with 11 points and 10 assists in a win against visiting Hillsdale (18-9) in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference quarterfinal.

Top 25 men

Wisconsin 62, Indiana 60: Alando Tucker's putback at the buzzer gave No. 23 Wisconsin a win against visiting Indiana. The Badgers (19-7, 10-5 Big Ten) avenged a 74-61 loss to the Hoosiers (14-12, 9-6) Jan. 8 in Bloomington. D.J. White led Indiana with 17 points.

District men

Edinboro 80, IUP 63: Jakim Donaldson had his 24th double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds for the host Fighting Scots (22-6) in a win against the Indians (23-8) in a PSAC quarterfinal.

Shippensburg 56, Clarion 51: Chuck Davis scored 17 points to lead Red Raiders (18-10) to a win against the host Golden Eagles (17-11) in the first round of the PSAC. Garrett Heath led Clarion with 13 points.

Wayne State 75, Gannon 70: Bobby Bossman led the visiting Golden Knights (18-10) with 20 points in a loss to Wayne State in a GLIAC quarterfinal game.