PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Epiphanny Prince scored 18 points, Matee Ajavon added 15 and No. 5 Rutgers overcame an 8-minute scoreless drought to beat No. 14 Notre Dame 57-51 on Tuesday night.

The win was the 798th of Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer's career. She is aiming to become just the third women's basketball coach to win 800 games, joining Pat Summitt and Jody Conradt. Rutgers travels to Providence on Saturday before hosting DePaul next Wednesday.

Notre Dame (20-6, 8-4 Big East), which is known for its potent offense that averages nearly 80 points, played stellar defense. The Irish held Rutgers without a field goal for nearly 11 minutes spanning halftime as the Scarlet Knights (21-4, 11-1) were stymied by Notre Dame's zone defense.

Kia Vaughn, who finished with 14 points, finally broke the offensive drought with a putback 4½ minutes into the second half that cut Rutgers' deficit to 28-26. That basket started a 17-5 run over the next 7 minutes for the Scarlet Knights. Prince capped the spurt with a three-point play that gave Rutgers a 41-33 lead with 8:49 left. Notre Dame would get no closer than four points the rest of the game.

Charel Allen scored 18 points and Lindsay Schrader added 10 for the Irish.

Rutgers hadn't played at home since beating top-ranked Connecticut 73-71 on Feb. 5. The Scarlet Knights have won 12 straight games at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

The Scarlet Knights rebounded from their controversial loss at No. 3 Tennessee with a 21-point win over South Florida on Saturday. Rutgers, which remained fifth in the poll this week, received eight first-place votes — the most ever for the Scarlet Knights.

It was a sloppy first half with the teams combining for 19 turnovers and missing shot after shot. After a forgettable first 12 minutes, Rutgers used a 9-0 run to turn a one-point deficit into a 22-14 lead with 6:21 left. Those were the last points the Scarlet Knights' would score in the half.

Notre Dame scored the last eight points of the half, including a jumper by Allen at the buzzer to tie the game at 22.

Prince had 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting in the first half and Ajavon added seven points. The rest of the Scarlet Knights were a combined 2-for-16 from the field.

Notre Dame is in the midst of a key conference road swing. The Irish beat then-No. 21 Syracuse 79-67 on Saturday and head to DePaul on Sunday before returning home. Notre Dame is tied with Pittsburgh in fourth place in the conference and is aiming to get one of the first-round byes in the Big East tournament.

Rutgers holds a 15-9 edge all-time against Notre Dame, with the Scarlet Knights winning the last four meetings.