WBB Hosts St. John's in Home Opener
Nov 18 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's basketball team will look to put Monday night's setback at Seton Hall behind them as they kick off the home schedule with former Big East rival, St. John's on Thursday night at the RAC.
| Game Three: Rutgers (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. St. John's (1-1, 0-0 Big East) | |
| Date | Thursday, Nov. 19 |
| Time | 7:00 p.m. EST |
| Location | The RAC | Piscataway, N.J. |
| Video | BTN Plus (Lou Brogno & Julianne Viani) |
| Radio | WRSU 88.7 FM (Vinny Caggiano & Mike Antosiewicz) |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | St. John's |
| Conference Game Notes | Big Ten | Big East |
| Statistics | Rutgers | St. John's |
| Tickets | ScarletKnights.com/Tickets |
| Promotions | Camo Hats to First 500 Fans/Team Poster Giveaway |
WELCOME HOME
The Rutgers women's basketball team will look to put Monday night's 77-49 setback at Seton Hall behind them as they kick off the home schedule with former Big East rival, St. John's on Thursday night at the RAC.
Three Scarlet Knights reached double figures including Rachel Hollivay's 13-point, eight-rebound performance. Kahleah Copper had a team-high 17 points, while Tyler Scaife contributed 11 in the loss.
Thursday's game will mark the first of 15 home dates for the Scarlet Knights in 2015-16, including six of their 12 nonconference contests.
The Scarlet Knights opened up the 2015-16 season with a 78-65 road win at St. Joseph's last Friday evening. RU was led by a double-double effort by senior forward Kahleah Copper with a career-high 30 points and 10 rebounds while junior guard Tyler Scaife added 24 points in the victory.
ABOUT ST. JOHN'S
St. John's opened the year on the West Coast going 1-1 on its season-opening road trip.
After dropping a 73-58 decision to UCLA last Friday, the Red Storm bounced back with an 85-63 victory at UC Irvine.
The Red Storm have four averaging double figures through the first two games of the 2015-16 season. Danaejah Grant tops the stat sheet at 19.0 points per game followed by Jade Walker at 13.5 points per contest. Aliyyah Handford checks in at 11.0 points per matchup, while Akina Wellere rounds out the double figure scorers at 10.0 points per game.
On the boards, Imani Littleton is hauling in 6.5 rebounds per outing.
Last season, St. John's went 23-11 overall and 11-7 in the Big East. The Red Storm reached the Big East Tournament Semifinals and advanced to the third round of the WNIT. St. John's defeated Army (64-56) and Fordham (77-63) before its WNIT run came to an end with a 63-55 loss at Villanova.
The Red Storm are led by Joe Tartamella, who begins his fourth season at the Queens, N.Y. school.
LAST TIME VS. ST. JOHN'S
Rutgers fell at Carnessecca Arena, 61-48, back on February 23, 2013, in the squads' last meeting as Big East Conference foes.
Former Scarlet Knight and current member of the NY Liberty, Erica Wheeler, was the lone Scarlet Knight in double digits with 11.
St. John's Nadirah McKenith led all scorers with 21 points, Shenneika Smith added in 13 points in the win, while Aliyyah Handford contributed 10 of her 12 points in the first half.
HOME OPENERS
The Scarlet Knights enter Thursday's contest with a 35-6 record in home openers, including a 16-4 mark under head coach C. Vivian Stringer.
RU has won its last five home openers which has included wins over Princeton twice (2010 - 54-53 & 2013: 79-65), California (2011: 73-70), George Washington (2012: 56-52) and St. Joseph's (2014: 76-52).
PROTECTING HOMECOURT
The Scarlet Knights have had an outstanding track record of success at home. The Scarlet Knights went 11-4 at home in 2014-15, with all four setback against the nation's top 25.
Since the 2002-03 season, the Scarlet Knights have gone 161-29 (.847) at the RAC. In this last five years, RU has put together a record of 63-13 (.829) at the RAC.
UP NEXT
The Rutgers women's basketball team welcomes Temple to the RAC on Sunday, Nov. 19 for at 2 p.m. tipoff.
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersWBB), Twitter (www.twitter.com/RutgersWBB) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/RutgersWBB) for all of the latest news and updates. Fans also receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on both social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com.
-RU-
