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PISCATAWAY, N.J. - With three players scoring in double figures, the Scarlet Knights sent their seniors out on a high note as No. 20/18 Rutgers women's basketball team defeated Indiana, 71-60, Sunday afternoon at the RAC. Junior guard Kahleah Copper (Philadelphia, Pa.) led the way for the Scarlet Knights with 24 points and seven rebounds.

Rutgers, who honored seniors Betnijah Laney (Clayton, Del), Syessence Davis (Neptune, N.J.) and Christa Evans (Toms River, N.J.) prior to tip, ends the regular season at 21-8 overall and 12-6 in its first season in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights have locked in the No. 5 seed at the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.

The Hoosiers, meanwhile, fell to 14-15 overall and 4-14 in conference play. Laney produced her 18th double-double of the season, dropping 18 points with 13 rebounds. Laney also added five assists to her stat line. Sophomore guard Tyler Scaife (Little Rock, Ark.) joined Copper and Laney in double figures with 16 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field. Rutgers shot 49 percent (32-of-67) and forced 19 Hoosier turnovers to secure the victory.

Indiana was led in scoring by guard Trya Buss, who produced 14 points in the loss. Guard Amanda Cahill also represented the Hoosier in double-figures with 11 points. Both teams traded baskets early in the first half, with the score sitting at 8-6 in favor of the Scarlet Knights at the first media timeout. From there, RU produced a 9-2 scoring run with Copper contributing five points during the stretch to give Rutgers a 17-8 advantage at the 12:30 mark.

The nine-point lead would be the largest for the Scarlet Knights during first half action. A free throw by Buss capped nine unanswered points for Indiana, tying the score at 17-17 with 9:09 left before the midpoint. The opening half featured two more ties before back-to-back layups from Scaife sparked a 6-2 run to close out the half. Rutgers entered the locker room with a 30-26 lead.

Rutgers never looked back in the second half, leading by as much as 19 points down the stretch. The Scarlet Knights outscored Indiana, 28-13 by the 7:50 mark.

RU continued to control the pace of the game, as Laney's and-1 layup with 4:06 left to go gave Rutgers another 19-point advantage. Indiana attempted a comeback after Laney's basket, getting the score to as close as 11 points, but drew no closer.

The Rutgers women's basketball team will begin Big Ten Tournament play March 5 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman, Estates, Ill. The No. 5 Scarlet Knights will take on the winner between No. 13 Penn State and No. 12 Indiana at approximately 3 p.m. (ET) on BTN.

KNIGHT NOTES:
- Rutgers starting lineup featured Kahleah Copper, Tyler Scaife, Syessence Davis, Christa Evans and Betnijah Laney.
- Rachel Hollivay sat out the game with a left groin strain suffered Feb. 22 at Michigan State. She is listed as day-to-day.
- Kahleah Copper led RU with a game-high 24 points, her 10th 20+ point performance this season and 21st of her career.
- Copper led the Scarlet Knights in scoring for the 12th time this season and 31th time in her career.
- In her past three games, Copper has produced a combined 64 points, 19 rebounds and seven steals.
- Tyler Scaife continues to inch closer to becoming the third Scarlet Knight this season and 36th Rutgers women's basketball student-athlete overall to notch 1,000 career points. With her 16 points against Indiana, Scaife now has 961 career points.
- With 18 points and 13 rebounds, Betnijah Laney produced her 18th double-double of the season and 33rd of her career. It was also Laney's 19th double-digit rebound total this season.
- Laney's 18 points moved her past Tomora Young (1995-99) and Shawnetta Stewart (1997-00) into 14th on the all-time Rutgers scoring leaders list with 1,349 career points.
- Laney dished out five assists in the win, bringing her season total to 84 helpers. - Syessence Davis caused five steals against Indiana, giving her 100 takeaways for the season.
- Davis' five steals also moved her past Liz Hanson (1992-96) and Sue Wicks (1984-88) into second on the all-time Rutgers steals leaders list with 289. Davis needs four more steals to move past current assistant coach Tasha Pointer (1997-01) for the all-time Rutgers steals record.
- With 100 thefts this season, Davis becomes the first Scarlet Knight with two seasons with 100 or more steals. She now ranks fourth on the single-season leaders list and needs five to surpass Denise Kenney (1977-78) for third and eight more to surpass her own record of 107 from last season.
- Davis also dished out the ball five times, marking the 13th time this season and 39th time in her career with five or more helpers. She moved into ninth on RU all-time steals leaders list past Patty Coyole (1978-82) with 395 career dishes.
- Rutgers and Indiana both secured 35 rebounds in the game.
- RU led 30-26 at the half and has led at the intermission in all but six contests this season.

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