March 24, 2015 Box Score|
Photo Gallery| VIDEO: Second Round Postgame Press Conference
STORRS, CONN. - The eighth-seeded Rutgers women's basketball team fell to top-seeded UConn, 91-55, in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday night at the Gampel Pavilion.
The Scarlet Knights end the year with an overall record of 23-10. Rutgers, who was making its 24th NCAA appearance, posted a 12-6 mark in its inaugural Big Ten season. The Huskies, meanwhile, improved to 34-1 on the season and 99-17 in Tournament action.
Tyler Scaife (Little Rock, Ark.) registered a team-high 16 points, while Kahleah Copper (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Betnijah Laney (Clayton, Del.) recorded 11 points apiece.
UConn was led by Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis with a game high 23 points, which was highlighted by five three-pointers. Moriah Jefferson followed with 19 points, while Morgan Tuck and Gabby Williams wrapped up the double-figure scorers with 16 points and 11 points, respectively.
After Rutgers and Connecticut went wire-to-wire across the opening minutes of play, the Huskies found a burst to jump in front to a 13-8 lead with 16:37 to go.
RU held UConn scoreless for the next two minutes of play, however, Jefferson sunk back-to-back threes to extend the Huskies' lead to 19-8.
The Scarlet Knights countered with an 8-2 run to pull within five, 21-16, with 10:52 left in the first half.
The Huskies went on to establish a 35-21 advantage by the 6:22 mark and used the momentum to lead by as many as 22 for the remainder of the stanza.
Overall, the Huskies registered seven baskets from beyond the arc in the first half to establish a 51-31 lead heading into halftime.
Connecticut opened the second half outscoring Rutgers, 12-2, to generate a 65-33 edge with 14:50 to go and would go on to lead by no less than that margin the rest of the way.
The Huskies shot 48 percent from the floor, while holding the Scarlet Knights to a percentage of 34 from the hardwood.
KNIGHT NOTES:
- The NCAA Second Round starting lineup featured Kahleah Copper, Tyler Scaife, Briyona Canty, Ariel Butts and Betnijah Laney. All five also started the first round contest against Seton Hall.
- Rutgers finished with a trio of double scorers led by Tyler Scaife with 16 points. It was Scaife's 12th game of the season leading the Scarlet Knights in scoring and the 22nd time in her career. The sophomore Scarlet Knight, who cracked the 1,000 career-point mark in the first round game with Seton Hall, has 1,020 career points and enters next season ranked 35th on the all-time scoring leaders list.
- Kahleah Copper added in 11 points. She poured in double figures in 28 of RU's 33 games in the 2014-15 season. She will enter next season with 1,270 career points. Copper surpassed Essence Carson (2004-08) for 21st on RU's all-time scoring leaders list against the Huskies.
- Copper, who finished the season averaging 16.3 points per game, ranks sixth among RU juniors.
- Betnijah Laney also registered 11 points against UConn. She finishes her career with 1,401 career points (14th all-time) and 912 rebounds (6th all-time). Laney joins Sue Wicks (1984-88), Regina Howard (1983-87) and Vicky Picott (1987-91) as the only Scarlet Knights to gather over 1,400 points and 900 rebounds in a career.
- Laney's 342 rebounds in 2014-15 rank her fourth on the single-season list and her 10.7 rebounds per game place her fifth on the single-season list and second among Rutgers seniors.
- Syessence Davis, who suffered a knee injury in RU's quarterfinal loss at Northwestern, took to the court in the game's final seconds. She finishes her Scarlet Knight career as RU's all-time steals leader with 294 career steals. Additionally, her name ranks ninth all-time in career assists with 397.
- Davis' 105 thefts on the season put her name third on the single season leaders list. Davis is the only Scarlet Knight to record two seasons of 100 or more steals.
- Christa Evans concludes her career with 130 career appearances, 139 points, 215 rebounds and 69 blocks.
- The Scarlet Knights now stand at 36-24 in NCAA Tournament games and 11-7 in second round appearances.
- Head coach C. Vivian Stringer will enter next season needing three more wins to surpass Theresa Grentz's all-time Rutgers victory record of 434. Stringer has 432 wins "On the Banks."
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-
