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PISCATAWAY, N.J. -  Rutgers women's lacrosse hung tough with No. 5/5 Northwestern for the majority of the first half, but was unable to quiet the Wildcat attack in an 18-6 loss Friday night at High Point Solutions Stadium.

Redshirt senior midfielder Lauren Sbrilli (Martinsville, N.J.) led the Scarlet Knights with a hat trick, junior attacker Halley Barnes (Garnet Valley, Pa.) scored twice and freshman attacker Kerri Puckhaber (Wantagh, N.Y.) added a goal in the loss.

Prior to the game, Rutgers honored its six seniors -- Melissa Arthur (Marlton, N.J.), Candice Dandridge (Cherry Hill, N.J.), Hollie DiMuro (West Babylon, N.Y.), Sbrilli, Erin Turkot (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) and Jenny Vlahos (Manhasset, N.Y.) -- at midfield to celebrate their careers "On the Banks."

The program's adopted sister from the Friends of Jaclyn foundation, Genna Camiolo, served as honorary captain and assisted with the pregame coin toss.

RU kept the game close early on, tying things at 1-1 thanks to Sbrilli at 17:48. Following a Wildcat score, Barnes tied the game again at 2-2 with 14:52 left in the first, receiving a long pass from sophomore Amanda Turturro (Farmingdale, N.Y.) from the back corner in front for the score.

From there, though, Northwestern (9-3, 2-1 Big Ten) scored 10-straight goals to take a commanding lead. Wildcat Kara Mupo led Northwestern with four goals, while 11 other Northwestern players scored in the game.

Rutgers closes the season with three consecutive road contests, beginning next Thursday, April 16 at No. 18/14 Ohio State. The Big Ten Network will air the game live on national television as the Scarlet Knights' third nationally-televised game this season.

Game Notes

• Sbrilli notched her fourth game of three or more goals this season. She leads RU with 30 goals and has 106 for her career.
• Sbrilli paced Rutgers with three ground balls.
• DiMuro led RU with three caused turnovers and now has 80 for her career. She is one caused turnover away from tying Robin Erthal (1996-99) for third on Rutgers' all-time list. 

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