WBB Back to the RAC vs. No. 7 Ohio State
Jan 22 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's basketball team returns home where they have won eight straight and host No. 7 Ohio State on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPN2. The game pits the Big Ten's top defense in Rutgers versus the league's top offense in Ohio State. Pam Ward and Katie Smith will be on the call.
| Game Twenty: Rutgers (12-7, 3-4 Big Ten) vs. No. 7/7 Ohio State (14-4, 6-1 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Sunday, Jan. 24 |
| Time | 3:00 p.m. EST |
| Location | The RAC | Piscataway, N.J. |
| TV | ESPN2 (Pam Ward & Katie Smith) |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WCTC 1450 AM (Ralph Bednarczyk & Mark Peterson) WRSU 88.7 FM (Vinny Caggiano & Sean Griffin) |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Ohio State |
| Conference Game Notes | Big Ten |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Ohio State |
| Tickets | ScarletKnights.com/Tickets |
| Promotions | N.J. Rutgers Retro T-Shirts to First 500 Fans |
WEATHER UPDATE
Sunday's game with the Buckeyes is on as scheduled. Stay tuned to ScarletKnights.com for any changes due to the impending weather.
DEFENDING THE HOME STREAK
The Rutgers women's basketball team is back to the RAC after a two-game road trip and will host #7/7 Ohio State on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. on ESPN2. Pam Ward and Katie Smith will be on the call.
RU is coming off a 65-54 loss at Nebraska and a 59-48 setback at No. 21/18 Michigan State. The Scarlet Knights are returning home however where they are currently enjoying an eight-game RAC win streak dating back to mid-November.
Against the Cornhuskers last Saturday, the Scarlet Knights led Nebraska through three quarters before a late fourth quarter surge put Nebraska on top at the final horn. RU had four in double figures as Kahleah Copper missed out on her third consecutive double-double with 12 points and nine boards. Ariel Butts put away her first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Tyler Scaife and Rachel Hollivay each had 11.
At Michigan State, the Scarlet Knights and Spartans were tied at 40-40 at the end of third quarters before MSU pulled away with a 19-8 fourth quarter. Tyler Scaife led all scorers with 24 points.
ABOUT OHIO STATE
Rutgers and Ohio State meet for the second time this season with the Scarlet Knights looking to even the series after suffering a 90-78 loss to the Buckeyes at Value City Arena two weeks ago.
Sunday's game pits the league's top defense, Rutgers who allowed only 55.7 points per game, against the conference's top offense, Ohio State who is scoring 87.0 points per game.
The Buckeyes come to the Garden State sporting a 14-4 overall mark and 6-1 record in the Big Ten race. Ohio State has won two straight, including Thursday night's 97-93 win at Michigan, and have come out on top in 10 of its last 11 and 14 of its last 16 outings. Three of the Buckeye's four losses on the season have come at the hands of last season's final four teams - South Carolina, UConn and Notre Dame.
Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Kelsey Mitchell enters Sunday's game averaging 25.4 points per contest, leading the Big Ten and ranking second nationally in scoring. Mitchell also ranks seventh nationally in three-point field goals made. Mitchell had 31 points the last time vs. the Scarlet Knights - the most points by an RU opponent this season.
Next on the Buckeyes stat sheet is Ameryst Alston at 18.6 points per game and is followed by Shayla Copper at 13.8 points per game and a team-leading 8.6 rebounds per game.
Rounding out the double figure scorers for Ohio State is Alexa Hart, who is pouring in 10.8 points per game and a team second-best 6.8 points per game.
LAST TIME VS. OHIO STATE
Despite a double-double performance from Kahleah Copper and a season-high in points for Tyler Scaife, the Rutgers women's basketball team dropped its contest, 90-78, to No. 5/5 Ohio State on Jan. 10 at Value City Arena.
Rutgers overcame a 23-point third quarter deficit and found themselves within 10 midway through the fourth quarter. The comeback was thwarted however as the Buckeyes outscored the Scarlet Knights, 19-7, over the game's final five minutes.
Scaife posted a season-high 27 points to lead Rutgers in the loss. Copper contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the year and third in the last four games.
Ohio State was led by Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year's Kelsey Mitchell game-high 31 points. Ameryst Alston added in 21 points, while Alexa Hart contributed 17 points of her own to round out the double-figure scorers.
The Buckeyes jumped to a 14-5 lead to start the game. After Ohio State took a 9-0 run, senior Ariel Butts ended a four-minute RU scoring drought hitting from beyond the arc as the shot clock expired to bring the score to 14-8 with 3:48 to go in the opening quarter. Ohio State, however, extended its lead to 20-10 at the end of the frame.
Although sophomore Shrita Parker opened the second quarter scoring, Ohio State took control, moving to a 34-18 lead with 4:52 on the clock.
Following two free throws from Hollivay, Rutgers registered a 12-6 run to cut the deficit to 40-30 with 1:25 left until the half. Despite OSU maintaining the lead, a pair of free throws from Copper with time dwindling down diminished the margin to single-digits, 43-34, at halftime.
Rutgers continued to pick away at the Ohio State lead with a wire-to-wire battle to start the third quarter. A Khadaizha Sanders layup brought the margin to 48-40 by the 7:39 minute mark.
However, the Buckeyes built its lead back up to as many as 23 with a 73-50 advantage with under two minutes to go in the third.
A three-pointer from freshman Aliyah Jeune ignited a 12-3 run for RU, capped by another three-pointer from Scaife, to bring the deficit to 76-65 with 7:32 remaining in the game.
Twice the Scarlet Knights whittled the Buckeye advantage down to 10 as a Scaife run to hole saw RU trail just 81-71 with 4:55 remaining. Ohio State however ended the game on its 19-7 run and went 7-of-7 from the free throw line down the stretch.
HOMESTAND STANDOUTS
The Scarlet Knights are currently enjoying an eight-game home win streak dating back to late November.
During this stretch in the friendly confines at the RAC, RU has been outscoring the opposition by an average of 18.8 points per game pouring in 63.4 points per home contest while opponents are netting just 44.6.
Additionally, RU is averaging 15.3 assists, 8.1 steals, 6.4 blocks and committing just 11.9 turnovers in the eight-game span.
During the win streak, Tyler Scaife is averaging 19.6 points per game, while Kahleah Copper is adding in 14.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Also Briyona Canty is dishing the ball out 5.4 times per game and Rachel Hollivay is swatting away the ball 3.6 times per contest.
FROSH FACE
Victoria Harris has been emerging as another post presence for the Scarlet Knights in the last few games.
Including her first career start vs. Illinois on Jan. 13, Harris has averaged 18.3 minutes of playing time in the last three games averaging 4.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in those three contests. She has gone 5-of-8 from the field (.625) with three blocks.
Harris tied her career-high for the third time with six points against the Fighting Illini in her start and more recently tied her career high with six boards in RU's last contest at No. 21/18 Michigan State on Tuesday night.
CRACKING THE TOP TEN
With her 14 points in last Wednesday's victory over Illinois, Kahleah Copper moved up the Rutgers scoring chart into ninth place. She surpassed Epiphanny Prince (2006-09), member of the WNBA's Chicago Sky and Second Team All-WNBA member.
This season, Copper became the 11th Scarlet Knight to register 1,500 or more career points.
Copper needs 38 more points to move into the eighth spot on the scoring leaders list past Matee Ajavon (2004-08) and currently has 1,576 career points.
BLOCK PARTY
With her season-high six blocks against Iona on Dec. 9, Rachel Hollivay moved into third place all-time at Rutgers in rejections.
The senior Scarlet Knight leads the Big Ten with 57 rejections and ranks sixth among all Division I players. She has registered 47 games in her career with three or more blocks.
Hollivay ended her sophomore season with 127 rejections which ranks her third (men or women) in blocks in a single season. Only Hamady Ndiaye (2009-10) and Roy Hinson (1982-83) on the men's side have blocked more shots in a single season, swatting away 145 and 144, respectively.
All-Time Rutgers Blocked Shots
1. Sue Wicks (1984-88) - 293
2. Kia Vaughn (2005-09) - 279
3. Rachel Hollivay (2012-present) - 277
4. LaTonya Johnson (1988-92) - 248
5. Tanya Hansen (1988-92) - 245
UP NEXT
It's back on the road for the Rutgers women's basketball team. The Scarlet Knights travel to Bloomington to meet up with the Indiana Hoosiers on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.
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-RU-
