BLOOMINGTON, IND.- Despite a surge in the third quarter of the contest, the Rutgers women's basketball team dropped its road battle to Indiana, 64-48, on Wednesday night at Assembly Hall.
Rutgers fell to a record of 12-9 overall and a mark of 3-6 in Big Ten action, while Indiana improved to 13-8 overall and 5-4 in league play.
Senior Kahleah Copper (Philadelphia, Pa.) posted a team-high 16 points, while classmate Rachel Hollivay (Columbus, Miss.) followed with her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Indiana finished with three in double figures, as Tyra Buss led the way with a game-high 24 points, including 12 points from the three-point range and an 8-for-8 showing at the charity stripe. Amanda Cahill followed with 12 points, while Karlee McBride added in 12 points, all of which were scored from beyond the arc.
Rutgers and Indiana traded points and the lead to start off the contest. After the Scarlet Knights established an 8-5 edge with 5:43 to go in the first quarter, the Hoosiers responded with six uncontested points to generate an 11-8 advantage by the end of the frame.
IU sustained the run in the second quarter outscoring expanding its run to 23-3 before late three-pointers by the Scarlet Knights cut the deficit. While the Hoosiers went on to lead by as many as 17 with just over two minutes left until the halftime break, Shrita Parker (Va. Beach, Va.) and Briyona Canty (Willingboro, N.J.) knocked down late shots from beyond the arc as RU found themselves trailing 31-17 at the break.
Rutgers came alive in the third quarter, opening the frame with six consecutive points to kick off a 12-1 run. Tyler Scaife (Little Rock, Ark.), who had just two points at the intermission, and Copper, who was scoreless after two quarters, accounted for 10 of RU's points during the run. The once 17-point Hoosier edge was reduced to three, 32-29, by the 4:59 minute mark.
After a three-pointer from Indiana's McBride ended a three-minute scoring drought for the Hoosiers, a back-and-fourth battle ensued on the court.
Although the teams would continue to trade points to close the third, Indiana held on to a 45-38 advantage moving into the fourth quarter.
The Hoosiers used a 12-2 to bring the margin to 57-42 with 3:40 remaining in the game. Copper responded with three consecutive points for RU, bringing the Scarlet Knights within 10 at 57-47 with 2:47 remaining in the game. However, it was as close as Rutgers would come as Indiana closed the contest on a 17-1 run.
Up next, Rutgers returns home to host its rematch with Nebraska on Saturday, Jan. 30. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET at the RAC.
KNIGHT NOTES:
- Rachel Hollivay collected her third double-double of the 2015-16 season and fifth of her career.
- After being held to 0-of-4 shooting and 0 points in the first half, Kahleah Copper rebounded to net 16 points over the third and fourth quarters.
- With her 16 points, Copper is now four points away from moving past Matee Ajavon (2004-08) into eighth all-time on the all-time scoring leaders list. She currently has 1,619 career points.
- Tyler Scaife's double-digit scoring streak was halted at 14 straight games. Scaife has scored in double figures in all but three of RU's 21 games this season.
- Scaife is 19 points shy of becoming the 16th Scarlet Knight with over 1,400 career points and surpassing former teammate Betnijah Laney (2011-15) for 15th all-time in scoring. The junior Scarlet Knight has 1,383 career points.
- Rachel Hollivay swatted away five Indiana shots, her sixth game this season with five or more rejections. She currently has 285 career blocks and needs nine more to become RU's all-time leader in blocks and surpass Sue Wicks (1984-88).
- Briyona Canty hauled in a season-high seven rebounds. She surpassed her previous high of six grabbed at Iowa on Jan. 4 and vs. St. Joseph's in the season opener on Nov. 13.
- The 17 points scored by the Scarlet Knights at the half were the fewest by the team at the intermission since netting 16 first half points against #14/13 Florida State on Dec. 3.
- The 14-point deficit at halftime was the largest RU has faced in Big Ten play this season. Rutgers' largest deficit overcome for a victory this season was 11 against Minnesota on Dec. 31 and vs. Green Bay on Nov. 28 at the Paradise Jam.
- The Scarlet Knights fell to 2-5 when trailing at half and 3-7 when trailing after three quarters.
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-RU- 