WBB's Next B1G Battle at No. 5 Ohio State
Jan 08 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's basketball team closes out a three-game week with a trip to Columbus, Ohio to face to No. 5/5 Ohio State on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 2 p.m.
| Game Sixteen: Rutgers (11-4, 2-1 Big Ten) at #5/5 Ohio State (11-3, 3-0 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Sunday, Jan. 10 |
| Time | 2:00 p.m. EST |
| Location | Value City Arena | Columbus, Ohio |
| Video | BTN Plus |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WCTC 1450 AM (Ralph Bednarczyk) WRSU 88.7 FM (Gabe Sustick & Mike Antosiewicz) |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Ohio State |
| Conference Game Notes | Big Ten |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Ohio State |
THREE GAME WEEK CONCLUDES
The Rutgers women's basketball team concludes its stretch of three games in a seven day span on Sunday in a meeting with No. 5/5 Ohio State in Columbus on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 61-41 victory over Wisconsin on Thursday night, extending RU's home win streak to seven games. Additionally, Rutgers has won six of its last seven games and 10 of its last 12 outings.
Three Scarlet Knights finished Thursday night's game with the Badgers in double figures led by the fifth double-double of the season by Kahleah Copper. Copper dropped in 19 points and hauled in 13 rebounds.
Joining Copper in double figures were Tyler Scaife with 17 points and Briyona Canty with 11 points. Canty came off the bench against Wisconsin and scored seven of her season-high 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Sunday's game will mark the first of two meetings with the Buckeyes. The two teams will meet again in two weeks at the RAC on Jan. 24.
ABOUT OHIO STATE
Ohio State, ranked at No. 5 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Polls, enters Sunday's game against the Scarlet Knights sharing the top spot in the Big Ten with Purdue. The Buckeyes own an 11-3 overall mark and 3-0 record in conference play.
OSU has won seven straight dating back to a 75-72 loss to Notre Dame on Dec. 2. After opening with two losses - both to Final Four participants UConn and South Carolina - the Buckeyes have been in the win column in 11 of its last 12 contests.
Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, Kelsey Mitchell, checks in as the nation's second leading scorer at 24.6 points per game. Ameryst Alston is adding in 18.6 ponts per contest.
Two other Buckeyes are also averaging double digits with Shayla Copper pouring in 12.4 points per game to go along with a team-leading 9.0 rebounds per contest. She ranks third in the conference in boards per game. Alexa Hart is averaging 10.4 points per outing.
LAST TIME VS. OHIO STATE
Last year, the No. 16/17 Rutgers women's basketball team suffered an 85-68 New Year's Day loss at Ohio State at Value City Arena. It marked the first loss for the Scarlet Knights away from the friendly confines of the RAC in the 2014-15 season.
Betnijah Laney paced the team with 23 points and 12 rebounds, registering her 10th double-double of the year and her fifth 20+ point game. Tyler Scaife contributed 17 points, while Kahleah Copper added on 10 points of her own in the loss.
The Buckeyes were led by the Big Ten leading scorer Kelsey Mitchell with a game-high 33 points. Ameryst Alston, also atop the conference leaderboard, notched 21 points in the win.
Following the opening tip, Rutgers immediately raced out to a 6-0 lead, holding Ohio State scoreless for nearly four minutes. Mitchell, however, kick started the Buckeyes with two foul shots, sending OSU on 12-0 run. Laney ended the run with 15:07 to go in the half, but Ohio State regained its momentum to lead by as many as 17 and take a 40-27 advantage into the half.
Playing catch up in the second half, Rutgers was able reduce its deficit to single digits with 14:30 remaining. A Scaife jumper following a Buckeye turnover saw RU trail by nine, 49-40. However, Ohio State would go on the outscore Rutgers, 23-5, over the next seven minutes of play and would lead by at most 28.
CRACKING THE TOP TEN
With her team-high 20 points against the Hawkeyes on Monday night, Kahleah Copper joined a number of notable names in Rutgers scoring history as she cracked the Top 10 in all-time scoring.
Copper became the 11th Scarlet Knight to register 1,500 or more career points. She needs 23 more points to move up on the list to surpass WNBA All-Star and 2015 Second Team All-WNBA honoree, Epiphanny Prince, for ninth place.
D-D-D-DEFENSE
So far the Scarlet Knight defense has been doing its job in keeping the Big Ten's leading scorers below their averages.
| Opponent: | Average Entering Game With Rutgers: | Vs. Rutgers: |
| Nicole Bauman - WIS | 15.9 | 7 |
| Ally Disterhoft - IOWA | 17.2 | 15 |
| Rachel Banham - MINN | 23.1 | 17 |
CAPITALIZING ON MISCUES
Rutgers netted 23 points off 21 Iowa turnovers in Monday night's contest. The Scarlet Knights posted 19 points in the first half on 16 Hawkeye turnovers.
In the last five games, RU has averaged 24.8 points off a total of 91 opponent miscues.
Conversely, RU has averaged just 10.4 turnovers in that span including a season low four turnovers in their last contest against Wisconsin. It was the fewest turnovers by the program since turning the ball over five times at Syracuse on Feb. 14, 2007.
FROM THE LINE
Junior Tyler Scaife has been clutch from the line missing just four free throws in her 45 attempts to date. She currently leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth nationally in free throw percentage, shooting at a .911 percent clip.
UP NEXT
Rutgers is back home to host Illinois on Wednesday, Jan 13 at 7 p.m.
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-
