Women's Basketball Hosts Seton Hall on Tuesday
Dec 12 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's basketball team's nonconference schedule starts drawing to a close this week with the final two non-Big Ten matchups. The Scarlet Knights welcome in-state rival Seton Hall on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on BTN.
| Game Twelve: Seton Hall (6-3, 0-0 Big East) | |
| Date | Tuesday, Dec. 13 |
| Time | 7:00 p.m. EST |
| Location | The RAC | Piscataway, N.J. |
| TV | BTN (Jason Horowitz & Vera Jones) |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WCTC 1450 AM (Ralph Bednarczyk & Mark Peterson) WRSU 88.7 FM (Dominick Savino & Jack Ostrove) |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Rutgers ( Big Ten) | Seton Hall (Big East) |
| Stats | Rutgers | Seton Hall |
| Tickets | ScarletKnights.com/Tickets |
| Promotions | Rutgers T-Shirt Exchange |
CLOSING OUT THE NONCONFERENCE SLATE
Rutgers returns home to close out the nonconference schedule before breaking for the holidays. Up first is in-state rival, Seton Hall, on Tuesday in the first of six appearances on BTN for the Scarlet Knights.
RU will be looking to return to the win column after being edged, 53-51, by Houston on Saturday evening. Sophomore Victoria Harris nearly logged her first double-double as she netted 13 points along with nine rebounds. Shrita Parker collected 13 points in the loss while Desire Keeling added 11.
Rutgers held a 49-42 advantage with 2:41 left in the game before Houston rattled off nine unanswered points to take back the lead.
A Kandiss Barber layup managed to knot the score at 51-51, but the Cougars took the lead on a putback on the following possession. RU had a chance to tie or take the lead with nine seconds remaining, but was called for an offensive foul in the closing moments.
ABOUT SETON HALL
Seton Hall enters the RAC at 6-3 overall and have had five days to prepare for the Scarlet Knights. The Pirates have won two straight including a 77-59 win over LIU Brooklyn in their last game on Dec. 7 and a 70-63 victory over Wake Forest.
In addition to the Demon Deacons, the Scarlet Knights and Pirates also have a common nonconference opponent in Princeton. Both squads lost at Jadwin Gymnasium this season with Seton Hall falling 94-67 on Nov. 30
The Pirates have also gotten a taste of Big Ten action with a matchup at Minnesota, where they were downed 90-57 back on Nov. 20.
Four Pirates are averaging double digits led by redshirt junior guard JaQuan Jackson at 16.2 ppg. She is followed by sophomore guard LaTecia Smith at 12.7 ppg along with a team second-best 6.8 rpg. Freshman guard Kaela Hilaire is pouring in 11.7 ppg, while Senior center Lubirdia Gordon is averaging 10.5 ppg along with a team-leading 8.2 rpg.
LAST TIME VS. SETON HALL
The Rutgers women's basketball team suffered a 77-49 loss at Seton Hall back on Nov. 16, 2015 at Walsh Gymnasium.
Rachel Hollivay nearly eclipsed a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds, along with two blocks in the contest. Kahleah Copper posted a team-high 17 points, while Tyler Scaife added in 11 points in the loss.
Four Pirates registered double-digit points, as Tiffany Jones led all scorers on the court with 20 points, including a 4-of-7 mark from the three-point range and a perfect 4-of-4 showing at the free throw line. Jones also added in 13 rebounds in the win as the Pirates outrebounded the Scarlet Knights, 39-26, and limited RU to two offensive boards.
The Pirate's Aleesha Powell followed with 17 points, while Tabatha Richardson-Smith and Shakeena Richardson rounded out the double-figure scorers with 16 and 11 points, respectively.
Despite falling behind 9-2 to start the contest, Rutgers rallied with six unanswered points to pull within one at 9-8 midway through the first quarter.
The Pirates ended the burst though to take a 23-12 lead at the end of the quarter and extend their lead to as many as 16 points, 30-14, with 6:57 to go in the second quarter.
The Scarlet Knights were able to recover a rhythm, closing the final five minutes of second quarter by outscoring Seton Hall, 12-0, and trailed by only four, 32-28, at the half.
Returning from the break, Seton Hall continued to add to its edge with a 14-4 run, carried by 12 points from the three-point range, to set the score at 46-32 with 4:56 to go in the third quarter.
The Pirates remained steady from the long range and led by 20 points or more throughout a majority of the fourth quarter.
Overall, Seton Hall closed the contest with an 11-of-24 (45.8%) performance from long range and a 22-of-25 (88%) showing at the charity stripe to claim the win.
MILESTONE NUMBERS
In the Dec. 3 win over Bucknell, the Rutgers women's basketball team played its 1300th game in history since beginning the program in 1974. Since then, RU has gone 899-404 and is just one win shy of becoming the 18th program in history to capture 900 program victories.
PROTECTING HOMECOURT
The Scarlet Knights have had an outstanding track record of success at home. The Scarlet Knights went 12-5 at home in 2015-16, with four of the five setbacks against team featured in the polls (Top 25 - Ohio State, Maryland, Michigan State; Receiving Votes - St. John's; Not Ranked: Virginia).
Since the 2002-03 season, the Scarlet Knights have gone 175-37 (.825) at the RAC.
UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights wrap up nonconference play with Temple on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. The first 500 fans will receive a free Rutgers beanie hat.
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