WBB Travels to Illinois
Feb 12 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's basketball team, coming off back-to-back victories, is back on the road to meet Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. (ET) on BTN. Kevin Lee and Katie Smith will be on the call as the Scarlet Knights and Fighting Illini close out the season series.
| Game Twenty Six : Rutgers (15-10, 6-7 Big Ten) at Illinois (8-16, 1-12 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Saturday, Feb. 13 |
| Time | 6:00 p.m. EST |
| Location | State Farm Center | Champaign, Ill |
| BTN | BTN (Kevin Lee & Katie Smith) |
| Radio | WRSU 88.7 FM (Matt Salvatore & Lea Ginefrao) |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Illinois |
| Conference Game Notes | Big Ten |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Illinois |
ROAD SLATE WINDING DOWN
The Rutgers women's basketball team is back on the road to close out the season series with Illinois on Saturday on BTN. Kevin Lee and Katie Smith will be on the call when the teams tip at 6 p.m. (ET).
Rutgers made it two-in-a-row on Wednesday in a thriller of game that saw Tyler Scaife net the game-winning layup with two seconds left in a 61-59 victory over Northwestern.
After senior Briyona Canty tied the game with a three-pointer at 59-59 with 11 seconds to go, Rutgers all-time blocks leader Rachel Hollivay came up with one of the biggest among her 306 career rejection to keep the Wildcats at bay. Kahleah Copper collected the rebound leading to the outlet pass to Scaife for the game-winning bucket.
Scaife finished the game with 24 points while Copper had 20 points, the first time two Scarlet Knights had 20 or more points in a game since the season opener.
Saturday's game marks the second to last road contest for the Scarlet Knights this regular season, while three more home games at the RAC remain on the slate.
ABOUT ILLINOIS
The Fighting Illini enter Saturday's contest at 8-16 overall and 1-12 in Big Ten play including an 80-68 setback to Indiana on Wednesday.
Illinois will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak with its last victory coming against Wisconsin in a 71-65 win on Jan. 17 at home on the heels of its loss with the Scarlet Knights. The Fighting Illini have dropped 14 of their last 15 games.
On the stat sheet, Chatrice White leads Illinois averaging a double-double of 18.0 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game. Kyley Simmons is second in scoring at 11.6 points per outing while Alex Wittinger rounds out the double figure scorers at 10.3 points per to go along with a team second best 6.4 boards per contest.
LAST TIME VS. ILLINOIS
Behind double-doubles from seniors Rachel Hollivay and Kahleah Copper and a season-high tying 27 points from Tyler Scaife, the Rutgers women's basketball team topped Illinois, 67-54, to extend its home win streak to eight on Jan. 13 at the RAC.
Scaife led all scorers in the win, tying her season-high for the second straight contest with 27 points. Copper followed with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Hollivay added in 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Illinois was paced by Kyley Simmons with 17 points, 15 of which were from the three-point range. Chatrice White also contributed 14 points in the loss.
Rutgers cruised to a 12-4 advantage on the scoreboard to start the contest. After Illinois brought the margin to 12-6 at 2:30 mark of the first quarter, RU knocked in eight uncontested points across the following two-minute span to bring its lead to 20-6.
Although Fighting Illini Chatrice White beat the first-quarter buzzer with a three-pointer to set the score at 20-9, the Scarlet Knights would not be stumped as they extended their lead to 30-15 by the midway point of the second quarter.
A three-pointer from Simmons ignited a 5-0 run for Illinois, however, Hollivay ended the burst to set the score at 32-20 with 2:50 remaining until the break.
The Scarlet Knights held at least a 10-point cushion for the remainder of the first half, carrying a 38-26 lead into the locker room.
After Scaife pushed the RU edge to 43-28 with the Scarlet Knights' first five points of the third quarter, back-to-back Illinois baskets across the next four minutes of play to brought the margin to 43-32 with 6:20 to go in the third. However, Scaife ended the scoring drought for the Scarlet Knights to ignite a back-and-fourth battle on the court.
Although Illinois would cut the margin to single digits on two occasions, Rutgers re-established an 11-point edge, 51-40, on a jumper from Scaife to close the third stanza.
Rutgers moved to its largest lead of the night with an 11-6 run to start the fourth quarter, holding a 64-46 edge with 3:34 to go in the game. Simmons ended the RU drive with her third three-pointer of the quarter, as the sophomore totaled for all of the Fighting Illini's nine points across that span. Jaelyne Kirkpatrick added in a basket from beyond the arc as well to bring the score to 65-52 with 2:21 to go.
Scaife closed the night with two free throws, marking a flawless effort from the charity stripe for the ninth time this season (3-of-3), to close the Scarlet Knight win at 67-54.
BLOCK PARTY
With five rejections at Penn State on Feb. 7, senior Rachel Hollivay became the first Rutgers women's basketball player with 300 career blocks.
Her feat was on the heels of collecting five blocks on Feb. 4 at Minnesota, to become RU women's basketball's all-time career shot blocks leader surpassing legend and former WNBA standout Sue Wicks (1984-88).
Hollivay had six rejections in RU's last time out against Northwestern, tying her season-high in the category for the fifth time this season. In the last five games, she has averaged 5.2 blocks per game.
The senior Scarlet Knight leads the Big Ten with 86 rejections, ranking third among all Division I players and second on the Big Ten single season list.
She also ranks second all-time among all Rutgers basketball student-athletes in career blocked shots. Only Hamady Ndiaye (2006-10) (358) and Roy Hinson (1979-83) (355) on the men's side have more career 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 RU WBB Career Blocked Shots
1. Rachel Hollivay (2012-present)- 306
2. Sue Wicks (1984-88) - 293
3. Kia Vaughn (2005-09) - 279
4. LaTonya Johnson (1988-92) - 248
5. Tanya Hansen (1988-92) - 245
All-Time Rutgers Basketball - Men & Women - Career Blocked Shots
1. MBB - Hamady Ndiaye (2006-10) - 358
2. MBB - Roy Hinson (1979-83) - 355
3. WBB - Rachel Hollivay (2012-present) - 306
4. MBB - James Bailey (1975-79) - 304
5. WBB - Sue Wicks (1984-88) - 293
CRACKING THE TOP TEN
With her 18 points against Ohio State on Jan. 30, Kahleah Copper became the ninth Scarlet Knight to collect over 1,600 career points and is currently approaching the 1,700 career point mark.
Copper is currently seventh all-time in scoring at Rutgers surpassing Tanya Hansen (1988-92) on Wednesday against the Wildcats.
Copper now has 1,697 points and needs three more points to become the seventh Scarlet Knight with over 1,700 career points and 66 more points to move into sixth all-time past Caroline DeRoose (1990-94).
Teammate Tyler Scaife also continues to move up the scoring leaders list. With 24 points against Northwestern, she moved into 12th all-time in scoring with 1,458 career points, surpassing Tasha Pointer (1997-01).
20/20 COURT VISION
RU ended Wednesday's thriller against Northwestern with two Scarlet Knights with 20 points or more. It was just the second time this season the feat was accomplished.
Tyler Scaife led RU with 24 points, her 11th game of the season with 20 or more points while Kahleah Copper dropped in 20 points, her eighth game this season with 20 or more points.
In the last three games, Copper has averaged 23.7 points per game.
Rutgers last had two 20-point performers in a game in the season opener against St. Joseph's Nov. 13. In that contest, Copper had a then-career-high 30 points, while Scaife also netted 24 points in the victory.
AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME
Rutgers and its opponent were tied entering the fourth quarter for a third time this season in Wednesday's wild finish with the Northwestern.
Rutgers improved to 2-1 on the year when tied entering the final frame with the 61-59 win over the Wildcats. The score was knotted at 44-44.
RU was tied with #18 Michigan State and in the second meeting with Nebraska with both games knotted at 40-40 heading into the fourth quarter. The Spartans went on to capture a 59-48 victory, while RU secured a 66-56 victory over Nebraska.
A FIRST FOR FIVE
Rutgers had five in double figures in last Sunday's Penn State victory, the first time this season the Scarlet Knights had five players reach double digits and the first time since Jan. 18, 2015 at Wisconsin.
In addition to Kahleah Copper's 20-point scoring effort, Khadaizha Sanders tied her career-high with 11 points, which included a 3-of-4 effort from downtown. It was a new high in three-pointers made for the freshman. Sanders also had 11 points in RU's meeting with Iowa on Jan. 4.
TRIPLE DOG DARE YOU
Briyona Canty was nearing triple double territory with 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in last Sunday's contest at Penn State.
The last triple double by a Scarlet Knight was last performed by Khadijah Rushdan in 2011 with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Pittsburgh.
One other Scarlet Knight on the current roster has flirted with captured a triple double. Rachel Hollivay nearly captured a triple-double against Howard on Nov. 22, 2013 with 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks.
LOOKING TO BECOME ROAD WARRIORS
Rutgers owns a 10-2 record on the 2015-16 season at the RAC, including winning nine of their last ten contests at home, but are continuing to look to add to the road win column.
The Scarlet Knights are 5-8 away from the friendly confines of the hardwood in Piscataway, N.J., most recently coming off a 74-62 victory at Penn State last Sunday.
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-RU-
