WBB Open B1G Tournament on Thursday
Mar 01 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Big Ten Tournament action opens up for Rutgers women's basketball on Thursday as the 10th-seeded Scarlet Knights take on seventh-seeded Nebraska on Thursday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m. on BTN.
| BIG TEN TOURNAMENT SECOND ROUND: No. 10 Rutgers (17-13, 9-10 Big Ten) vs. No. 7 Nebraska (18-11, 9-9 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Thursday, March 3 |
| Time | 6:30 p.m. EST |
| Location | Bankers Life Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| TV | BTN (Kevin Kugler, Christy Winters Scott, Shelley Till) |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WCTC 1450 AM (Ralph Bednarczyk) WRSU 88.7 FM (Dylan Mackinnon & Sean Griffins) |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Nebraska |
| Conference Game Notes | Tournament Bracket |Big Ten |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Nebraska |
B1G TOURNAMENT TIME
The Rutgers women's basketball team finished the regular season at 17-13 overall and 8-10 in Big Ten Conference play to earn the No. 10 seed at the 2016 Big Ten Tournament.
The Scarlet Knights, who last season advanced to the quarterfinal round, will take on seventh-seeded Nebraska in the second round on Thursday, March. 3 at 6:30 p.m. The winner advances to face second-seeded Ohio State in the quarterfinal round.
RU boasts three All-Big Ten honorees in second team members Kahleah Copper and Tyler Scaife, along with honorable mention and All-Defensive Team selection Rachel Hollivay.
The Scarlet Knights still have hopes for an at-large NCAA selection. RU boasts an RPI of 54 according to RealTimeRPI with the nation's 11th best strength of schedule.
Rutgers is coming off a 72-50 victory at home over Michigan to end the regular season and snapping a three-game losing streak. Scaife led all scorers with 23 points along with 20 points coming from the hands of Copper.
ABOUT NEBRASKA
The Cornhuskers enter the Big Ten Tournament at 18-11 overall finished tied for seventh along with Michigan in the league standings at 9-9.
Like the Scarlet Knights, Nebraska snapped a three-game losing streak in the regular season finale playing to a 76-67 victory over Northwestern in Lincoln on Sunday.
The Cornhuskers are led by Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jessica Shepard, who is scoring 19.5 points per game to go long with a team-leading 8.8 rebounds per contest. Shepard is tied for seventh among all Big-Ten scorers and is fifth in the league in the rebounding department.
Nebraska features two others in double figures including Second Team All-Big Ten honoree Natalie Romeo and Wade, Wooden and Naismith National Player of the Year candidate Rachel Theriot.
Romeo enters postseason at 15.6 points per game and is among the league's best three-point shooters averaging 3.2 per game, behind Minnesota's Rachel Banham and Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell, and shooting .410 from beyond the arc.
Theriot meanwhile is reported to have season-ending surgery on her ankle. She had been averaging 10.6 points and 3.8 rebounds for the Cornhuskers.
LAST MEETING WITH NEBRASKA
The Rutgers women's basketball team returned to the win column with a 66-56 victory over Nebraska on Jan. 30 at the RAC. Four Scarlet Knights scored in double figures as the win snapped a four-game losing streak, which began on Jan. 16 at Nebraska. RU over came a 12-point deficit for its largest come from behind victory of the season.
After trailing by 12 points in the first quarter, the Scarlet Knights erased the deficit with a 14-2 run to start the second stanza and tie the score at 22-22.
Although Nebraska held a 27-26 lead at halftime, the squads would go on to balance the score on five occasions throughout the third. Back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore Shrita Parker to start the fourth quarter, fueled Rutgers as the Scarlet Knights pulled away with the lead for good midway through the final frame.
Junior Tyler Scaife poured in a team-high 20 points, reaching the 20+ mark for the 10th time this season. Parker followed with a career-high 14 points, while senior Rachel Hollivay added in 12 points and redshirt senior Briyona Canty rounded out the double-figure scorers with a season-high 11 points in the win.
Nebraska's Jessica Shepard led all scorers with 23 points. Natalie Romeo, coming off a 30-point game in Nebraska's previous contest with Wisconsin, followed with 18 points, 12 of which came from three-point range. Rachel Theriot capped off the double-digit scorers with 11 points in the loss.
Down 20-8 at the end of the first quarter, the Scarlet Knights took control in the second quarter, opening the frame with a 14-2 run as Parker capped the burst with back-to-back three pointers to knot the score at 22-22 with 3:49 to go until halftime. Scaife drained a jumper as time expired to make it a one-point margin, 27-26, entering the locker room.
Returning from the break, Scaife kept her momentum rolling with her sixth consecutive point to put RU in the lead for the first time, 28-27, at the 9:44 mark. From there the score was tied on five occasions and remained balanced, 40-40, at the end of three.
Ignited by back-to-back three-pointers from Khadaizha Sanders and Parker, the Scarlet Knights opened the fourth on a 10-2 run to establish a 49-44 lead with 7:51 remaining in the contest.
Nebraska was able to tie the score at 49-49, but a three-point play from Canty re-established the Scarlet Knight edge for good. With 5:20 on the clock, the Cornhuskers pulled within three on a layup from Theriot, however, that is as close as they would come.
FIRST MEETING WITH NEBRASKA
Despite four Scarlet Knights registering double-figure scoring and a double-double from senior Ariel Butts, Rutgers dropped its contest at Nebraska, 65-54, on Jan. 16 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
It was a late surge from the three-point range for Nebraska in the fourth to overtake the lead and steal the victory. Rutgers had controlled the lead for three quarters of the contest, outlasting numerous attempts of Nebraska challenging to claim the advantage.
Senior Kahleah Copper led RU with 12 points, followed by junior Tyler Scaife and senior Rachel Hollivay with 11 points each in the loss. Butts registered her first double-double of her career with 10 points and a career-high and game-high 14 rebounds.
Nebraska finished with three in double figures as Jessica Shepard led all scorers with 22 points in the contest. Natalie Romeo followed with 19 points, 15 of which came from the three-point range, while Rachel Theriot contributed 17 points, 11 of which she secured at the charity stripe.
RU carried a 24-20 lead into the locker room at the half and maintained a 34-33 lead with 4:10 left in the third quarter. A three-point play from Hollivay ignited a 9-6 run for the Scarlet Knights, defending their lead and holding on to a 43-39 lead with a minute to go in the third.
The score was tied at 43-43 moments into the final stanza. Copper drained a three-pointer to give the Scarlet Knights a 46-43 edge. However, Romeo responded with back-to-back three-pointers of her own to give Nebraska its first lead of the night at 49-46 with 6:25 to go in the game.
Despite a jumper from Canty pulling RU back within one, Romeo registered another basket from beyond the arc to push the Husker lead to 52-48.
A free throw from Copper brought the margin to three, 54-51, with 2:58 remaining on the clock. However, it is the closest RU would come as Nebraska went on to lead by as many as 11 to steal the win.
CRACKING THE TOP TEN
With her 20 points on Senior Day vs. Michigan on Sunday, Kahleah Copper moved into fifth all-time on the Rutgers scoring leaders list. She surpassed Telicher Austin (1985-89) and now has 1,790 career points.
Copper needs only three more points to move up again to pass Vicky Picott (1987-91) for fourth place and needs 10 more points to become the fourth Scarlet Knight to achieve 1,800 career points.
With her 17 points at Illinois on Feb. 13 Kahleah Copper became the seventh Scarlet Knight to crack the 1,700 career point mark.
Teammate Tyler Scaife also continues to move up the scoring leaders list. Scaife cracked the top 10 on the scoring leaders list on Sunday against Michigan with a team-leading 23 points. Scaife passed WNBA All-Star and 2015 All-WNBA Second Team member Epiphany Prince (2006-09) with 1,553 career points
Scaife needs 70 more points to move up against into ninth past Matee Ajavon (2004-08).
HELPING HAND
Redshirt senior guard Briyona Canty has registered 16 games with five or more assists this season and is currently averaging 4.9 assists per game. She is sixth in the Big Ten.
Canty is coming off a career-high 12 assist performance against Purdue on Feb. 25 in the Scarlet Knights' regular season road game. The 12 helpers were the most by a Scarlet Knights since Matee Ajavon handed out 13 assists against TCU on March 21, 2006.
It marked the fourth time in her career she has handed out double digits assists.
This season, Canty had 10 assists in RU's Big Ten opening win over the Golden Gophers.
Last season, she also had two double figure assist games in RU's 63-52 second round Big Ten Tournament win over Indiana as well as RU's victory over Northeastern on Nov. 18, 2013.
Canty's double dishing effort marked the first double-digit assist game for a Scarlet Knight since Syessence Davis dished out the ball 10 times against Providence on Jan. 16, 2013.
In addition to her 10 assists in the opening Big Ten Tournament game with Indiana, she also handed the ball out six times in the quarterfinal against Northwestern to average 8.0 assists during Big Ten post-season play.
Canty handed out six assists in helping Rutgers snap a four-game skid in a 66-56 win over Nebraska on Jan. 30. It gave her 100 assists on the year, marking the third straight season she has captured 100 or more assists. She dished out 117 total assists last season.
BLOCK PARTY
On Feb. 21 against #6 Maryland, senior Rachel Hollivay recorded three blocks to become the first Scarlet Knight in history to have multiple seasons with 100 or more blocks.
To date, Hollivay currently has 105 in the 2015-16 season and 325 in her career. She currently ranks third among all Division I players in the category.
Hollivay had a season-high eight rejections against No. 25/22 Michigan State on Feb. 18 and against Penn State on Feb. 7, she had five blocks to become 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).
She also ranks third 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.
20/20 COURT VISION
Four times this season the duo of Kahleah Copper and Tyler Scaife have each put away 20 or more points in the same game.
Two of those games have been down to the wire with overtime against Purdue on Feb. 25 and the thrilling victory over Northwestern on Feb. 10.
More recently, the Scarlet Knight tandem led Rutgers to the win column in the regular season final behind Scaife's 23 points and Copper's 20 points, moving them into fifth and 10th respectively on the all-time scoring leaders list.
Last Thursday against the Boilermakers, Scaife collected 23 points followed by Copper's 22 points. Nine of Scaife's team-high 23 points came in the third quarter as RU overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to take a 45-42 advantage into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, Copper put away nine of her 22 points on the evening.
Against the Wildcats on Feb. 10, 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.
Rutgers also had two 20-point performers 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.
In the last eight games, Copper has averaged 20.5 points per game, including 20 or more points in six games during the span. She has reached the 20+ point mark in the final three contests of the regular season..
PASSING THE TORCH
Last season Betnijah Laney, who was taken by the Chicago Sky in the second round of the WNBA draft and is currently suiting up with the Perth Lynx in Australia during the off-season, was Rutgers' double-double machine posting 20 double-digit scoring and rebounding games.
This season, returning leading scorer Kahleah Copper has picked up right where Laney left off. Through the end of the 2015-16 regular season, Copper has collected 10 double-doubles.
Two of her 10 double-doubles have come against schools from her hometown of Philadelphia. Seven other double doubles have come against Big Ten competition.
Copper's most recent double-double stemmed from 20 points and 10 rebounds in the regular season finale victory over Michigan.
To date, Copper has registered 15 double figure scoring and rebounding contests.
AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME
Rutgers and its opponent were tied entering the fourth quarter for a third time this season in the wild finish with the Northwestern on Feb. 10.
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 then-#18 Michigan State in the first meeting with the Spartans 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.
PLAYING FROM BEHIND
Rutgers almost had another come-from-behind victory last Thursday night against Purdue. The Scarlet Knights trailed by nine, 29-20, at intermission with the Boilermakers before turning the tables and leading by as many a five with a minute to go in the third quarter. Unfortunately the Boilermakes caught up and forced overtime to take away the win.
On Jan. 30 against Nebraska the Scarlet Knights were down by as many 12 points in the first quarter and entered intermission trailing 27-26 before fighting back to a 66-56 victory.
RU was down 33-27 at the intermission of the Big Ten opener against Minnesota, but managed to overcome the deficit enroute to its 66-55 win on Dec. 31.
The Scarlet Knights' also played come from behind against Green Bay at the Paradise Jam, trailing 22-19 at the half before emerging with a 54-43 victory to claim the tournament title.
In both the Minnesota and Green Bay come from behind victories, the Scarlet Knights trailed by as many as 11.
FROM THE LINE
Junior Tyler Scaife has been clutch from the line missing just 18 free throws in her 93 attempts to date and is shooting at a .806 percent clip.
Scaife opened the season going a perfect 13-of-13 from the charity stripe in the season's first three contests, which included a perfect 9-of-9 performance against St. John's on Nov. 19.
Believe it or not, Scaife's free throw performance against the Red Storm was not her career best. Scaife knocked down all 10 of her free throw attempts against Delaware in the first round of the WNIT back in 2014.
At the Paradise Jam, Scaife knocked down a perfect 8-of-8 from the line including a 6-of-6 mark in RU's victory over Green Bay to capture the 2015 Paradise Jam title.
Scaife has gone perfect from the line in 33 contests in her three years "On The Banks", including 14 of RU's 30 games to date this season.
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-RU-
