PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's basketball team advances to the second round of WNIT play as Kahleah Copper (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored the game-winning basket with two seconds remaining in the Scarlet Knights' 57-55 victory over Georgetown on Thursday night at the RAC.
The Scarlet Knights, the 2014 WNIT Champions, will host Virginia at the RAC in second round action on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Rutgers improved to 19-14 overall, while Georgetown ends the 2015-16 campaign at 16-14 overall.
Copper finished just shy of a double-double with 21 points and nine rebounds. She was 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Classmate Rachel Hollivay (Columbus, Miss.) had a season- and game-high 22 points.
Dorothy Adomako led Georgetown with 19 points as one of three Hoyas in double digits. Dionna White contributed 16 points, while Logan Battle came off the bench for 11 points.
Rutgers led by six, 53-47, at the halfway point of the fourth quarter before Georgetown clawed its way to the 12th tie of the night.
With the Scarlet Knights up by two, 55-53, Copper missed a jumper from the free throw line resulting in a scramble for the rebound. As the Hoya's White dove to get her hands on the ball, the Georgetown bench called time.
Out of the timeout, with 45.2 seconds left and in the bounds coming from in front of the Georgetown bench, White dribbled through traffic for the layup with 28 seconds to go and the score knotted at 55-55.
On the ensuing Rutgers possession, Tyler Scaife (Little Rock, Ark.) drove the lane but had her shot blocked. Copper recovered the ball and immediately drove to the basket for the game-winning score with two seconds left in the game.
Rutgers, who improved to 7-0 all-time in the WNIT, advances to meet Virginia, who also won their first round contest in the final seconds. The Cavaliers knocked off VCU, 52-50, as Faith Randolph connected on a pair of free throws with three seconds left in the game.
Sunday will mark the second meeting between the Scarlet Knights and Cavaliers this season. RU defeated Virginia, 60-48, during its run to the 2015 Paradise Jam title.
Second round WNIT tickets are now available by calling the Rutgers Ticket Office at 866-445-GORU or visiting www.scarletknights.com. Season ticket holders can log into their their online accounts to purchase their same regular season ticket location.
KNIGHT NOTES:
- Rutgers, who won the 2014 WNIT title, improved to 7-0 in the tournament.
- The Scarlet Knights improved to 12-4 at the RAC in the 2015-16 season.
- RU had a pair of Scarlet Knights score 20+ points in a game for the sixth time this season with Rachel Hollivay scoring 22 points and Kahleah Copper putting away 21 points.
- Rachel Hollivay netted a season-high 22 points, her first 20+ point outing of the season. She surpassed her previous high of 16 captured in the overtime loss at Purdue.
- Hollivay led RU in scoring for just the second time in 2015-16.
- Kahleah Copper added in her 13th 20+ scoring effort of the season and 35th of her career.
- Copper was just shy of her 12th double-double of the year with 21 points and nine rebounds.
- In the last 11 games, Copper has averaged 20.6 points per game.
- Copper tied her season-high with five assists, also having five helpers this season against Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament and vs. Michigan in the regular season finale. Additionally, she committed no turnovers.v - Tyler Scaife was held to single digit scoring for only the fourth time this season. She finished the night with nine points.
- Scaife collected a career-high five steals. She reset her previous high of four, set twice during her three-year career, most recently against Savannah State on Dec. 13, 2015.
- Rutgers recorded 17 points off 23 Georgetown turnovers. The Hoyas' 23 miscues tied for the most by an RU opponent this season. Savannah State also had 23 turnovers against the Scarlet Knights on Dec. 13, 2015.
- RU netted 30 points in the paint marking the 12th time this season the Scarlet Knights have scored 30 or more points inside. In the last five contests, Rutgers has averaged 33.2 points in the paint.
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