INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The tenth-seeded Rutgers women's basketball team rallied from a nine-point fourth quarter deficit and reclaimed the lead in the final minute of Thursday's Big Ten Second Round Tournament game to get past Nebraska, 66-63. The Scarlet Knights reach the quarterfinals for the second straight year and meet second-seeded Ohio State on Friday night.
Sophomore Shrita Parker (Va. Beach, Va.) reset her career best with 18 points, with her previous high of 14 also set against the Cornhuskers. Senior Kahleah Copper (Philadelphia, Pa.) followed with 17 points, while junior Tyler Scaife (Little Rock, Ark.) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points in the win. Senior Rachel Hollivay (Columbus, Miss.) finished with a game-high ten rebounds.
Nebraska was led by Natalie Romeo with a game-best 23 points, 21 of which came from the three-point range. Allie Havers followed with 16 points in the loss.
Rutgers and Nebraska opened the first quarter trading points, but the Scarlet Knights were able to hold the edge on the scoreboard, extending its lead to 10-6 midway through the frame. After nearly two scoreless minutes for the Huskers, Romeo connected on a three pointer to bring the margin to 10-9 with 4:12 to go in the quarter. However, Scaife responded with a jumper to ignite a 13-0 run for RU to close out the first and extend its edge to 23-9.
Although the teams would continue to trade points, RU held at least an 11-point edge through the first three minutes of the second frame. The Huskers would cut the margin to 26-18 with a three-pointer from Esther Ramacieri at the 5:14 minute mark. The Scarlet Knights re-extended its edge to 28-18 on a three-point play from Copper.
Nebraska, however, would go on to generate a 13-2 surge capped by three consecutive three-pointers for Romeo, which tied the score at 31-31 with 2:09 to go in the second quarter. Khadaizha Sanders (Kankakee, Ill.) halted the Cornhusker run with a three-pointer of her own to put RU back in front 34-31 with 1:38 to go.
Rutgers would hold on to its edge, 34-33, entering the locker room for halftime.
Although RU would strike first in the third frame on a jumper from Victoria Harris (Snelville, Ga.), Nebraska established a 6-2 burst on two Romeo buckets from beyond the arc. Romeo's three-pointers gave the Huskers their first edge of the night the night at 39-38 with 6:09 to go in the third quarter.
Despite Nebraska going on to lead by as many as six points on two occasions, RU was able to cut the deficit to two, 48-46, on back-to-back baskets from Parker with 1:18 to go in the third. The Huskers tacked on two free throws to end the third quarter to hold on to a 50-46 lead.
Trailing 58-50 at the 7:22 minute mark of the fourth quarter, a three-pointer from Parker ignited a 7-0 run for RU, bringing the Scarlet Knights within one, 58-57, with 5:03 remaining on the clock. However, Romeo hit her seventh three-pointer of the night to push the Scarlet Knight gap back to four at 61-57 with 4:32 to go.
Rutgers never let up, using a 7-2 run to reclaim the lead at 64-63 with 1:12 remaining. The Scarlet Knights went ahead for the first time since the midway point of the third quarter.
The defense held strong in the games waning seconds, as Parker tacked on two free throws to push the lead to 66-63. It was Cornhusker ball with three seconds remaining, but Romeo's three-pointer was off the mark. Briyona Canty (Willingboro, N.J.) grabbed the rebound as RU sealed its victory.
The Scarlet Knights advance to the quarterfinals to face second-seeded Ohio State on Friday, March 4. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on BTN.
KNIGHT NOTES:
- RU's 23 first quarter points are the most points scored by the Scarlet Knights in a first quarter against a Big Ten opponent this season. RU held a 23-9 advantage at the end of the first stanza. The previous high was 20 with a 20-9 first quarter advantage in the 67-54 win over Illinois on Jan. 13.
- Rutgers' 34-33 lead at the half was the smallest halftime lead of the season. The previous smallest lead at the intermission was 2 - 29-27 - vs. Virginia at the Paradise Jam on Nov. 26.
- With her 17 points, Kahleah Copper became the fourth Scarlet Knight in women's basketball history to net 1,800 career points. Additionally, Copper moved into a tie for third all-time at Rutgers. She surpassed Vicky Picott (1987-91) and currently has 1,807 career points sharing the third all-time scoring position with Regina Howard (1983-87).
- Shrita Parker netted a new career high with her team-high 18 points. Parker's previous career-high was 14 captured in the second meeting with Nebraska, which RU won 66-56 on Jan. 30.
- Parker led the Scarlet Knights in scoring for the first time in her career.
- Rachel Hollivay collected 10 rebounds marking her seventh double-digit rebound effort of the season and ninth of her career. It also marked the 10th time in 2015-16 she led RU in the rebounding department and 33rd time in her career.
- Copper also tied her season high with five assists. She also had five helpers in the regular season finale with Michigan. Entering the tournament, Copper was averaging 1.4 assists per game and has averaged 5.0 in the last two contests.
- Briyona Canty dished out six assists marking the 17th game of the year and 38th game of her career with five or more assists in a game.
- Rutgers committed only eight turnovers, the fourth time they have turned the ball over in single digits in a game this season. It was the fewest turnovers committed since their eight miscues vs. Maryland on Feb. 21 and four vs. Wisconsin on Jan.7.
- The Scarlet Knight bench accounted for 25 of RU's 66 points, the highest bench production since collecting 28 points from the non-starting five vs. St. John's on Nov. 19.
- RU posted 34 points in the paint marking the third straight game with 30 or more points inside. In the last three games, the Scarlet Knights have put away an average of 34.7 in the paint.
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