INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Despite a hot opening quarter and 20-plus point performances from junior Tyler Scaife (Little Rock, Ark.) and senior Kahleah Copper (Philadelphia, Pa.), the Rutgers women's basketball team dropped its quarterfinal matchup with second-seeded Ohio State, 73-58, on Friday night at the Big Ten Tournament.

The Buckeyes, ranked ninth in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today Polls, advance to the semifinals to face the winner between Purdue and Michigan State and improved to 24-6 overall.

The Scarlet Knights, meanwhile, dropped to 18-14 on the year and await Selection Monday to determine whether RU's postseason will continue.

Scaife led the Scarlet Knights with 26 points, while Copper followed with 25 points of her own to go with a game-best 12 rebounds for her 11th double-double performance of the season and 16th of her career.

Ohio State was led by Kelsey Mitchell with a game-high 43 points, including 24 points from the three-point range. Ameryst Alston followed with a12 points to round out the double-figure scorers for the Buckeyes.

Scaife registered six uncontested points to give RU a 6-0 lead two minutes into the contest. While Alston ended the run with the Buckeyes first points of the night, RU maintained its momentum outscoring Ohio State, 6-2, to take a 12-4 lead with 4:33 on the clock.

Mitchell ended the nearly four-minute scoring drought for the Buckeyes with back-to-back three-pointers to cut the margin to two at 12-10 with 2:03 remaining in the first frame. Copper, however, tacked on a jumper to give Rutgers a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Copper started the second stanza with five-straight points, including a three-pointer, to push the RU lead to 19-10 and went on to lead 21-14 by the 7:25 minute mark. The Buckeyes would discover a 9-2 burst, including three baskets from behind the arc as Mitchell knotted the score, 23-23, with 4:35 remaining in the second quarter.

Although the score would be tied once more, Rutgers closed the second frame outscoring the Buckeyes, 6-2, to carry a 29-26 lead into halftime.

Rutgers held onto its edge to start the third quarter, as Scaife posted RU's first four points of the second half to bring the score to 34-28. However, Mitchell kicked off a 10-0 scoring run for the Buckeyes with two free throws. Following a three-pointer from Mitchell, Ohio State took its first lead of the night at 36-34.

After two free throws from Asia Doss capped the run, Copper notched a jumper to bring the margin back to two, 38-36, with 6:11 remaining in the third.

Ohio State countered with six uncontested points to generate a 44-36 edge, but Copper kept the RU offense alive with four-straight points to pull the margin within four, 44-40, with 2:01 to go in the third.

Despite the short run, the Buckeyes would go on to lead by as many as 10 twice, ending the quarter with a 52-42 lead.

The Scarlet Knights brought the margin back to within single-digits and trailed by only six, 54-48, with 8:36 remaining. From there, the Buckeyes returned to a double digit advantage and would go on to lead by as many as 19 points down the stretch.

KNIGHT NOTES:
- Rutgers secured its largest lead of the three meetings with Ohio State with a 19-10 lead with 1:34 remaining in the first quarter. In the 90-78 setback in the first meeting in Columbus on Jan. 10, RU never held a lead, while in the second meeting on Jan. 24 in Piscataway, the Scarlet Knights' largest advantage was four-point edge, 14-10, with 2:45 remaining in the first quarter.
- Tyler Scaife and Kahleah Copper scored all but seven of the Scarlet Knights' 58 total points. The duo accounted for RU's first 25 points, scoring 14 and 13 points respectively, by the 4:35 mark of the second quarter.
- Tyler Scaife and Kahleah Copper each contributed 20 points apiece in a game for a fifth time this season. The duo also poured in 20 or more points in a game in contests with Michigan, Purdue, Northwestern and St. Joseph's.
- Kahleah Copper took over sole possession of third place on the Rutgers all-time scoring leaders list moving her name up past Regina Howard (1983-87). Copper has 1,832 career points. Cappie Pondexter (2002-06) stands in second place with 2,211 career points.
- With her 25 points and 12 rebounds, Copper registered her 11th double-double of the season and 16th of her career.
- Tyler Scaife led the Scarlet Knights in scoring for the 16th time in the 2015-16 season and 46th time in her career. Additionally, she contributed 20 or more points in a game for the 15th time this season and 32nd time in her career.
- Copper reached the 20+ point mark for the 12th time this year and 34th time in her career.
- Rachel Hollivay swatted away three Buckeye shots. It was her 21st game this season and 58th of her career with three or more blocks in a game. She has 109 blocks on the season and 329 in her career.
- Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell scored 43 points, the most by any opponent this season. The previous high was 31 recorded by Mitchell in the first meeting with Ohio State on Jan. 10.
- The Scarlet Knights registered 32 points in the paint, marking the fourth straight game with 30 or more points inside. Over the last four games, RU has averaged 34.0 points in the paint.

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