Women's Basketballs Meets Michigan State on Saturday on BTN
Jan 13 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's basketball team returns home to the RAC to host Michigan State on BTN at noon. It will be Military Appreciation Day with the first 500 fans receiving a Rutgers camo hat.
| Game Nineteen: Michigan State (13-4, 3-1 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 14 |
| Time | Noon EST |
| Location | The RAC | Piscataway, N.J. |
| TV | BTN (Ed Cohen and Lisa Byington) |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WCTC 1450 AM (Ralph Bednarczyk & Mark Peterson) WRSU 88.7 FM (Tim Catalfamo and Jake Ostrove) |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Michigan State | Big Ten |
| Stats | Rutgers | Michigan State |
| Tickets | ScarletKnights.com/Tickets |
| Promotions | Military Appreciation Day Hoops 4 Troops Camo Hat Giveway for First 500 Fans |
ON THE BOUNCE BACK AT HOME
The Rutgers women's basketball team will look to put last week's road losses behind them when they return home to host Michigan State on Saturday at noon on BTN.
The Scarlet Knights are coming off back-to-back setbacks on the road with a 78-41 loss at Illinois and a 62-58 loss at Nebraska.
On Tuesday night against the Cornhuskers, sophomore guard KK Sanders tied her career-high with 17 as one of three Scarlet Knights in double figures. RU also had a different look at the opening whistle as Coach C. Vivian Stringers gave senior guard Alex Alfano and freshman forward/center Jordan Wallace their first career starts.
RU did manged to whittle an 11-point fourth quarter deficit down to four points in the waning moments. Sanders drilled one of the Scarlet Knights' seven 3-pointers and Shrita Parker hit 1-of-2 from the line to see RU trail 58-54 with 14 seconds to go. The Cornhuskers however would prevail at the line to keep the Scarlet Knights at bay.
ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE
The Spartans are coming off perhaps its biggest win of the season with a 94-75 win over No. 11 Ohio State on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center. In the victory over the Buckeyes, senior guard Tori Jankoska put away 42 points, breaking the Spartans' single-game and all-time scoring record.
The win improved Michigan State, who is receiving votes in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, to 13-4 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play. The Spartans have won seven of their last nine contests having dropped games with Notre Dame (79-61) and Purdue (66-54) during the span.
On the season, Jankoska is averaing 22.8 ppg along with a team-leading 7.7 rpg. Notre Dame transfer, forward Taya Reimer, is second on the stat sheet at 9.1 ppg and 5.8 rpg. Second-leading rebounder, redshirt senior guard Branndais Agee, is averging 7.4 boards and contributing 6.9 ppg.
LAST TIME VS. MICHIGAN STATE
Three Scarlet Knights landed in double figures in trying to lead the Scarlet Knights to an upset of No. 25/22 Michigan State on Feb. 18, 2016 at the RAC. The Spartans, however, used a late come back as RU fell, 70-67.
Although Rutgers held a 10-point cushion well into the fourth quarter, Michigan State capitalized on a late surge from the 3-point range and success at the charity stripe to hold off the Scarlet Knights.
Tyler Scaife led the Scarlet Knights with 22 points, marking her 12th 20+ scoring game of the season. Kahleah Copper added in 11 points, while Briyona Canty contributed 12 to round out the double-figure scorers.
Rachel Hollivay nearly posted her a double-double with 10 rebounds to go along with a season-best eight blocks.
Michigan State's Ariel Powers led all scorers with 27 points and 14 rebounds in the win. Branndais Agee followed with 12 points, while Tori Jankoska added in 10.
Scaife opened the scoring at the 7:23 minute mark of the first quarter, igniting a 9-0 run for the Scarlet Knights fueled by five points from Copper. After going 0-of-19 from the floor to start the game, Michigan State added its first points of the night with two free throws from Powers with just over two minutes remaining in the opening quarter but RU would extend its lead to 14-7 at the end of one quarter of play.
Rutgers continued to add to its lead into the second quarter, pushing its advantage to as many as 11. Four consecutive Scarlet Knight free throws saw RU's advantage grow to 21-10 by the 8:26 mark.
The momentum, however, turned as the Spartans went on to outscore RU, 16-4, to take its first lead of the night. A layup from Branndais Agee would cap an 8-0 Michigan State run putting the Spartans up, 26-25, with 3:06 left until the intermission.
Canty quickly erased the lead by draining a 3-pointer and the Scarlet Knights followed with five unanswered points to carry a 33-26 lead into the locker room.
Rutgers maintained its momentum into the second half, outscoring Michigan State, 10-3, to generate its largest lead of the night at 43-29 midway through the third quarter. The Spartans attempted to chip away at the Scarlet Knight advantage, but RU would lead by as many as 14 on two more occasions.
The Scarlet Knights held at least a 10-point cushion for the remainder of the third. However, a free throw from Agee in the quarter's final second cut the margin to single digits, setting the score at 50-41 moving into the fourth.
RU fought off the a comeback, using five uncontested points to re-establish a 55-41 edge with 7:33 remaining in the game. Michigan State pulled within single-digits on two more occasions, but RU, yet again, extended its lead to 61-48 midway through the frame.
It was there that Michigan State discovered a 12-2 burst, powered by two 3-pointers from Lexi Guessert, to cut the margin to 63-60 with 2:06 to go.
A jumper from Scaife kept the lead on RU's side, until the Spartans capitalized on trips to the charity stripe, registering three free throws mixed with a jumper from Powers to tie the score 65-65 with 1:08 remaining.
The Spartans would go to tack on four more points from the free throw line. A Canty jumper dimished the Michigan State lead to two, 69-67, with four seconds to go. However, a free throw from Kennedy Johnson would set the score's final margin.
RAINING THREE'S
Rutgers, which hasn't been primarily known for it's 3-point shooting prowess, has certainly been hot from downtown as of late.
Against Penn State on New Year's Eve and Wisconsin on Jan. 4, the Scarlet Knights combined to go 18-of-26 and shoot 50% from long distance. Notably, in those two games, RU went 6-of-8 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter.
In their last outing, RU finished 7-of-16 from beyond the arc against Nebraska, hitting at a 43.8 percent clip.
The Scarlet Knights have connected 40 percent or better from 3-point range in three of the last four games going 26-of-67 (.388) during the span.
BOUNCING BACK
Sophomore guard Aliyah Jeune rebounded from a scoreless game against Illinois on Jan. 7 with 15 points in the following game against the Cornhuskers on Jan. 10
Jeune's 15 points were the most points against a Big Ten opponent in her two seasons at Rutgers. Scoring 11 of her 15 points in the first half, she finished the night going 6-of-13 from the floor (.462), including 3-of-6 (.500) from beyond the arc.
So far in 2016-17, Jeune has connected on 50 percent or better from 3-point ranges, including two of the last three games.
In the last five games, she has averaged 9.4 points per contest.
SHRITA'S SCORING
Shrita Parker has been on fire the last five games, including tying her career-high with 18 points vs. Penn State in the Big Ten home opener on Dec. 31.
In the last five games, the junior guard has averaged 14.4 ppg.
Against the Lady Lions on New Year's Eve, Parker shot a blistering and career-best 70% (7-of-10) from the floor.
Parker followed by going 3-of-4 from 3-point range in the next game against Wisconsin, as one of four Scarlet Knights to connect from distance.
THE HANDOFF AND TAKE AWAY FROM KK SANDERS
Over the last seven contests, KK Sanders has averaged 6.0 assists per contest.
Sanders had a 10-assist performance against Seton Hall on Dec. 13. Prior to her 10 helpers against the Pirates, the last Scarlet Knight to hand out 10 or more assists was Briyona Canty with 12 in an overtime battle at Purdue on Feb. 25, 2016.
Sanders is averaging 4.3 assists on the year placing her in a tie for eighth in the Big Ten.
Opponent offenses may also want to watch out for the Kankakee, Illinois native who is averaging 2.4 steals per game, which is third in the Big Ten.
Sanders most recently reset her career benchmark in the category with five at Houston on Dec. 10 and again on New Year's Eve with Penn State. She previously had a career-high four thefts at Elon and Virginia earlier this season.
COURT TIME
KK Sanders and Shrita Parker are among the league leaders in time on the court this season. The two Scarlet Knights average 34.8 and 34.7 minutes of playing time respectively, the second and third most minutes of any Big Ten player. Only Tori Jankoska of Michigan State has more playing time with 35.3 minutes per matchup.
PROTECTING HOMECOURT
The Scarlet Knights have had an outstanding track record of success at home. The Scarlet Knights went 12-5 at home in 2015-16, with four of the five setbacks against team featured in the polls (Top 25 - Ohio State, Maryland, Michigan State; Receiving Votes - St. John's; Not Ranked: Virginia).
Since the 2002-03 season, the Scarlet Knights have gone 178-38 (.824) at the RAC.
UP NEXT
The Rutgers women's basketball team hosts the first meeting of the season with Iowa on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m.
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