Women's Basketball Travels to No. 3 Maryland
Jan 20 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's basketball team takes on league leader, No. 3 Maryland, on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPN2. Pam Ward and Gail Goestenkors will call all the action from the Xfinity Center.
| Game Twenty One: No. 3/3 Maryland (18-1, 6-0 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Sunday, Jan. 22 |
| Time | 3 p.m. EST |
| Location | XFinity Center | College Park, Md. |
| TV | ESPN2 (Pam Ward and Gail Goestenkors) |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WCTC 1450 AM (Ralph Bednarczyk) |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Maryland | Big Ten |
| Stats | Rutgers | Maryland |
TAKING ON THE LEADER OF THE PACK
The Rutgers women's basketball team had its three-game home win streak snapped on Tuesday night with a 71-59 loss to Iowa. The Scarlet Knights were coming off a thrilling come-from-behind 62-58 victory over Michigan State last Saturday.
Junior Shrita Parker matched her career-high notching 20 points for the second consecutive contest. Sophomore KK Sanders followed with 11 points, including nine from beyond the arc, and tied her career-high with five steals. Classmate Desiree Keeling contributed 10 rebounds coming off the bench.
The Scarlet Knights and Hawkeyes were evenly matched through two quarters of play. The teams were tied up at 16-16 at the end of the first stanza and Iowa held a two-point edge, 29-27, at the half.
The Hawkeyes continued hot shooting in the second half, going 14-of-20 from the floor and 14-of-18 from the line. Iowa outscored RU 23-12 in the third quarter to take control of the lead and kept a double digit advantage in the second half to thwart any chance of a second-straight fourth quarter comeback for the Scarlet Knights.
ABOUT MARYLAND
The Terps enter Sunday's game ranked at No. 3 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today Polls with an 18-1 overall mark and unblemished 6-0 record in Big Ten play.
Maryland has won its last six-straight contests dating back to an 87-81 loss to Connecticut at the Xfinity Center on Dec. 29. The setback to the Huskies is the lone blemish on the Terps' record this season.
Maryland is coming off an 83-70 home win over Michigan on Thursday night. The Wolverines were within striking distance at the half, trailing Maryland only 39-35, and entered the third quarter down only three, 64-61, but the Terps used a 19-9 fourth quarter to remain undefeated in conference play.
The league leading Terps lead the Big Ten in numerous categories and are among the country's top 10 in scoring margin (29.5), scoring offense (90.8), field goal percentage (.510), rebound margin (16.6) and assists per game (20.7).
Senior center Brionna Jones leads Maryland at 19.8 ppg and 10.4 rebounds per game. She has collected 12 double-doubles ranking her fourth in the category nationally and is fifth nationally in field goal percentage (684). Among her conference peers, she is third in scoring and rebounding.
Senior guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough is second on the stat sheet at 16.9 ppg and freshman guard Destiny Slocum is pouring in 11.4 ppg.
LAST TIME VS. MARYLAND
Facing its second ranked opponent in as many games, the Rutgers women's basketball team was topped by No. 6/6 Maryland, 73-59, on Feb. 21, 2016.
Kahleah Copper led all scorers with a game-high 23 points, including a 3-for-3 performance from 3-point range. Classmate Rachel Hollivay, and Tyler Scaife contributed 11 points each, while sophomore Shrita Parker added in 10.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough led the Terrapins with 21 points in the win. Brionna Jones followed with 14 points, while Brene Moseley added in 10 points to round out the double-figure scorers.
Rutgers and Maryland opened the contest trading points in a first quarter that saw three ties and five lead changes. After a 3-pointer from Copper put RU in front, 7-6, midway through the stanza, the teams would balance the score at 10-10 with 3:10 to go.
Maryland generated the largest lead for either side in the first quarter at 14-11, however, Scaife beat the buzzer to bring the score to 14-13 at the end of the first frame.
The battle continued through the beginning half of the second quarter, as a jumper from Copper held the Maryland lead at 19-17 with 5:49 on the clock. The Terps would then go on to outscore the Scarlet Knights, 15-4, to carry a 34-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Although the squads were more evenly balanced in the third quarter, Maryland maintained its edge, going ahead 45-27 by the 5:10 mark of the third.
From there, Copper registered a 3-pointer to ignite an 11-8 surge for RU, to bring the deficit to 53-38 with less than a minute to go in the stanza. A 3-pointer from Kiah Gillespie however, re-extended Maryland's advantage to 56-38 by the end of the third quarter.
Maryland edged RU, 9-5, to start the fourth quarter, registering its new largest margin at 63-41 with 6:39 remaining in the contest. It was a 3-pointer from Parker that cut the deficit to 65-46, sending RU on a burst of its own. The Scarlet Knights outscored the Terps, 9-4, capped by five straight points from Copper to bring the score to 69-55 with a little under two minutes to go.
However, the late RU rally could not cut into the deficit enough, as Maryland held at least a 14-point cushion for the game's final margin.
MILESTONE NUMBERS
In the Dec. 3 win over Bucknell, the Rutgers women's basketball team played its 1300th game in history since beginning the program in 1974.
RU has gone 903-409 with the Scarlet Knights earning its 900th program victory in the 53-45 win over in-state rival Seton Hall on Dec. 13.
Other Big Ten programs with 900 or more wins include Penn State, who also reached the milestone this season, Ohio State and Maryland.
RU DEFENSE ON THE B1G OFFENSE
Rutgers tackled the Big Ten's top offense in Michigan in its Big Ten opener on Dec. 28. While the Wolverines emerged with the 63-50 win, Michigan had entered the contest averaging 81.0 ppg.
Michigan's 63 points were the fewest scored by the Wolverines in a victory this season. The previous low was 66 in a 66-44 win over Western Michigan on Nov. 21.
SHRITA'S SCORING
Shrita Parker has been on fire since Big Ten play started. Against conference competition, the junior guard is averaging 16.0 ppg, including a career-high 20 points in back-to-back games against Iowa on Tuesday and Michigan State last Saturday.
Against the Spartans, Parker became the third Scarlet Knight to reach 20 or more points in a game this season. She had nine points following the first quarter of play and 16 points at the intermission.
Parker had tied her former career mark of 18 points against Penn State in the conference home opener on Dec. 31. 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.
IN A CRUNCH
Shrita Parker is not who the opposition wants at the line when the game is on the line. The Virginia Beach, Virginia native has missed only six free throws to date and is 44-of-50 (.880) from the stripe. She has gone perfect from the line this season nine times and is third in the conference in the category.
Her free throw prowess came in handy in the 57-53 victory over Bucknell on Dec. 3. As the Bison closed in on the RU advantage, Parker iced two free throws with 17 seconds remaining to put the game away.
Parker was also clutch the following game against three-time CAA champion James Madison. She drilled a three-pointer with less than a second remaining in the first overtime to knot the score at 71-71, forcing an additional five minutes on the court.
THE HANDOFF AND TAKE AWAY FROM KK SANDERS
Over the last nine contests, KK Sanders has averaged 6.1 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.
More recently, Sanders handed out nine assists in the win over Michigan State on Jan. 14.
Sanders is averaging 4.6 assists on the year placing her eighth in the Big Ten.
Opponent offenses may also want to watch out for the Kankakee, Illinois native who is averaging 2.6 steals per game, which is tied for second in the Big Ten.
Sanders most recently tied her career benchmark in the category with five against Iowa on Jan. 17. She has also had five thefts 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 35.3 and 35.2 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 35.7 minutes per matchup.
UP NEXT
The Rutgers women's basketball team is back home to host Northwestern on Sunday, Jan 29 at 2 p.m.
WE HONOR THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE US
Rutgers Athletics and The Varsity R Letterwinners Association will honor the 1982 AIAW and 1987 Atlantic 10 championship women's basketball teams when the Scarlet Knights host Northwestern on Sunday, Jan. 29. Members of the storied 1982 and 1987 teams will be introduced at halftime.
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersWBB), Twitter (www.twitter.com/RutgersWBB) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/RutgersWBB) for all of the latest news and updates. Fans also receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on both social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com.
-RU-
