Women's Basketball Begins Road Swing At Illinois
Jan 06 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's basketball team embarks on a two-game road trip starting with a BTN matchup at Illinois on Saturday at 4 p.m. (ET). Jordan Bernfield and Shelley Till will be calling all the action from Champaign, Illinois.
| Game Seventeen: Illinois (6-9, 1-1 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 7 |
| Time | 4 p.m. EST |
| Location | State Farm Center | Champaign, Ill. |
| TV | BTN (Jordan Bernfield & Shelley Till) |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Illinois | Big Ten |
| Stats | Rutgers | Illinois |
B1G LONG HAUL
The Rutgers women's basketball team has its longest road trip of the season traveling to Illinois, for a matchup on BTN on Saturday, followed by a trip to Nebraska on Tuesday.
RU has won back-to-back games thanks in part to 3-point accuracy on Wednesday night against Wisconsin. The Scarlet Knights tied the RAC record with 11 shots made from beyond the arc in the 68-52 victory.
Four Scarlet Knights landed in double figures led by KK Sanders with 16 points, including four 3- pointers, to go along with eight assists. Shrita Parker contributed 15 points and five assists, while Aliyah Jeune added 13 points and four assists. Both Parker and Jeune knocked down three shots from downtown. Victoria Harris rebounded out the double figure scores with 10 points, along with a team-high seven boards, in coming off the bench.
ABOUT ILLINOIS
Illinois hops onto the court with six days rest with a 6-9 overall mark and 1-1 record in Big Ten play.
The Fighting Illini were last in action on New Year's Day, falling 71-47 to Michigan State. Previously, Illinois opened up conference competition with a 70-65 win at home over Iowa.
In nonconference play, both teams tackled Wake Forest. While RU dropped a 55-43 decision in Winston-Salem in mid-November, Illinois was downed at the State Farm Center, 79-70, in late November.
Sophomore forward Alex Wittinger leads the Fighting Illini at 14.7 ppg along with a team-leading 8.7 rpg. She is 15th in the league in scoring, 13th in the rebounding category and second in offensive rebounds hauling in 3.5 rpg on the offensive glass.
Next on the stat sheet is rookie guard Brandi Beasley at 11.1 ppg to go with a team second-best 5.7 rpg. Beasley is getting the second most minutes in playing time among all Big Ten players at 34.9 minutes per matchup.
The Fighting Illini are the top free throw shooting team in the conference. Illinois is shooting at a 76.4 clip (159-of-208) from the charity stripe.
LAST TIME VS. ILLINOIS
Seniors Kahleah Copper and Rachel Hollivay both contributed double-doubles as the Rutgers women's basketball team garnered a 63-56 win over Illinois at the State Farm Center on Feb. 13, 2016.
Copper had a team-high 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds, while Hollivay added in 13 points to go along with 11 boards. Scaife also netted double figures with 16 points.
Illinois was led by Chatrice White with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Kyley Simmons with 10 points.
Copper scored seven of the Scarlet Knights' first nine points as RU went ahead 9-4 within the game's first four minutes. The Fighting Illini would punch back to within three twice, but by the end of the opening stanza Rutgers would own a 16-10 advantage. Copper and Scaife accounted for 13 points of the Scarlet Knights' 16 points.
Rutgers took its first double digit lead less than a minute into the second quarter, but back-to-back baskets by Illinois cut the Fighting Illini deficit in half in 30 seconds. From there, however, the Scarlet Knights started an 11-0 run with six different Scarlet Knights scoring during the burst.
Over the five minute run, RU pushed its edge up to 31-15 with three minutes left until the intermission. The RU defense allowed Illinois only two more field goals the rest of the second quarter enroute to a 36-20 lead at the half.
The Fighting Illini scored five uncontested points early in the third quarter to narrow it's gap to 13 at 38-25 at the 7:07 mark. The Scarlet Knights however got the five points back off a fast break by Khadaizha Sanders and a three-pointer from Shrita Parker.
Following a made shot from downtown by Parker, Rutgers offense went into a bit of a lull as Illinois proceed to take a 9-1 run to whittle the Scarlet Knight lead down to 10 points, 44-34, with two minutes left in the third.
Rutgers opened fourth quarter play ahead 48-36 and held onto a double-digit edge throughout much of the final quarter. The Fighting Illini however outscored the Scarlet Knights, 20-15, in the quarter and pulled to within single digits in the final 1:30 of play. A three-pointer by Simmons saw the Scarlet Knights' lead down to seven, 60-53 with under a minute to go, but would be unable to draw any closer.
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 grabbed the rebound to seal the win.
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.
In the last two games, both Big Ten victories, the Scarlet Knights have combined to go 18-of-26 and shoot 50% from long distance.
Notably, in the last two games, RU has gone 6-of-8 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter in the wins at home over Penn State and Wisconsin.
NEWS FROM DOWNTOWN
Rutgers had one of it's best night's from beyond the arc in recent memory in the 68-52 victory over Wisconsin on Jan. 4.
The Scarlet Knights hit 11 3-pointers, the most made 3-point field goals since RU connected on 12 back on Dec. 7, 2006 at DePaul.
The 11 shots from downtown are also the most by the Scarlet Knights in RAC history and ties the RAC WBB record set by Providence when the Friars drilled 11 3-pointers on Jan. 2, 1996.
Four different Scarlet Knights sank shots from long range against the Badgers led by KK Sander's four 3-pointers, which ties RU's season high.
RU also had another notable long range game earlier this season. After shooting just 13.3% (2-of-15) from 3-point range at Wake Forest on Nov. 17, the Scarlet Knights showcased their 3-point prowess in the following game at Virginia. Rutgers went 8-of-16 (.500) against the Cavaliers on Nov. 20.
Leading the way was sophomore Aliyah Jeune, who knocked down four of her eight attempts from downtown. It was the most 3-pointers made by a Scarlet Knights since Shrita Parker drained four against Ohio State (1-24-16) and Tyler Scaife at Saint Joseph's (11-13-15).
Also recently, the Scarlet Knights hit seven shots from long range (7-of-17) in the Big Ten home opening win over Penn State.
3pt FG Made in Game Since 2002-03
12 - at DePaul - December 7, 2006
11 - Wisconsin - January 4, 2017
10 - Kean - December 15, 2010
10 - Seton Hall - March 7, 2009
10 - Syracuse - March 1, 2008
10 - at LSU - April 1, 2007
10 - Florida - November 28, 2006
9 - Louisville - January 14, 2012
9 - Robert Morris - March 22, 2008
9 - vs. Cincinnati - February 3, 2007
8 - Virginia - November 20, 2016
8 - at St. Joseph's - November 13, 2015
8 - USF - February 26, 2013
8 - Iona - December 18, 2011
8 - at UConn - March 7, 2011
8 - at Marquette - February 19, 2011
8 - St. John's - January 5, 2008
8 - Michigan State - March 20, 2007
8 - North Florida - November 25, 2005
8 - Princeton - December 8, 2004
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 the last three games, including tying her career-high with 18 points vs. Penn State in the Big Ten home opener on Dec. 31.
In the last three games, the junior guard has averaged 16.3 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 three-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 two free throws to date and is 30-of-32 (.938) from the stripe. She has gone perfect from the line this season eight times.
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 five contests, KK Sanders has averaged 7.4 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 4.6 assists on the year placing her seventh in the Big Ten.
Opponent offenses may also want to watch out for the Kankakee, Illinois native who is averaging 2.5 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 34.6 and 34.3 minutes of playing time respectively, the third and fourth most minutes of any Big Ten player.
I GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIEND ALIYAH
Aliyah Jeune set a new career-high with seven helpers in RU's victory over Bryant on Nov. 27.
Jeune, whose previous career-high was three last captured in RU's loss at Wake Forest on Nov. 17, is averaging 2.4 assists per game.
Jeune has handed out three or more helpers in the last four-straight contests and in the last two games has averaged 4.5 assists per contest.
The younger Jeune sister is also tied for sixth in the Big Ten in steals per game averaging 2.1 thefts per contest. She logged a career-high six steals in RU's double overtime contest with James Madison on Dec. 5.
UP NEXT
Rutgers remains on the road heading to Nebraska for a meeting with the Cornhuskers on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. (ET)
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-RU-
