HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Rutgers women's basketball team held off a second half James Madison Surge and redshirt senior guard Tyler Scaife returned to the court for 26 points as the Scarlet Knights opened the 2017-18 season with a 76-63 victory over the Dukes.

While Scaife netted 26 points in her return, junior forward Caitlin Jenkins was just shy of a double-double with nine points and 14 rebounds. Jazlynd Rollins also contributed double digits with 10 points.

James Madison had a trio of scorers in double figure led by Lexi Barrier's 23 points. Tasia Butler and Kamiah Smalls each contributed 10 points apiece in the loss.  

A put back by Jordan Wallace late in the first quarter gave Rutgers an 11-10 lead and an advantage it would never lose.

Rutgers extended its lead with a 9-2 run to open the second quarter. Kathleen Fitzpatrick capped the run with a 3-pointer to give the Scarlet Knights a 20-12 edge with 7:06 left until the intermission. Free throws by Tyler Scaife and Caitlin Jenkins extended the lead to 26-16 at the midway point of the second quarter. James Madison, however, halved RU's double-digit lead thanks to a 3-pointer by Barrier and a pair of shots from the charity stripe by Butler. 

The Scarlet Knights followed with five unanswered points with Khadaizha Sanders and Jenkins sinking shots from the line to return the double-digit advantage. Over the final three and a half minutes of the quarter, the Scarlet Knights held James Madison without a field goal. The Dukes' Smalls contributed two shots from the line in the closing moments as Rutgers held a 31-23 lead at the half.

A lay-up by Scaife to open up second half scoring saw Rutgers take a double digit advantage and go on to lead by as many as 21 with 2:43 left in the third quarter.

After a pair of free throws by Scaife put RU up 53-32, the Dukes went on a late third quarter surge with the burst continuing into the fourth quarter. Rutgers' 21-point lead was whittled down to two with a 21-2 run capped by a Kayla Cooper-Williams layup at the 6:54 mark and the Scarlet Knights holding on to a 55-53 lead.

Rutgers would not relinquish the lead and steadily increased the margin as time worn down.

The Rutgers women's basketball team returns to the court on Monday, Nov. 13 at Temple. Tipoff in Philadelphia is set for 7 p.m.



KNIGHT NOTES
- RU improved to 30-14 all-time in season openers and 13-10 in openers under head coach C. Vivian Stringer. 
- Tyler Scaife's 26 points were the most scored by the Little Rock, Arkansas native since netting 26 against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament on March 4, 2016. It was the 47^th time in her career leading the Scarlet Knights in scoring.
- With her 26 points, Scaife moved in ninth all-time in scoring at Rutgers surpassing Matee Ajavon (2004-08). She needs 46 more points to move past Tanya Hansen (1988-92) and into eighth place.
- With her 14 boards, Caitlin Jenkins grabbed double figure rebounds for the18th in her career. Her career-high is 18 set against Mississippi on Dec. 12, 2015. Jenkins' 14 rebounds were the most since teammate Desiree Keeling grabbed 14 against Temple on Dec. 17, 2016.
- Jazlynd Rollins reached double figures for the second time in her Rutgers career. She scored 15 points at No. 3 Maryland on Jan. 22, 2017.
- All 14 members of the available roster appeared in the season opener. The starting lineup featured redshirt senior guards Tyler Scaife and Kathleen Fitzpatrick, redshirt junior forward Stasha Carey, junior guard Khadaizha Sanders and junior center Victoria Harris.

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