Women's Basketball Matches Up With Minnesota on Saturday
Feb 10 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's basketball hits the road this weekend for a matchup with Minnesota on Saturday at 3 p.m. (ET).
| Game Twenty Five: Minnesota (12-12, 3-8 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Saturday, Feb. 11 |
| Time | 3 p.m. EST |
| Location | Williams Arena | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Video | BTN Plus |
| Radio | WRSU 88.7 FM (Ryan Moran and Nick Kosko) |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Minnesota | Big Ten |
| Stats | Rutgers | Minnesota |
BOUNCING BACK ON THE ROAD
The Rutgers women's basketball team will be looking to return to the win column in the lone meeting with Minnesota on Saturday at 3 p.m. (ET) at Williams Arena.
The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 63-52 loss to Indiana on Wednesday night. RU held the advantage through most of the first and second quarter with the Scarlet Knights holding a 29-27 edge at the intermission.
RU and Indiana endured three ties and seven lead changes in the third quarter before the Hoosiers used a late surge and went ahead 52-39 with 6:54 remaining in the game.
Rutgers tried to mount a comeback with an 8-0 run. Six-straight points from Kandiss Barber followed by a layup by Shrita Parker reduced the Scarlet Knight deficit to 52-47 with four minutes to go in the game.
Although RU managed to whittle it down to a five-point ballgame, Indiana went on to regrow its lead to double-digits with success at the free throw line.
Parker finished with 14 points, while Barber contributed 12 points in the loss.
ABOUT MINNESOTA
The Golden Gophers return home after a two-game road trip to host Rutgers at Williams Arena with a 12-12 overall mark and 9-4 Big Ten record.
Minnesota has dropped four of their last five contests with their last victory during that span being a 79-69 overtime win at Nebraska last Saturday. The Golden Gophers are coming off a 77-66 setback at Penn State on Wednesday night.
Junior guard Carlie Wagner leads Minnesota at 19.8 ppg along with 5.3 rpg. She is third in the league in scoring behind Kelsey Mitchell of Ohio State (23.2 ppg) and Tori Jankoska of Michigan State (22.0 ppg). Wagner is also fourth in the league in 3-point field goals made dropping in an average of 2.6 made shots from beyond the arc.
Redshirt sophomore guard Kenisha Bell is pouring in 16.6 ppg, ranking her 12th in the Big Ten in scoring. She is also third in the conference in assists handing out 5.5 per game. Meanwhile, freshman guard Gadiva Hubbard rounds out the leading scorers at 12.8 ppg.
On the boards, the Golden Gophers are led by junior center Jessie Edwards at 7.1 rpg. Edwards checks in at No. 11 in the conference on the boards. Edwards also averaged 1.7 blocks per contest.
LAST TIME VS. MINNESOTA
Former Scarlet Knight and future WNBA pick Rachel Hollivay became Rutgers women's basketball's all-time leader in career blocks on Feb. 4, 2016 at Minnesota, but the Scarlet Knights ended the evening falling, 85-72, at Williams Arena.
Kahleah Copper reset her career-best for the second time, registering a game-high 31 points to go along with nine rebounds. Tyler Scaife followed with 16 points, Aliyah Jeune added in a career-best with 10 points to round out the double-figure scorers.
Minnesota had two scorers finish with 20+ points, including Rachel Banham with a team-leading 24 points and Carlie Wagner with 22.
Although Rutgers jumped to a 6-2 lead to start the game, Minnesota's Banham notched five-straight points to claim the lead for the Gophers at 7-6 by the 7:06 mark of the first quarter.
Although Rutgers quickly reclaimed the edge on its following trip down the court, Minnesota countered with a 10-2 run to reclaim the lead for good at 17-10 with 3:16 remaining in the first frame. Jeune ended the run with a 3-pointer, to pull the Scarlet Knights within four, 17-13, however, the Golden Gophers would extend its lead to as many as 10 before closing out the opening stanza.
Khadaizha Sanders drained a 3-pointer to ignite a 5-2 burst for RU, cutting the deficit to four, 25-21, with 9:14 to go in the second. However, Minnesota thwarted the comeback with an 8-2 run across the next three minutes of play to extend its lead to 33-23.
Rutgers never let up, adding in a 5-0 run of its own to diminish the gap to five, 33-28, with 6:07 to go.
The Scarlet Knights maintained momentum and trailed by only three, 43-40, heading into halftime.
Rutgers and Minnesota traded points to begin the third frame. Although RU kept the score as close as three on two occasions, Minnesota used a three-pointer from Hedstrom to fuel a 7-4 burst, setting the gap at 56-47 with 3:44 left in the third quarter.
The Scarlet Knights managed to reduce the deficit to five, 56-51, before the Gophers expanded their advantage back to 10 points, 61-51, at the end of three quarters.
Despite Shrita Parker draining a 3-pointer to start things off in the fourth to bring the margin within seven, it as close as Rutgers would come as Minnesota go on to maintain at least a 10-point cushion for the remainder of the contest.
UP NEXT
The Rutgers women's basketball team is back at home against Purdue on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.
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-
