Women's Basketball Opens Season Tuesday With St. Francis (Pa.)
Nov 04 | Women's Basketball
Scarlet Knights & NEC Champion Red Flash Tip Off at 7 p.m.
WELCOME BACK
The Rutgers women's basketball team embarks on the 2018-19 season on Tuesday with St. Francis (Pa.) on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
ON THE AIRWAVES
Tuesday's game will air on WCTC AM (1450am) with Ralph Bednarczyk and Mark Peterson.
HOW TO WATCH
Tuesday's game will be streamed live on BTN Plus with Lou Brogno and Dom Savino
To learn more about BTN Plus and subscription packages, click here.
PROMOTIONS
- Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Night
- Giveaway: Season Poster & Magnets
ABOUT RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights went 20-12 last season and return eight letterwinners while adding six newcomers.
Among the returnees are Big Ten honorable mention selection Stasha Carey, two-time Big Ten sportsmanship honoree Khadaizha Sanders and one of the top rebounders and shot blockers in the league in Caitlin Jenkins.
Newcomers include transfers Sierra Calhoun, an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick from Ohio State, Charise Wilson, Rhode Island's all-time leader in 3-point shots made, and Arella Guirantes, who is eligible following a year in residence "On The Banks" after spending her freshman season at Texas Tech.
Other newcomers to the hardwood include Gatorade and USA Today Alabama Player of the Year Zipporah Broughton, a feature player from the Geico High School Nationals in Tyia Singleton and Israeli native Noga Peleg Pelc.
ABOUT ST. FRANCIS (PA)
St. Francis kicks off the 2018-19 season following a NEC Championship and appearance in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2017-18.
The Red Flash compiled a 24-10 overall mark and 16-2 record in NEC play a year ago and two return starters from that squad.
Senior guard Jessica Kovatch begins the season as the NCAA's active leading scorer (2,158) and 3-pointers made (349). The reigning NEC and ECAC Player of the Year, she averaged 24.4 points shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range with a NCAA record 141 made.
St. Francis also returns senior forward/center Courtney Zezza who averaged 13.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
STRINGER MILESTONE NUMBERS TO REMEMBER
Rutgers head coach Stringer has compiled a 997-402 career record entering her the 48th season of coaching and is three wins away from joining the elite 1,000 career victory club in women's basketball.
In 2013, Stringer became just the seventh coach - men's or women's - to reach the 900-win mark.
Stringer's 35 20-win seasons are second-best in women's basketball history. Former Tennessee head coach Pat Summit leads all coaches with 36 20-win seasons.
Stringer is the fifth active winningest Division I coach and sixth all-time in career wins in NCAA women's basketball history.
The CVS1K Campaign is striving to raise $100,000 to fund an endowed women's basketball student-athlete scholarship in @cvivianstringer's honor. Join today and provide future Scarlet Knights with the opportunity to continue her legacy forever!
— Rutgers Scarlet Knights (@RUAthletics) October 25, 2018
https://t.co/RyUMjAOKbp pic.twitter.com/sxLJEOk17f
FLIRTING WITH THE TOP 25
Rutgers appeared in the Top 25 polls last season for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
The Scarlet Knights cracked the top 25 of the Associated Press Poll in the week nine poll on Jan. 8 checking in at No. 21. It was RU's first appearance in the AP's rankings since March 2, 2015.
Rutgers came in at No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll on week eight on Jan. 2 and has ranked as high as No. 19. It was the Scarlet Knights first appearance since ranking at No. 23 in the final poll of the 2014-15 season.
MOST IMPROVED TEAM
Rutgers was the NCAA Division I Most Improved Team in 2017-18.
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | ||
| Rutgers | 6-24 | 20-12 | +14 |
| Nebraska | 7-22 | 21-10 | +14 |
| UC Irvine | 5-26 | 18-14 | +13 |
| American | 15-16 | 26-7 | +11 |
| Denver | 6-24 | 16-14 | +10 |
| Miami (Ohio) | 11-12 | 21-11 | +10 |
| UAB | 15-15 | 27-7 | +10 |
| George Mason | 13-17 | 23-9 | +10 |
ON R WAY UP
Below are the differences between the 2016-17 season nonconference stats, a season in which RU went 3-11, and last season season's 12-2 nonconference stats.
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | |
| Points | 49.1 | 70.6 |
| Scoring Margin | -10.1 | +15.6 |
| Field Goal Pct. | .338 | .432 |
| Rebounds | 35.6 | 39.3 |
| Rebounding Margin | -3.3 | +2.9 |
| Assists | 15.5 | 17.1 |
| Turnovers | 17.1 | 15.2 |
| Steals | 8.3 | 13.2 |
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
As a team, Rutgers appeared nationally in the top 25 in four statistical categories last season including ranking ninth in total steals (375), tenth in steals per game (11.7), 20th in blocked shots per game (5.3) and 24th in total blocked shots (168).
B1G SPEAKING
In the Big Ten in 2017-18, Rutgers led the league in scoring defense (60.0), blocked shots (5.3) and steals (11.7) and second in turnover margin (+4.5).
The following returning Scarlet Knights were ranked among conference peers:
- Stasha Carey - 5th in steals (1.9)/13th in blocked shots (1.1)
- Caitlin Jenkins - 6th in blocked shots (1.6)/10th in rebounding (7.7)
- Victoria Harris -10th in blocked shots (1.2)
- CC Cryor - 10th in steals (1.7)
- Khad Sanders - 12th in assists (3.7)/14th in steals (1.6)
D-D-D-DEFENSE
The defense turned up the pressure last season leading the Big Ten in scoring defense holding opponents to just 59.3 points per game.
Twenty-nine of RU's 32 opponents were held under their scoring average.
| Avg. Total Points Entering Game |
Total Points vs. Rutgers |
|
| JMU | 70.2 | 63 |
| Temple | 96.0 | 67 |
| Charlotte | 70.5 | 54 |
| Wake Forest | 71.7 | 51 |
| South Carolina | 88.2 | 78 |
| Washington St. | 69.7 | 64 |
| Siena | 67.3 | 63 |
| NC State | 71.9 | 53 |
| Virginia | 63.2 | 43 |
| Seton Hall | 81.1 | 45 |
| FDU | 63.0 | 35 |
| Princeton | 65.8 | 50 |
| Houston | 73.9 | 57 |
| Purdue | 68.8 | 50 |
| Michigan State | 79.6 | 58 |
| Illinois | 64.8 | 37 |
| Penn State | 70.4 | 65 |
| Purdue | 66.1 | 47 |
| Minnesota | 86.2 | 70 |
| Penn State | 70.1 | 70 |
| Nebraska | 70.9 | 52 |
| Indiana | 68.2 | 64 |
| Maryland | 85.1 | 88 |
| Michigan | 77.1 | 56 |
| Ohio State | 85.7 | 90 |
| Maryland | 84.0 | 72 |
| Wisconsin | 60.9 | 50 |
| Iowa | 79.7 | 77 |
| Northwestern | 62.1 | 63 |
| Purdue (B1G) | 66.3 | 60 |
| Ohio State (B1G) | 85.3 | 82 |
OUT OF THE GATE
The Scarlet Knights had one of their best starts to the season in recent memories a year ago.
The 2017-18 season opened at 16-2, the best start for the Scarlet Knights since the 2007-08 campaign when RU kicked things off at 17-2 and finished with a 27-7 overall record reaching the Sweet 16.
FUN WHILE IT LASTED
Rutgers had a string of 11-straight victories last season dating back to the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with N.C. State on Nov. 30 lasting until Jan. 10 with a loss to Purdue at Mackey Arena.
It was the longest win streak for the Scarlet Knights since ending the season with six-straight wins to capture the 2014 WNIT title and beginning the 2015-16 season with six consecutive victories.
HOME COOKING
Rutgers finished the regular season at 13-3 at home in 2017-18.
The Scarlet Knights won their first 12 contests at the Rutgers Athletic Center before dropping a 52-42 contest to Nebraska on Jan. 21. It was RU's longest home win streak since winning 20-straight RAC wins between Nov. 16, 2007 and Dec. 29, 2008.
PROTECTING HOMECOURT
Since the 2002-03 season, the Scarlet Knights have gone 192-46 (.807) at the RAC.
UP NEXT:
Rutgers hosts Stony Brook in a Friday matinee at 2 p.m.
Follow Rutgers women's basketball at www.ScarletKnights.com and (@RutgersWBB) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all of the latest news and updates. For additional updates, download the Rutgers Gameday App.
- RU -
