PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's basketball secured a 61-47 victory over Stony Brook on Friday afternoon at the RAC. The win gives head coach
C. Vivian Stringer 999th for her career, as she looks to become the sixth women's head coach in NCAA history join the elite 1,000 career victory club next Tuesday (Nov. 13) against Central Connecticut State in Piscataway.
Graduate senior guard
Charise Wilson led the Scarlet Knights with 14 points, a game-high six rebounds and six assists, while freshman guard
Noga Peleg Pelc joined Wilson in double figures with 11 points. Senior forwards
Victoria Harris and
Caitlin Jenkins contributed eight and seven rebounds, respectively.
RU held the Seawolves to just 31 percent shooting from the field, including a 27 percent shooting mark in the opening two quarters. Rutgers outrebounded Stony Brook, 41-24, and forced 16 turnovers in the convincing win.
Stony Brook was led by Shania Johnson with a game-high 15 points followed by Jonae Cox with nine points.
First Quarter
Rutgers was dominate from the tip, opening the contest with a 13-0 scoring run. Sophomore forward
Mael Gilles stole an errant pass and went coast-to-coast for a layup at the 6:52 mark, forcing Stony Brook to burn its first timeout of the quarter. Wilson drilled two 3-pointers during the stretch to pace the strong start.
The Seawolves cut into the scoring run out of the timeout, but the Scarlet Knights closed out the quarter with an 18-7 lead. Five RU players contributed points in the first 10 minutes of action, as the team held Stony Brook to 2-of-12 shooting in the opening quarter.
Second Quarter
Stony Brook was the first to score in the second quarter, as Zeise Hailey drilled a 3-pointer to make it just an 18-10 game with 9:14 left in the half. From there, Rutgers would produce a 13-6 scoring run to close out the quarter.
After the media timeout, Jenkins made back-to-back layups, including one off a missed shot with 2:03 left in the quarter to give the Scarlet Knights a 31-16 lead. RU would take that advantage into the locker room, as senior forward
Stasha Carey led the first-half effort with seven points and three rebounds.
Rutgers held Stony Brook to just 22 percent shooting from the floor in the first half and out rebounded the visitor, 21-14.
Third Quarter
Rutgers started the second half much like the first, as Peleg Pelc drained a corner 3-pointer in front of the Scarlet Knight bench to jumpstart an 11-4 scoring run. Jenkins third layup of the game made the score 42-21 with 5:38 left in the quarter, and RU closed out the third stanza with a 44-29 lead after a late Seawolves' scoring run.
With one quarter to play, five Scarlet Knights had contributed seven or more points, led by Wilson's 10.
Fourth Quarter
For the second time in as many quarters, Peleg Pelc started play with a corner 3-pointer. This one extended Rutgers lead to 47-29 with 9:45 left in the contest.
Stony Brook would battle back down the stretch, as a 3-pointer from Jonae Cox from the top of the floor at the 4:04 mark made it just a nine-point game. But the Scarlet Knights never let it get closer. In the final minutes, Peleg Pelc found
Arella Guirantes for the open 3-pointer, which gave RU a 61-46 lead.
UP NEXT
Rutgers hosts Central Connecticut State on Tuesday, Nov. 13. Tipoff time is set for 7 p.m. and will broadcast on BTN with Mike Monaco and Julianne Viani on the call.
KNIGHT NOTES
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