PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Returning from a Holiday Break, Rutgers women's basketball tamed a Northwestern comeback to open Big Ten play with a 45-41 win on Friday evening at the RAC. Following a third quarter surge for the Wildcats, senior forward Victoria Harris registered a steal in the waning seconds of the final quarter to deny the comeback and seal the win with a successful trip to the free throw line.

With the victory, head coach C. Vivian Stringer became the first Big Ten women's basketball coach to record 200 victories in conference play.

Rutgers improved to an overall mark of 8-3, a Big Ten record of 1-0, and a home mark of 6-0. Northwestern, meanwhile, fell to 7-5 overall and 0-1 in conference play. 

Junior guard Ciani Cryor led the Scarlet Knights with 13 points in the win, including two 3-pointers. Redshirt-senior forward Stasha Carey paced the team with nine rebounds to go with six points.

Northwestern was led by Lindsey Pullman with a game-high 16 points.

FIRST QUARTER
The Scarlet Knights and Wildcats traded runs throughout the first quarter to keep the margin balanced. Midway through the frame, Cryor recorded five straight points to give Rutgers a 7-2 lead at the 6:16 mark.

Northwestern responded with a 6-0 run of its own to inch in front 8-7 with 3:36 left in the quarter. Carey would then ignite a 9-0 run for RU, which would extend into the second frame to help the Scarlet Knights pull away on the board.

SECOND QUARTER
Freshman guard Noga Peleg Pelc capped the run with a 3-pointer to open the second quarter and set the Scarlet Knight lead at 16-8. The Wildcats attempted to close the gap, however, back-to-back 3-pointers for Calhoun fueled the momentum to establish a double-digit lead, 24-13, by the 2:17 mark.

Although NU's Burton countered with a 3-pointer to cut the lead back to single digits, Cryor added her second bucket from beyond the arc to keep RU in front. The Scarlet Knights would go on to carry a 29-18 advantage into halftime.

THIRD QUARTER
Rutgers extended its lead after returning from the break, as Guirantes drained a 3-pointer to set the lead at 34-18.

Northwestern, however, found a 13-0 surge, fueled by 12 points from Pullman, to hold Rutgers scoreless for the remainder of the frame and to make it a three-point margin, 34-31, moving into the final quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER
The teams traded points throughout the fourth stanza, as Northwestern used its momentum to move in front for the first time of the night Following a Abi Scheid 3-pointer, Hamilton knocked in a layup to set the Wildcat edge at 42-40 with 1:20 to go in regulation.

With less than a minute remaining, a steal for Harris on the Wildcats' inbound would lead to her drawing a foul on a layup attempt. Harris sunk both free throws to return to the lead to RU, 42-41, with 57 second left on the clock.

Rutgers sealed the win by going 5-for-6 at the free throw line, as Charise Wilson tacked on the final two points with successful free throws to set the margin at 45-41.

RU returns for its final competition of 2018 in the first Big Ten road contest of the season. The Scarlet Knights meet No. 4/4 Maryland on New Year's Eve at noon at the Xfinity Center.
 




KNIGHT NOTES 

• Rutgers improved to 4-1 in Big Ten openers and 4-1 in Big Ten home openers since joining the conference in the 2014-15 season.
• Head coach C. Vivian Stringer became the first Big Ten women's basketball coach to record 200 wins in conference play. She owns a 200-83 record in regular season Big Ten contests, which includes 169 victories while at Iowa from 1983-95 and 31 at Rutgers. Stringer is the seventh overall basketball coach in Big Ten history to reach the milestone joining:
  Bob Knight, Indiana (1972-2000) - 353 
  Tom Izzo, Michigan State (1995-present) - 274
  Gene Keady, Purdue (1981-2005) - 265
  Ward Lambert, Purdue (1917; 1919-45) - 228
  Lou Henson, Illinois (1976-96) - 214
  Branch McCracken, Indiana (1939-43; 1947-65) – 210
  C. Vivian Stringer, Iowa (1983-95), Rutgers (2014-present) - 200
• Rutgers has kept all 11 opponents to date under their scoring average. The Wildcats averaged 71.5 points per game entering today's contest and were held to a season-low (49) points. The Wildcats' previous low was 49 in a 52-49 setback versus Pitt during the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in late November.
• Ciani Cryor reached double figures for the third time this season with a season-high 13 points. It marked her first game of 2018-19 leading the Scarlet Knights in scoring and only the second time in her career.
• Rutgers captured a season-high 14 steals. Cryor tied her career-high leading RU with five thefts.
• Rutgers moved to a record of 6-0 at the RAC this season. 

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