EVANSTON, ILL. - The Rutgers women's basketball team dropped its 2017-18 regular season finale to Northwestern, 63-50, on Sunday afternoon at Beardsley Gym.
Rutgers concluded the regular season with an overall record of 19-11 and Big Ten mark of 7-9, while Northwestern finishes at 11-19 overall and 4-12 in league action.
Redshirt senior
Tyler Scaife posted 17 points to lead the Scarlet Knights and is now 11 points away from moving into second on Rutgers all-time scoring list. Redshirt junior
Stasha Carey contributed 10 points to round out the double-figure RU scorers in the loss.
Northwestern was paced by Lindsay Pulliam with a game-high 23 points. Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah registered a double-double with a game-high 20 rebounds and set Northwestern's single season rebounding record while adding 12 points. Bryana Hopkins also contributed 12 points in the win.
Rutgers and Northwestern kept the score balanced throughout the first quarter, as the teams traded points to produce four ties and two lead changes. Midway through the frame, redshirt senior
Kathleen Fitzpatrick hit a 3-pointer to give RU the largest lead for either team in the quarter at 11-6 with 4:27 on the clock.
The Wildcats, however, countered with an 8-2 surge that included at 5-for-6 showing at the free throw line to move back in front, 15-13, at the end of the first.
The teams once again entered a back-and-fourth battle on the court as Northwestern held a 21-19 edge at the 7:24 mark. From there, the Wildcats broke away on the scoreboard, registering a 9-2 to burst to set their lead at 32-31 midway through the second quarter.
Although RU ended the run with five unanswered points, including a jumper for Scaife and a 3-pointer for Fitzpatrick in the final minute of the frame, Northwestern's Abbie Wolf beat the buzzer to set the Wildcat advantage at 34-26 entering halftime.
Returning from the break, Northwestern opened the third quarter outscoring RU, 14-6, to generate its largest lead of the night at 48-32 with 4:46 to go in the frame. Scaife stumped the surge with a jumper, sending RU on a 6-0 run of its own. The Wildcats, however, would close the frame with a 50-38 advantage.
Despite balanced scoring in the fourth and final frame, where the Wildcats edged the Scarlet Knights in scoring by one point, 13-12, the margin was too great for the Scarlet Knights to overcome.
The Rutgers women's basketball team returns to action on Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The ninth-seeded Scarlet Knights open postseason play with eighth-seeded Purdue at noon. The winner of the game will advance to play regular season champion Ohio State in the quarterfinals on Friday at noon. Thursday's second round contest will be streamed by BTN2Go with Mike Monaco, Vera Jones and Christy Winters-Scott on the call. The game will also air on the Rutgers IMG Radio Network with Ralph Bednarczyk calling all the action.
KNIGHT NOTES
- Rutgers head coach
C. Vivian Stringer's career record dropped to 996-401. She is four wins away from 1,000 career victories.
- With her 17 points,
Tyler Scaife now has 2,201 career points. She needs 11 more to move into second place on the all-time list past Cappie Pondexter (2002-2006).
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Stasha Carey put away 10 points. It was her eighth double-digit scoring effort of the season.
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Caitlin Jenkins led RU with eight rebounds from off the bench. She has led the Scarlet Knights in the rebounding department in 17 games this season.
- The Scarlet Knights were outrebounded 47-28. The Wildcats' 47 boards were the most by an opponent this season.
Follow Rutgers women's basketball at www.ScarletKnights.com and (@RutgersWBB) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all of the latest news and updates.
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