PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's basketball returned to the win column with a 63-56 victory over Michigan on Super Bowl Sunday at the RAC. The win snapped a four-game skid for RU and marked the first ranked victory since 2015.
RU improved to an overall record of 18-7, including a 13-1 mark at home and a 6-5 record in Big Ten play. Michigan fell to 19-5 overall and 8-4 in league action.
The Scarlet Knights were led by redshirt sophomore
Ciani Cryor with 16 points to match her season-high. Redshirt junior
Stasha Carey followed with 12 points to round out the double figure scorers for RU. Junior
Caitlin Jenkins pulled in a game-high 10 rebounds.
Three Wolverines finished in double digits with Katelynn Flaherty posting a game-high 19 points. Hailey Brown added in 15 points followed by Hallie Thome with 12 points in the loss.
Although the first quarter began as a neck-in-neck battle, Rutgers broke away with lead, closing the frame with nine unanswered points for a 15-7 lead.
Michigan countered with eight straight points, including six-consecutive points for Flaherty, to tie the score 15-15 at the 5:05 mark of the second quarter. Carey, however, put an end to the surge with a 3-pointer, sending the Scarlet Knights on a 13-6 burst.
Following back-to-back layups for graduate student
Nigia Greene in the final seconds of the first half, Cryor drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to set the RU lead at 28-21 heading into halftime.
A steal and layup for junior
Khadaizha Sanders kept the momentum rolling for RU right at the start of the third quarter, igniting an 8-4 run to extend the lead to 36-25 with 7:00 left on the clock.
Michigan's Brown halted the run with a 6-2 run on her own to cut into the margin, 38-32. Flaherty followed it up with a shot from beyond the arc to pull the Wolverines within three at 38-35 with 4:06 to go in the frame. The teams would go on to trade points, but RU held onto its lead 45-40 moving into the fourth quarter.
Although Carey opened the final frame with a shot from beyond the arc, the Wolverines countered with seven-straight points to pull within one at 48-47 with 6:16 remaining in the game.
Momentum swung, however, in the Scarlet Knights' favor. Cryor stumped the come back with a 3-pointer to send the Scarlet Knights on a 12-0 surge to regenerate a double-digit advantage at 60-47 with under two minutes on the clock. RU would lead by as many as 14 down the final stretch en route to victory.
Up next, Rutgers returns to the road with a midweek matchup at Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 8. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. with coverage available on BTN Plus and WRSU, the Rutgers student radio station.
KNIGHT NOTES
- With the win, Rutgers head coach
C. Vivian Stringer's career record improves to 995-397. She is five wins away from 1,000 career victories.
- Sunday's win marked RU's first win over a top 25 opponent since downing No. 19/18 Nebraska on Feb. 5, 2015 in a 46-43 decision.
- With her seven points,
Tyler Scaife now has 2,092 career points. She needs 120 more to move into second place on the all-time list past Cappie Pondexter (2002-2006).
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Ciani Cryor tied her season-high with 16 points. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania product also had 16 points in RU's 70-45 victory over Seton Hall on Dec. 8.
- With her 10 rebounds,
Caitlin Jenkins captured her 10
th double-digit rebounding contest of the year. Jenkins, who entered Sunday's game 10
th in the Big Ten in boards has averaged 9.3 rebounds in the last three games and 8.4 rebounds in the last five games.
- Michigan's 26 turnovers tied a season-high. The Wolverines also had 26 miscues in an overtime win at Nebraska on Jan. 13.
- The Wolverine's 56 points were the fewest scored by Michigan in Big Ten play this season.
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