INDIANAPOLIS – The Rutgers women's basketball team bowed out of the Big Ten Tournament with a loss to No. 1 seed and No. 13/14-ranked Ohio State in a quarterfinal game on Friday afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Redshirt senior Tyler Scaife led the Scarlet Knights with 13 points while junior Caitlin Jenkins grabbed 10 rebounds in the loss.

Five Buckeyes posted double-digit scoring led by Kelsey Mitchell, the coaches pick for Big Ten Player of the Year, with a game-high 28 points. Stephanie Mavunga contributed a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds in the win.

Rutgers fell to 20-12 overall and sit at No. 39 in the RPI as of Friday morning and will wait for Selection Monday about further postseason action. The top seeded Buckeyes, meanwhile, advance to the semifinals with a 25-6 record.

The Scarlet Knights were unable to overcome a hot-shooting Ohio State squad that shot nearly 50 percent from the field for the game and knocked down 6-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Rutgers and Ohio State opened the contest trading points before the Buckeyes' Sierra Calhoun knocked in a 3-pointer to create a 11-6 edge for OSU. Scaife responded with six-straight points to push the Scarlet Knights in front 12-11 at the 5:05 mark.

Although Buckeyes responded by going ahead 20-15 over the next three minutes of play, RU pulled back within one at 20-19 on a Jenkins layup and  jumper by senior guard Jazlynd Rollins. A 3-pointer for Mitchell started a 5-0 burst for Ohio State to end the frame with a 25-19 advantage.

Scaife kicked off the second quarter with a 5-1 burst, draining a shot from downtown to set the margin at 26-24 with 8:03 to go in the stanza. The Buckeyes, however, discovered a 6-0 surge to extend their lead to 32-24.

Despite Rollins stumping the surge and a four-minute scoreless drought for Rutgers, Ohio State closed the second quarter with nine-straight points, including four at the charity stripe, ending the half on a 15-2 run to carry a 41-16 lead into halftime.

The Buckeyes took control of the score throughout the third quarter, using success at the free throw line and from beyond the arc. RU continued to tack on points, however, OSU  held a 69-33 lead over Rutgers at the end of three.

The Scarlet Knights started the fourth quarter with an 8-4 run, going on to outscore the Buckeyes, 24-13 in the frame. The margin, however, was too large for Rutgers to overcome.



The Rutgers women's basketball team will await the March. 12 Monday Selection Show to see if they will be awarded an at-large big to the NCAA Tournament.
 
KNIGHT NOTES:
- Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer's career record falls to 997-402. She is three wins away from 1,000 career victories.
- Rutgers has reached the quarterfinals in three of its four Big Ten appearances. Friday's game marked the second time Ohio State has stopped RU's conference tournament run.
- The Scarlet Knights improved to 20-11 on the year marking a 14-game improvement from last season and the 30^th year with 20 or more wins in a season.
- With her 13 points, Tyler Scaife now has 2,232 career points. 
- Caitlin Jenkins posted her 12^th double-digit rebounding contest of the 2017-18 campaign with 10 boards against the Buckeyes.
- Caitlin Jenkins set a Rutgers Big Ten Tournament record with six total blocks in the contests with Purdue and Ohio State.

Follow Rutgers women's basketball at www.ScarletKnights.com and (@RutgersWBB) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all of the latest news and updates.