LINCOLN, Neb. – The Rutgers women's basketball team is off to its best start since joining the Big Ten as the Scarlet Knights stay on top of the league standings at 5-0 following a 62-56 win over Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The Scarlet Knights, who punched back for the win after the ballgame was tied at 52-52 in the fourth quarter, made it eight in-a-row to improve to 13-3 overall. The Cornhuskers, meanwhile, dropped to 7-9 on the year and 2-3 in conference action.

Redshirt junior guard Ciani Cryor led all scorers with 13 points, while graduate student guard Charise Wilson added in 12. Both combined to go 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Senior forward Caitlin Jenkins, meanwhile, hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds.

For the Cornhuskers, Leigha Brown came off the bench for 18 points, while Taylor Kissinger, who tied the game up at 52-52 in the fourth quarter, had 11 in the loss.
 
FIRST QUARTER
Rutgers opened the game on a 7-1 run, starting with five unanswered points from the hands of Guirantes. Guirantes, however, would spend the majority of the first half on the bench due to early foul trouble.

The Scarlet Knights limited the Cornhuskers to 1-of-4 shooting and forced five turnovers for a 10-6 edge at the midway point of the frame.

Nebraska made it a one-point ballgame at 13-12 with 2:13 off a Sam Haiby layup, but the Cornhuskers would only net a free throw in the dwindling moments. Rutgers finished off the stanza on an 8-1 run as the quarter came to a close with Wilson swishing a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired along with a  putback from Caitlin Jenkins for a 21-13 edge.

SECOND QUARTER
Brown opened second quarter action with a jumper for the Cornhuskers, but the Scarlet Knights continued to get stops holding Nebraska without a field goal over the next 4:11. The Cornhuskers would go 0-of-5 during the span as RU opened up to a 25-17 lead with 6:39 to go.

Kissinger stopped the Nebraska drought, but Rutgers went on the run again scoring eight unanswered. Freshman Zipporah Broughton hit 1-of-2 from the line 33-20 advantage with 2:45 left.

The Cornhuskers responded with back-to-back traditional three-point plays to cut their deficit back to single digits. Wilson stopped the Nebraska burst with her third long range shot, and second as the shot clock expired, and the Cornhuskers' Brown drilled a jumper in the closing seconds to close out first half play with RU entering the intermission ahead, 36-28.

THIRD QUARTER
A Wilson "and one" extended the Rutgers lead to 41-29 in the opening moments of the second half. Nebraska, however, took a 9-0 run over the next 3:22, erasing the 12-point Scarlet Knight edge, and pulled within three, 41-38 at the 5:56 mark.

Tekia Mack thwarted the outpouring of Cornhusker points with a steal and a made shot from downtown.

Closing out the quarter, Nebraska would be limited to only one more made field goal while Rutgers went up 50-41.

FOURTH QUARTER
The final frame opened with the Corhuskers outscoring RU 10-2, including string of eight unanswered. A 3-pointer by Kissinger tied the game up at 52-52 with 6-38 left.

Nebraska would be held without a field goal until the final moments of the game, collecting as the Scarlet Knights wrapped up the game on a 10-4 run. Stasha Carey went 4-of-4 from the line to help seal the win.
 
UP NEXT
The Rutgers women's basketball team is back home at the RAC for two games hosting Purdue, who defeated No. 17 Iowa earlier this week, on Wednesday, Jan. 16 and No. 23/24 Michigan State on Sunday, Jan. 20.


 
KNIGHT NOTES

• Rutgers improved to 5-0 in the Big Ten, the best start for the Scarlet Knights since joining the league in 2014-15.
• The Scarlet Knights have won three-straight road games, the most consecutive road victories in league play since the 2014-15 campaign.
• Caitlin Jenkins reached double digit rebounding for the fifth time this season and 34^th time in her career. She has led RU on the boards in seven contests this season.
• The nine 3-pointers made by the Scarlet Knights ties a season-high. RU also dropped in nine made shots from downtown in the upset win at then-No. 4 Maryland on Dec. 31.

 
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