PISCATAWAY, N.J. – In a contest that saw the score tied on nine occasions, No. 20/23 Rutgers women's basketball held off Purdue for a 65-63 victory in overtime on Wednesday night at the RAC. The win kept RU's record unblemished in Big Ten play at 6-0 and at home at 9-0.

The Scarlet Knights improved to an overall record of 14-3, while the Boilermakers fell to an overall mark of 13-6 overall and 4-2 in league action.

Three Scarlet Knights finished in double-digits with redshirt sophomore guard Arella Guirantes leading the way with 17 points. Redshirt senior forward Stasha Carey followed with 11 points, including her 1,000^th career tally.  Graduate guard Charise Wilson rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points in the win.

Purdue was paced by Karissa McLaughlin and Dominique Oden with 18 points apiece. Ae'Rianna Harris logged a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

FIRST QUARTER
Rutgers and Purdue started off the contest trading points on the board. At the 6:00 mark, Guirantes ignited an 8-0 run for RU, extending the Scarlet Knights lead to 12-4.

Purdue's McLaughlin ended the Boilermakers scoring drought with less than two minutes in the frame, to cut the margin to 12-7, as Rutgers held the edge.  

SECOND QUARTER
Although the Scarlet Knights and Boilermakers went back-to-back with 3-pointers early on in the quarter, Rutgers maintained a 15-11 advantage.

Purdue went on to tie the score on three occasions before sneaking in front in the frame's final seconds. McLaughlin's second shot from beyond the arc set the margin at 22-21.

As time expired on RU's return trip down the court, freshman guard Noga Peleg Pelc countered with a 3-pointer of her own to return the lead to the Scarlet Knights, 24-22, entering halftime.

THIRD QUARTER
The wire-to-wire play continued into the third stanza with the score tied on three occasions in the first five minutes. After the Scarlet Knights inched back in front for the third time at 32-30 at the 5:20 mark, back-to-back steals for Rutgers' Tekia Mack and Wilson would lead to four quick RU points and a 36-30 edge.

Following a Purdue timeout, a Caitlin Jenkins' steal resulted in a Guirantes' jumper and Carey drilled two free throws to close the quarter as the Scarlet Knights grew its lead to 42-34 by the end of the third period. During her trip to the line, Carey notched her, 1000th career points.

Welcome to the 1️⃣,0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ point club Stasha Carey‼ pic.twitter.com/vyriCy4UHq

— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) January 17, 2019

FOURTH QUARTER
After Purdue scored the first three points of the quarter, Rutgers started off its scoring with a 6-for-6 showing at the free throw line.

The success at the charity stripe ignited a 10-0 surge, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers for graduate guard Sierra Calhoun and Wilson, giving RU its largest lead of the night at 54-40 with 4:58 remaining on the clock.

The Boilermakers responded with a 14-0 burst to close regulation, including four-straight points at the free throw line, to tie the score, 54-54, with seconds remaining in the contest.

OVERTIME
After a free throw for Peleg Pelc kicked off the overtime period and Wilson drained a 3-pointer as the shot clock wound down to put RU up 58-54 with 1:37 on the clock.

The teams would go on to trade trips to free throw line, as Rutgers held a 64-60 edge with seconds on the clock.

A Purdue 3-pointer for Oden brought the Boilermakers within one, 64-63. However, that is as close as Purdue would come as Carey pushed RU ahead at the line.

Rutgers finished the extra session going 6-of-6 from the stripe.


 
KNIGHT NOTES

• The Scarlet Knights improved to 9-0 at home on the season.
• Rutgers has kept all 17 opponents to date under their scoring average. Purdue entered Wednesday's contest averaging 67.1 points per game and was held to 63.
• The game marked Rutgers' 44^th overtime game during its history and improved to 24-20 (.545) in overtime.
• Arella Guirantes led the Scarlet Knights in scoring for the sixth time this season. It marked her eighth double-figure performance of the year and 22^nd of her career.
• Rutgers committed 12 turnovers, tying for a season low.
• With the first free throw of a two shot award with 24 seconds left in the third quarter, Stasha Carey logged her 1,000^th career point. She finished the game with 11 points and now has 1,006 career points.

UP NEXT
Rutgers remains home to host No. 17/22 Michigan State on Sunday, Jan. 20. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET at the RAC.
 
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