Rutgers University
Penn St.
Women's Basketball Closes Season Series With Penn State on the Road
Jan 26 | Women's Basketball
Scarlet Knights & Lady Lions Tipoff on Sunday at 2 p.m.
HOW TO WATCH
Sunday's game will be streamed on BTN Plus.
To learn more about BTN Plus and the Fox Sports App, click here.
ON THE AIRWAVES
Sunday's game air will on the Rutgers Radio Network on WCTC 1450 AM with Ralph Bednarczyk (play-by-play) and Mark Peterson (color).
BOUNCING BACK ON THE ROAD
The Rutgers women's basketball team will look to return to the win column on Sunday as the Scarlet Knights close out the season series with Penn State in State College.
RU had a 10-game win streak snapped with a 72-66 set back at No. 17/15 Iowa on Wednesday, marking the Scarlet Knights first set back since Nov. 30.
Rutgers pulled within one against the top 25 Hawkeyes, who led by as many as six in the final frame, with 1:41 to go but would unable to over take the lead.
Redshirt junior Stasha Carey led Rutgers with 17 points, including 10 first quarter points. Redshirt sophomore guard Arella Guirantes added in 12 while redshirt junior guard Ciani Cryor chipped in 11 in the loss.
Senior forward Caitlin Jenkins captured seven boards.
ABOUT PENN STATE
The Lady Lions welcome the Scarlet Knights to Happy Valley with a 10-9 overall mark and 3-5 record in Big Ten action. Penn State has gone 2-2 since last meeting Rutgers on Jan. 6 and is coming off a 65-59 win at Wisconsin on Thursday.
PSU is led by senior guard Teniya Page, the Big Ten's second leading scorer behind Iowa's Megan Gustafson, at 20.0 points per game. She is also eighth among conference peers draining 1.8 3-pointers a game.
Junior guard Siyeh Frazier is the other Lady Lion in double figures at 10.4 points per game. She is also fourth in the Big Ten steals with 1.7 per outing.
On the boards, sophomore forward Alisia Smith leads her squad with 7.4 rebounds per contest. Smith ranks 11th in the conference in the category.
LAST TIME VS. PENN STATE
In a come-from-behind triumph, Rutgers women's basketball used a second quarter surge to secure a 74-61 victory over the Penn State on Jan. 6 at the RAC.
Redshirt sophomore Arella Guirantes poured in a career- and game-high 24 points, including nine rebounds. Redshirt junior Ciani Cryor and graduate guard Charise Wilson followed with nine points each. Cryor was one shy of her career-high with four steals, as RU recorded 13 in the contest.
The Lady Lions were paced by Teniya Page with 23 points, while Alisia Smith added 10 rebounds.
Penn State held a 31-22 advantage in the second quarter before RU turned on its defense to hold the Lady Lions scoreless for nearly six minutes. During the span, the RU offense rattled off a 13-0 run to regain the advantage.
At the 4:56 mark, senior forward Caitlin Jenkins blocked a PSU attempt that Cryor rebounded to return down the court, resulting in two free throws. Cryor would then record a steal on Penn State's return trip, knocking in a layup to cut the deficit to 31-28.
The Scarlet Knight surge continued with a 3-pointer from Guirantes. A steal and fast-break layup for sophomore guard Tekia Mack layup returned the lead to Rutgers, 35-31, for good with 1:59 to go in the second quarter. RU would go on to carry a 35-33 advantage into the break.
Rutgers maintained its momentum with another 12-0 run early in the third period, extending its lead to 47-35 by the 6:02 mark.
Freshman guard Noga Peleg Pelc opened the final frame by sinking a shot from beyond the arc as RU held a double-digit margin for the remainder of the contest, leading by as many as 14, en route to a 74-61 victory.
SCORING MILESTONES TO WATCH
While it was head coach C. Vivian Stringer with her 1,000th victory earlier this season, one Scarlet Knights reached the 1,000 point milestone while another is approaching the mark.
On Jan. 16 in the overtime win against Purdue, Carey collected her 1,000th career point and currently has 1,053 points to-date.
Graduate student guard Sierra Calhoun is 75 points away from the milestone.
POURING IN THE POINTS
Redshirt senior forward Stasha Carey had a big week last week, first notching her 1,000th career points in the win over the Boilermakers and following with a career-high 30 points against the Spartans.
Her 30 points against the top 25 Spartans was the most points by a Scarlet Knight post player since Michelle Campbell dropped in 33 against Rider on Nov. 20, 2004.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Thru the 19 games of the season, Rutgers ranks among the top 25 nationally in three categories.
The Scarlet Knights are checking in 13th field goal percentage defense (.346), 12th in scoring margin (54.9) and 19th in blocked shots (94).
B1G SPEAKING
Among conference peers, Rutgers currently ranks:
Scoring Defense - 1st - 54.9
Field Goal Pct. Defense - 1st - .346
Steals - 1st - 10.3
Rebounding Defense - 1st - 31.4
Free Throw Percentage - 3rd - .736
The following Scarlet Knights are ranked among conference peers:
Victoria Harris - 4th - Steals - 1.7
Stasha Carey - 7th - Blocks - 1.6 / 9th - FT Percentage - .761
A LOSS IS STILL A LOSS, BUT...
All together, the four teams that have managed to defeat the Scarlet Knights are a combined 59-16 on the 2018-19 season.
RU's first loss of the season was to a Drake squad that sits at 14-4 overall and has appeared in the Top 25 this season. The Bulldogs posted a victory over then-No. 12/13 South Carolina to take third place at the Vancouver Showcase.
Gonzaga sits at No. 18/17 in the polls including a 79-73 win over then-No. 11 Stanford. The Bulldogs are 18-2 on the season with losses against defending national champion Notre Dame at the Vancouver Challenge and BYU.
Virginia Tech is 13-6 and has ranked as high as No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
Iowa, who Rutgers fell to at Carver-Hawkeye arena where the Hawkeyes have not lost all season, were ranked at No. 17/15 when the Scarlet Knights were in town are 14-4 overall.
D-D-D-DEFENSE
The defense turned up the pressure last season leading the Big Ten in scoring defense holding opponents to just 59.3 points per game.
Twenty-nine of RU's 32 opponents were held under their scoring average.
| Avg. Total Points Entering Game |
Total Points vs. Rutgers |
|
| JMU | 70.2 | 63 |
| Temple | 96.0 | 67 |
| Charlotte | 70.5 | 54 |
| Wake Forest | 71.7 | 51 |
| South Carolina | 88.2 | 78 |
| Washington St. | 69.7 | 64 |
| Siena | 67.3 | 63 |
| NC State | 71.9 | 53 |
| Virginia | 63.2 | 43 |
| Seton Hall | 81.1 | 45 |
| FDU | 63.0 | 35 |
| Princeton | 65.8 | 50 |
| Houston | 73.9 | 57 |
| Purdue | 68.8 | 50 |
| Michigan State | 79.6 | 58 |
| Illinois | 64.8 | 37 |
| Penn State | 70.4 | 65 |
| Purdue | 66.1 | 47 |
| Minnesota | 86.2 | 70 |
| Penn State | 70.1 | 70 |
| Nebraska | 70.9 | 52 |
| Indiana | 68.2 | 64 |
| Maryland | 85.1 | 88 |
| Michigan | 77.1 | 56 |
| Ohio State | 85.7 | 90 |
| Maryland | 84.0 | 72 |
| Wisconsin | 60.9 | 50 |
| Iowa | 79.7 | 77 |
| Northwestern | 62.1 | 63 |
| Purdue (B1G) | 66.3 | 60 |
| Ohio State (B1G) | 85.3 | 82 |
So far in 2018-19, the trend has held steady with all 19 opponents under their scoring average.
| Avg. Total Points Entering Game |
Total Points vs. Rutgers |
|
| St. Francis (Pa) | 80.9 | 52 |
| Stony Brook | 62.6 | 47 |
| CCSU | 62.5 | 44 |
| Albany | 43.7 | 39 |
| Drake | 82.5 | 69 |
| Gonzaga | 68.8 | 57 |
| ETSU | 61.7 | 44 |
| Va. Tech | 78.3 | 67 |
| Harvard | 68.3 | 49 |
| LSU | 63.9 | 43 |
| Northwestern | 71.5 | 41 |
| Maryland | 78.2 | 65 |
| Brown | 76.0 | 52 |
| Penn State | 70.8 | 61 |
| Illinois | 74.1 | 60 |
| Nebraska | 75.9 | 62 |
| Purdue | 67.1 | 63 |
| Michigan State | 80.6 | 62 |
| Iowa | 81.0 | 72.0 |
UP NEXT
Up next, the Rutgers women's basketball team returns home to close out the month on Thursday, Jan. 31 against 2018 WNIT Champion Indiana.
Follow Rutgers women's basketball at www.ScarletKnights.com and (@RutgersWBB) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all of the latest news and updates. For additional updates, download the Rutgers Gameday App.
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