PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's basketball used a late surge and pressed its way for 21 Hoosier turnovers to hold off Indiana for a 69-64 victory on Thursday evening at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights erased a 14-point deficit in the third quarter to come out on top, remaining undefeated at home at 11-0.

RU improved to an overall mark of 17-4 and a Big Ten record of 9-1, while UI dropped to 16-6 overall and 5-5 in the league.

Three Scarlet Knights finished in double-figures, as redshirt junior guard Ciani Cryor led the way with a career-high 22 points. Redshirt senior forward Stasha Carey followed with 13 points and nine rebounds. Redshirt sophomore guard Arella Guirantes tacked on 12 points from off the bench to round out the double-digit scorers.

Four Hoosiers also contributed double-digit scoring led by Brenna Wise with 15 points.

FIRST QUARTER
Indiana jumped to an 8-2 lead to start the contest, and after a nearly four minute scoreless streak for both squad, the Hoosiers went on to grow its lead to double-digits, 15-5.

With two minutes to go in the frame, Cryor gave the Scarlet Knights a lift with a 3-pointer, sending RU on a 9-4 run to close the frame and cut the deficit to 19-14.

SECOND QUARTER
The Hoosiers found another surge in the second quarter, using eight-straight points to extend its lead to 27-14 by the 6:41 mark.

Cryor, however, stumped the run by igniting an 8-0 run for Rutgers. The guard contributed six points in the span to set the margin at 27-22 with 3:28 to go in the frame.

Cryor tacked on two points for RU at the free throw line, but Indiana had established a 33-24 lead by the end of the first half.

THIRD QUARTER
Rutgers and Indiana would trade points to start the third quarter, as the Hooisers generated a 38-24 margin early in the frame. The Scarlet Knights, however, worked to close in on the once 14-point deficit by continuously chipping away at the margin to make it a one-point game at the end of the frame.

With less than two minute to go, RU broke free with 7-0 run. The surge began after a Caitlin Jenkins steal resulted in at trip to the free throw line for Tekia Mack. An Indiana turnover in the backcourt resulted in a free throw for Guirantes.

The momentum continued as Mack recorded back-to-back steals, which would each translate to layups for Guirantes to bring RU within one, 47-46, as time expired in the stanza.

FOURTH QUARTER
The Scarlet Knights edged the Hoosiers, 5-4, in scoring in the opening seconds of the fourth as graduate guard Sierra Calhoun knocked in a 3-pointer to tie the score 51-51 with 6:17 left.

Indiana's Wise added a layup, but a traditional 3-point play for Guirantes pushed Rutgers in front, 54-53, with 5:34 to go in the game.

A Carey steal set up a Guirantes layup to push the RU advantage to 56-53. Although Indiana earned a trip to the free throw line on the following the score Indiana's Ali Patberg only went 1-for-2 for Rutgers to hold onto the lead.

The back-and-fourth battle ensued as a Guirantes fast-break layup was countered with a 3-pointer for the Hoosier's Patberg, holding the margin at 58-57 with 2:04 on the clock.

Cryor answered with a 5-0 run of her own to hold the Scarlet Knight lead. The Hoosiers threatened with four-straight points to bring the score to 62-61 with 55 seconds on the clock.

Carey locked in two free throws to hold the advantage. A score-tying 3-pointer by Indiana would be missed, as RU followed with three more charity stripe points.

Indiana's Jaelynn Penn added a 3-pointer in the waning seconds, but the margin was too large for the Hoosiers to overcome. Two free throws for Cryor would seal the come-from-behind win for RU.
 



KNIGHT NOTES

• It was the 21st opponent Rutgers has kept under their scoring average. The Hoosiers entered Thursday's game averaging 71.4 points per game and were held to 64.
• The contest marked the largest come-from-behind victory of the year for the Scarlet Knights. RU trailed by 13, 38-24, with 8:54 in the third quarter and rebounded for the five-point victory. The previous largest deficit RU overcame for a win was 10 in a 74-61 win over Penn State at the RAC on Jan. 6.
• Ciani Cryor registered a new season- and career high with 22 points, reaching the 20-point mark for the first time in her career. Her previous career high was 19 against Notre Dame on Dec. 30, 2015. Her previous season high was 13 in the Big Ten opener with Northwestern on Dec. 28.
• Cryor led Rutgers in scoring for the third time this season and fourth time in her Scarlet Knight career.
• Stasha Carey was one rebound shy of her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and nine rebounds.
• Sixteen of Indiana's 21 turnovers came in the second half where RU was able to capitalize for 14 points. The 21 miscues were the most by a Big Ten opponent this season.
• Rutgers has won 11-straight at home this season, one shy of matching last year's longest home win-streak.

UP NEXT
Up next, the Rutgers women's basketball travels to Minneapolis for the first of two meetings between the Scarlet Knights and Golden Gophers on Super Bowl Sunday. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. (ET).

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