MADISON, Wisc. (Dec. 28, 2019) – Rutgers women's basketball (11-1) outscored Wisconsin (8-4) 20-8 in the final quarter to erase a 15-point deficit and win its Big Ten opener on the road, 64-61, on Saturday afternoon in the Kohl Center.
Rutgers is off to its best start in the
C. Vivian Stringer era (since 1995), and best start overall since the 1990-91 team started 13-0.
The Scarlet Knights turned up the press in the second half, forcing 12 turnovers after halftime and holding Wisconsin under its scoring average of 66.6 points per game.
- Redshirt junior guard Arella Guirantes overcame an 0-of-7 start from the field to finish with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, along with a career-high eight assists.
- Junior wing Tekia Mack added 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting seven boards and three assists.
- Graduate student guard Khadaizha Sanders chipped in 11 points.
- Rutgers dominated in the paint once again with a 42-30 edge in points in the stripe, while outrebounding the Badgers 37-36. The Scarlet Knights bench outscored Wisconsin's 10-0 and Rutgers ran with a 12-3 advantage in fast break points.
Down 15 points with four minutes to play in the third quarter, it would take Rutgers' largest comeback of the season to win the Big Ten opener. That dream became a reality in the fourth, which started with a 10-1 run to cut the lead down to one. Guirantes and Sanders each scored four points during the rally.
- Mack scored Rutgers' first four points as Wisconsin took an early 8-4 advantage to the first media timeout. That trend would continue as a defensive back-and-forth game headed toward halftime. Mack scored 12 points through the first two quarters as the Badgers held a slight lead for 15 of the opening 20 minutes.
- Swift ball movement, heads-up passing, and strong finishing helped redshirt freshman Tyia Singleton score six points in a two-minute stint spanning the first and second quarters, with the second and third buckets tying the game at 13-13 and 15-15.
- Wisconsin used a 7-0 run and held RU scoreless for nearly three minutes to take a 46-32 lead with 3:47 to play in the third. Rutgers had not trailed by more than 11 points over the first 11 games.
- Khadaizha Sanders sparked the comeback attempt with a three ball, a good pullup jumper and a steal on the press leading to an easy layup for Zipporah Broughton. The swift counterpunch stretched to a 9-2 run as Rutgers cut the Wisconsin lead to single digits at 49-41.
- Rutgers resounding fourth quarter comeback started with a 10-1 run to cut a once 15-point deficit down to one at 55-54. Sanders found Mack underneath to give Rutgers its first lead since the first quarter 58-57 with 4:13 to play. Sanders' second-chance layup and Guirantes' two free throws secured a one-point lead at 62-61.
- Wisconsin went scoreless over the final 2:13 and Guirantes hit another pair of freebies to secure the 64-61 victory.
- At 11-1, Rutgers is off to its best start to a season in the C. Vivian Stringer era (since 1995) and best overall since the 1990-91 team that started 13-0 (29 years ago).
- Redshirt sophomore guard Alexis Morris, a transfer from Baylor, made her Rutgers debut in the second quarter. She completed her year in residence per NCAA transfer rules and was able to play as her passing fall grades were officially posted on Saturday morning.
- Rutgers has three victories this season after erasing deficits of eight or more points. The previous best comeback was 11 points in the Vanderbilt win.
- Rutgers improves to 5-1 in Big Ten openers.
- RU moves to 8-2 overall against Wisconsin and 6-2 as Big Ten opponents.
- Holding the Badgers five points under their scoring average of 66.6, Rutgers has held 11-of-12 opponents this season under their scoring average and in 41 of its last 44.
- Rutgers moves to 11-0 this season when outscoring opponents in points in the paint (42-30) and points off turnovers (14-13).
- Guirantes' eight assists passes her previous career high of five.
- Guirantes secures her spot as the Big Ten's scoring leader with 19.4 points per game.
- Following Guirantes' absence on Dec. 15 against Marshall, the staring five of Guirantes, Mack, Wallace, Gilles and Sanders returned to the hardwood for the 11th time in 12 games. This season, Rutgers returned just 29 percent of last year's games started.
The Scarlet Knights return home to host Indiana on New Year's Eve – Tuesday, Dec. 31 – at 3 p.m. at the RAC.
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