PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Dec. 31, 2019) – Rutgers women's basketball (11-2, 1-1) dropped its Big Ten home opener to No. 14/15 Indiana (12-2, 2-0) on Tuesday, 66-56, at the RAC.
 
In a tight game defined by six tie scores and six lead changes in the early stages, the Hoosiers pulled away in the third and maintained their lead despite Rutgers holding edges in rebounding (39-33), points in the paint (34-26), points off turnovers (15-9) and second chance points (12-4) over their nationally ranked opponents.
 
"It's disappointing," said head coach C. Vivian Stringer. "We can't keep playing from behind and fail to find our second and third reads. We came back from 15 at Wisconsin, and we tried to make a run again today down 13 at the start of the fourth quarter. It ends up becoming exhausting with the way we press and play defense. We need to figure that out."
 
Indiana scored 41 in the second half compared to the 25-point output through the first two quarters.

STAT SHEET

• Redshirt junior guard Arella Guirantes scored a game-high 23 points while leading Rutgers with seven rebounds. She scored 11 points in the second quarter alone on 5-of-10 shooting.
• Graduate student guard Khadaizha Sanders added 16 with five rebounds and two assists.
• Rutgers kept it close thanks to a 13-of-14 mark from the free throw line, led by Guirantes' 5-of-5 mark and Sanders' 6-of-7. Rutgers has now made 22 of its last 24 from the charity stripe.

TURNING POINT

Indiana's 21-13 third quarter made the difference. The Hoosiers were 6-of-10 from the field with a three-pointer and 8-of-12 from the line while Rutgers cooled off to the tune of 6-of-16 from the floor. IU spanned the third and fourth quarters on a 9-2 run to set the lead at 13.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both defensive units shined to start the game in a low scoring, 9-8, quarter in the Hoosiers' favor. Rutgers, however, help Indiana scoreless over the final 3:47 of the opening period with Mael Gilles getting a block at the buzzer to keep the deficit at one.
• The RU offense heated up with a 5-of-7 stretch from the field to open the second quarter, four of which belonged to Guirantes. She reached double-digit scoring midway through the second. Guirantes had a personal 7-0 run from 8:51 to 7:36 to turn a one-point deficit into a 15-11 lead.
• Nine of the Scarlet Knights' 24 boards were offensive in the first half, part of the 24-14 rebounding edge.
• Mack scored five points on a trey and a layup to keep Rutgers close before the media timeout in the third, but Indiana opened the period 3-of-4 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line to take a 36-30, its largest of the game. IU finished the quarter shooting 6-of-10 for its 10-point lead.
• Sanders and Guirantes combined on a quick 4-0 run to get the deficit back to single digits at 57-48 with five minutes to play. As they did most of the second half, the Hoosiers had an answer and went back up by 11 on their next possession.
• Indiana's timely shooting continued into the fourth, but Rutgers wouldn't go quietly. Sanders sparked a 6-0 run with a pair of free throws and a fast break lay-in following another Gilles block. Rutgers trailed by five at 59-54 with 1:14 to play before the Hoosiers protected their lead with six made free throws down the stretch.

KNIGHT NOTES

• For the 12^th time in 13 games, Rutgers outscored an opponent in the paint and in points off turnovers. This is the first time this season it has resulted in a loss.
• Indiana's 43 percent shooting was the most allowed by Rutgers this season, with the previous high of 37 percent notched by Virginia.
• Holding Indiana nine points under its scoring average of 75.8, Rutgers has held 12-of-13 opponents this season under their scoring average, and in 42 of the last 45.
• The starting lineup of Arella Guirantes, Tekia Mack, KK Sanders, Jordan Wallace and Mael Gilles have started 12 of 13 games together. Rutgers returned 29 percent of last season's games started.
• Indiana creeps back into the all-time series, with Rutgers leading 6-4 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten.
• Rutgers has had at least two double-digit scorers in all 13 games.
• Guirantes picked up her fifth 20-point game of the season, and ninth of her career.
• Gilles tied her career high with three blocks.
• Redshirt sophomore guard Alexis Morris, a transfer from Baylor, made her home debut at the RAC after making her RU debut at Wisconsin on Dec. 28. Morris has completed her year in residence, and her passing fall semester graders were officially posted the morning of Dec. 28.

UP NEXT

The Scarlet Knights hit the road in the New Year at Purdue on Sunday, Jan. 5 at noon and at Illinois on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT). RU returns home on Sunday, Jan. 12 against Nebraska at 2 p.m. at the RAC.
 

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