Sunday, February 10
Piscataway, N.J.
2:00 PM
Rutgers University
vs
Maryland
Photo by: Rich Graessle
Women's Basketball & No. 10/8 Maryland Battle Sunday for Top Spot in B1G
Feb 08 | Women's Basketball
Scarlet Knights & Terps Tipoff at 2 p.m. in Annual Play4Kay Game
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The No. 20/24 Rutgers women's basketball team hosts No. 10/8 Maryland in a battle for first place in the Big Ten in the annual Play4Kay Game on Sunday at 2 p.m.
B1G BATTLE FOR FIRST PLACE
It's a battle for first place on Sunday when the #20/24 Rutgers women's basketball team hosts #10/8 Maryland at the RAC.
Both squads enter the game with only two Big Ten losses. The Scarlet Knights have fallen at Iowa (72-66) and at Minnesota (60-46), while the Terps dropped contests with the Scarlet Knights (73-65) at home and at Michigan State (77-60).
The Scarlet Knights have been the Terps only loss at home this season, while on the other hand, Rutgers has won all 11 contests at the RAC to date.
Rutgers is aiming to return to the win column following its road setback to the Golden Gophers on Super Bowl Sunday. Redshirt senior forward Stasha Carey led RU with 16 points, while Tekia Mack hauled in a career-high seven boards.
The Scarlet Knights held an early seven-point third quarter edge, but the Golden Gophers were able to overcome a first half shooting slump and got to the line, where they shot 81 percent and accounted for 25 of thier points.
After Sunday's meeting with the Terps, Rutgers will host Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. at the RAC.
ABOUT MARYLAND
The Terps enter the RAC sporting a 21-2 overall record and 10-2 mark in Big Ten action. Maryland has won six straight since its last loss, a 77-60 setback at Michigan State on Jan. 17.
Sunday's matchup with the Scarlet Knights will be the Terps' third game of the week having defeated Illinois on the road on Monday, 80-66, and Northwestern at home on Thursday, 72-57.
Nationally, the Terps are sixth in defensive rebounds per game (30.0) and ninth in rebound margin (10.4).
Around the Big Ten, Maryland is third in scoring offense averaging 76.3 points per game and leads the league in scoring margin at 17.8 points per game. On the defensive side of the ball, the Terps sit right behind Rutgers allowing only 58.4 points per outing.
Maryland is led by junior guard Kaila Charles at 16.0 points per game, ranking fifth in the league in scoring, along with a team second-best 6.2 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Taylor Mikesell is dropping in 14.4 points, good enough to place her name 10th among all Big Ten scorers, and averages a Big Ten best 3.0 3-pointers per game. Junior forward Stephanie Jones is netting 12.9 points per game, shooting .606 from the field, along with 6.0 boards per contest.
Freshman forward Shakira Austin, meanwhile, leads the Terps in rebounding at 10.3 boards per game and is fourth in the category in the Big Ten. She is also 10th nationally in blocks per game (2.68).
LAST TIME VS. MARYLAND
The Rutgers women's basketball team closed out 2018 on a high note following a 73-65 upset victory at No. 4/4 Maryland on New Year's Eve afternoon at the Xfinity Center.
The win marked RU's first victory over a top 10 opponent since 2009.
Rutgers finished with four Scarlet Knights in double figures led by 18 points from Stasha Carey and a near triple-double from Ciani Cryor with 12 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. Charise Wilson and Noga Peleg Pelc contributed 10 points each in the upset.
For Maryland, Taylor Mikesell led the Terps with 18 points. Kalia Charles added in 15, while Blair Watson chipped in 11 points and Brianna Fraser came off the bench for 10 points.
Rutgers opened the contest with Wilson and Cryor knocking down shots from long range and took an eight-point advantage with eight-straight points from the hands of Carey. The Cleveland, Ohio native closed her run dropping in a fast-break 3-pointer to give RU a 19-11 edge with 4:11 to go in the stanza.
The Scarlet Knights, who finished the opening quarter 5-of-8 from 3-point range, held on to the advantage ending the first frame up 28-24.
The Terps opened the second quarter outscoring the Scarlet Knights 6-2 to knot the score at 30-30.
After a two-minute drought for both squads, back-to-back layups by Cryor saw RU take back the lead for a 34-30 advantage at the midway point.
Maryland converted only one field goal over the final 4:45 of the quarter with Rutgers heading into the locker room ahead, 41-36.
Both teams struggled offensively after the intermission combining to shoot 7-of-25 from the floor.
Rutgers held a 43-39 advantage at the midway point of the quarter but a 6-0 run by the Terps over the final 3:14 knotted the score at 47-47 entering the game's final 10 minutes of action.
Charles gave the Terps its first lead since the opening moments of the game at 53-52 with a trip to the free throw line with 6:32 to go.
Peleg Pelc, in the midst of scoring eight-straight points for the Scarlet Knights, hit a jumper right outside the paint returning the lead to RU for good.
A Mikesell three with 5:15 would pull the Terps within one, 57-56, but that would be the closest Maryland would get as Rutgers, who shot 93 percent from the free throw line, would net 11 of its 12 attempts from the line down the stretch.
PROTECTING HOMECOURT
Since the 2002-03 season, the Scarlet Knights have gone 203-46 (.815) at the RAC.
RU is 43-3 over the last two seasons at home and is currently 11-0 at the RAC in 2018-19.
Last season, Rutgers went 13-3 at home last season. The Scarlet Knights won their first 12 contests at the RAC before dropping a 52-42 contest to Nebraska on Jan. 21. It was RU's longest home win streak since winning 20-straight RAC wins between Nov. 16, 2007 and Dec. 29, 2008.
RU finished with an unblemished nonconference mark at home for the second-straight season and over the last two years has gone 14-0 in non-Big Ten action.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Thru the 23 games of the season, Rutgers ranks among the top 25 nationally in four categories.
The Scarlet Knights are checking at 11th in field goal percentage defense (.346), 17th in blocked shots (111), 21st in scoring defense (55.8) and 23rd in blocks per game (5.0).
B1G SPEAKING
Among conference peers, Rutgers currently ranks:
Scoring Defense - 1st - 55.8
Field Goal Pct. Defense - 1st - .346
Steals - 1st - 10.1
Rebounding Defense - 1st - 32.1
The following Scarlet Knights are ranked among conference peers:
Victoria Harris - 9th - Steals - 1.5
Stasha Carey - 8th - Blocks - 1.6
A LOSS IS STILL A LOSS, BUT...
All together, the five teams that have managed to defeat the Scarlet Knights are a combined 86-26 on the 2018-19 season.
RU's first loss of the season was to a Drake squad that sits at 16-5 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. 13/12 in the polls including a 79-73 win over then-No. 11 Stanford. The Bulldogs are 21-2 on the season with losses against defending national champion Notre Dame at the Vancouver Challenge and BYU.
Virginia Tech is 15-7 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 18-5 overall.
Minnesota, who has made appearances this season in the Top 25 and went 11-0 in nonconference play, are 16-7 on the year.
FREE POINTS
Rutgers has been having on of its best free throw shooting seasons in recent memory.
Top Free Throw Percentages Since 2002-03
2002-03 .762 176-231
2018-19 .729 261-358
2005-06 .714 379-531
2010-11 .713 383-537
2006-07 .703 430-612
2004-05 .700 397-567
Rutgers has been finding success from the free throw line as of late hitting 75 percent or better in six of the last 11 games.
During a stretch that included wins over #4 Maryland, Brown and Penn State, RU missed only five shots from the line going 43-of-48 for a .896 clip.
A WIN OVER THE RANKED
Rutgers garnered the upset over No. 4/4 Maryland on New Year's Eve with the 75-68 victory.
The win was RU's first over a top 10 program since 2009 when the unranked Scarlet Knights defeated No. 8 Auburn, 80-52, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 23, 2009 at the RAC.
The victory was the Scarlet Knights' first over a top five program since No. 7 Rutgers upset No. 1 UConn, at the RAC on Feb. 5, 2008.
The win was Rutgers first top 25 road victory since a 64-52 win at No. 25 Arkansas on Dec. 8, 2014.
The victory also marked the first top 10 road win since a 64-45 win over No. 10 Arizona State in the Elite Eight en-route to a championship game appearance in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
Rutgers also earned a 76-62 victory over No. 17/22 Michigan State on Jan. 20 picking up its second top 25 victory of the 2018-19 season. It marked the most wins over ranked squads since 2014-15 when the Scarlet Knights downed No. 21 Minnesota (66-61) and No. 19 Nebraska (46-43) at home as well as No. 25 Arkansas (64-52) on the road.
TOPPING THE TERPS
Rutgers win at Maryland on Dec. 31 marked the first win over the Terps since the two programs joined the Big Ten Conference in 2014-15. Maryland has won the first seven meetings in the series.
The victory also saw the Scarlet Knights dominate the glass against one of the top rebounding programs in the nation. The Scarlet Knights won the war on the boards, 38-28. Maryland entered the New Year's Eve game as one of the top rebounding teams in the nation ranking second in rebounding margin (17.0) and fifth in rebounds per game (48.3).
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.
So far in 2018-19, the trend has held steady with all 22 opponents under their scoring average.
UP NEXT
After Sunday's meeting with the Terps, Rutgers will host Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. at the RAC.
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.
HOW TO WATCH
Sunday's game will be streamed on BTN Plus with Lou Brogno (play-by-play) and Dom Savino (color).
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).
PROMOTIONS
- Play4Kay Game
- Presented by RWJBarnabus Health
- Rutgers Against Hunger (RAH) Food Drive
- GIVEAWAY: Rutgers Pink T-Shirts (First 500 Fans)
- HALFTIME: RWJBarnabus Presentation
B1G BATTLE FOR FIRST PLACE
It's a battle for first place on Sunday when the #20/24 Rutgers women's basketball team hosts #10/8 Maryland at the RAC.
Both squads enter the game with only two Big Ten losses. The Scarlet Knights have fallen at Iowa (72-66) and at Minnesota (60-46), while the Terps dropped contests with the Scarlet Knights (73-65) at home and at Michigan State (77-60).
The Scarlet Knights have been the Terps only loss at home this season, while on the other hand, Rutgers has won all 11 contests at the RAC to date.
Rutgers is aiming to return to the win column following its road setback to the Golden Gophers on Super Bowl Sunday. Redshirt senior forward Stasha Carey led RU with 16 points, while Tekia Mack hauled in a career-high seven boards.
The Scarlet Knights held an early seven-point third quarter edge, but the Golden Gophers were able to overcome a first half shooting slump and got to the line, where they shot 81 percent and accounted for 25 of thier points.
After Sunday's meeting with the Terps, Rutgers will host Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. at the RAC.
ABOUT MARYLAND
The Terps enter the RAC sporting a 21-2 overall record and 10-2 mark in Big Ten action. Maryland has won six straight since its last loss, a 77-60 setback at Michigan State on Jan. 17.
Sunday's matchup with the Scarlet Knights will be the Terps' third game of the week having defeated Illinois on the road on Monday, 80-66, and Northwestern at home on Thursday, 72-57.
Nationally, the Terps are sixth in defensive rebounds per game (30.0) and ninth in rebound margin (10.4).
Around the Big Ten, Maryland is third in scoring offense averaging 76.3 points per game and leads the league in scoring margin at 17.8 points per game. On the defensive side of the ball, the Terps sit right behind Rutgers allowing only 58.4 points per outing.
Maryland is led by junior guard Kaila Charles at 16.0 points per game, ranking fifth in the league in scoring, along with a team second-best 6.2 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Taylor Mikesell is dropping in 14.4 points, good enough to place her name 10th among all Big Ten scorers, and averages a Big Ten best 3.0 3-pointers per game. Junior forward Stephanie Jones is netting 12.9 points per game, shooting .606 from the field, along with 6.0 boards per contest.
Freshman forward Shakira Austin, meanwhile, leads the Terps in rebounding at 10.3 boards per game and is fourth in the category in the Big Ten. She is also 10th nationally in blocks per game (2.68).
LAST TIME VS. MARYLAND
The Rutgers women's basketball team closed out 2018 on a high note following a 73-65 upset victory at No. 4/4 Maryland on New Year's Eve afternoon at the Xfinity Center.
The win marked RU's first victory over a top 10 opponent since 2009.
Rutgers finished with four Scarlet Knights in double figures led by 18 points from Stasha Carey and a near triple-double from Ciani Cryor with 12 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. Charise Wilson and Noga Peleg Pelc contributed 10 points each in the upset.
For Maryland, Taylor Mikesell led the Terps with 18 points. Kalia Charles added in 15, while Blair Watson chipped in 11 points and Brianna Fraser came off the bench for 10 points.
Rutgers opened the contest with Wilson and Cryor knocking down shots from long range and took an eight-point advantage with eight-straight points from the hands of Carey. The Cleveland, Ohio native closed her run dropping in a fast-break 3-pointer to give RU a 19-11 edge with 4:11 to go in the stanza.
The Scarlet Knights, who finished the opening quarter 5-of-8 from 3-point range, held on to the advantage ending the first frame up 28-24.
The Terps opened the second quarter outscoring the Scarlet Knights 6-2 to knot the score at 30-30.
After a two-minute drought for both squads, back-to-back layups by Cryor saw RU take back the lead for a 34-30 advantage at the midway point.
Maryland converted only one field goal over the final 4:45 of the quarter with Rutgers heading into the locker room ahead, 41-36.
Both teams struggled offensively after the intermission combining to shoot 7-of-25 from the floor.
Rutgers held a 43-39 advantage at the midway point of the quarter but a 6-0 run by the Terps over the final 3:14 knotted the score at 47-47 entering the game's final 10 minutes of action.
Charles gave the Terps its first lead since the opening moments of the game at 53-52 with a trip to the free throw line with 6:32 to go.
Peleg Pelc, in the midst of scoring eight-straight points for the Scarlet Knights, hit a jumper right outside the paint returning the lead to RU for good.
A Mikesell three with 5:15 would pull the Terps within one, 57-56, but that would be the closest Maryland would get as Rutgers, who shot 93 percent from the free throw line, would net 11 of its 12 attempts from the line down the stretch.
PROTECTING HOMECOURT
Since the 2002-03 season, the Scarlet Knights have gone 203-46 (.815) at the RAC.
RU is 43-3 over the last two seasons at home and is currently 11-0 at the RAC in 2018-19.
Last season, Rutgers went 13-3 at home last season. The Scarlet Knights won their first 12 contests at the RAC before dropping a 52-42 contest to Nebraska on Jan. 21. It was RU's longest home win streak since winning 20-straight RAC wins between Nov. 16, 2007 and Dec. 29, 2008.
RU finished with an unblemished nonconference mark at home for the second-straight season and over the last two years has gone 14-0 in non-Big Ten action.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Thru the 23 games of the season, Rutgers ranks among the top 25 nationally in four categories.
The Scarlet Knights are checking at 11th in field goal percentage defense (.346), 17th in blocked shots (111), 21st in scoring defense (55.8) and 23rd in blocks per game (5.0).
B1G SPEAKING
Among conference peers, Rutgers currently ranks:
Scoring Defense - 1st - 55.8
Field Goal Pct. Defense - 1st - .346
Steals - 1st - 10.1
Rebounding Defense - 1st - 32.1
The following Scarlet Knights are ranked among conference peers:
Victoria Harris - 9th - Steals - 1.5
Stasha Carey - 8th - Blocks - 1.6
A LOSS IS STILL A LOSS, BUT...
All together, the five teams that have managed to defeat the Scarlet Knights are a combined 86-26 on the 2018-19 season.
RU's first loss of the season was to a Drake squad that sits at 16-5 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. 13/12 in the polls including a 79-73 win over then-No. 11 Stanford. The Bulldogs are 21-2 on the season with losses against defending national champion Notre Dame at the Vancouver Challenge and BYU.
Virginia Tech is 15-7 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 18-5 overall.
Minnesota, who has made appearances this season in the Top 25 and went 11-0 in nonconference play, are 16-7 on the year.
FREE POINTS
Rutgers has been having on of its best free throw shooting seasons in recent memory.
Top Free Throw Percentages Since 2002-03
2002-03 .762 176-231
2018-19 .729 261-358
2005-06 .714 379-531
2010-11 .713 383-537
2006-07 .703 430-612
2004-05 .700 397-567
Rutgers has been finding success from the free throw line as of late hitting 75 percent or better in six of the last 11 games.
During a stretch that included wins over #4 Maryland, Brown and Penn State, RU missed only five shots from the line going 43-of-48 for a .896 clip.
A WIN OVER THE RANKED
Rutgers garnered the upset over No. 4/4 Maryland on New Year's Eve with the 75-68 victory.
The win was RU's first over a top 10 program since 2009 when the unranked Scarlet Knights defeated No. 8 Auburn, 80-52, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 23, 2009 at the RAC.
The victory was the Scarlet Knights' first over a top five program since No. 7 Rutgers upset No. 1 UConn, at the RAC on Feb. 5, 2008.
The win was Rutgers first top 25 road victory since a 64-52 win at No. 25 Arkansas on Dec. 8, 2014.
The victory also marked the first top 10 road win since a 64-45 win over No. 10 Arizona State in the Elite Eight en-route to a championship game appearance in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
Rutgers also earned a 76-62 victory over No. 17/22 Michigan State on Jan. 20 picking up its second top 25 victory of the 2018-19 season. It marked the most wins over ranked squads since 2014-15 when the Scarlet Knights downed No. 21 Minnesota (66-61) and No. 19 Nebraska (46-43) at home as well as No. 25 Arkansas (64-52) on the road.
TOPPING THE TERPS
Rutgers win at Maryland on Dec. 31 marked the first win over the Terps since the two programs joined the Big Ten Conference in 2014-15. Maryland has won the first seven meetings in the series.
The victory also saw the Scarlet Knights dominate the glass against one of the top rebounding programs in the nation. The Scarlet Knights won the war on the boards, 38-28. Maryland entered the New Year's Eve game as one of the top rebounding teams in the nation ranking second in rebounding margin (17.0) and fifth in rebounds per game (48.3).
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 22 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 |
| Penn State | 69.3 | 61 |
| Indiana | 71.4 | 64 |
| Minnesota | 68.9 | 60 |
UP NEXT
After Sunday's meeting with the Terps, Rutgers will host Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. at the RAC.
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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