INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Rutgers women's basketball team's late comeback from a 20-point third quarter deficit in trying to play its way into the Big Ten championship game fell just short on Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse as No. 10/10 and second-seeded Iowa defeated the third-seeded Scarlet Knights, 72-67, in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.

Rutgers trailed 51-31 with 4:51 left in the third quarter before a fourth quarter surge brought the Scarlet Knights to within three on three occasions late in the fourth quarter.

Redshirt sophomore guard Arella Guirantes led Rutgers with 16 points, while freshman guard Noga Peleg Pelc and Stasha Carey each contributed 13 points and graduate student guard Charise Wilson added 10.

Big Ten Player of the Year Megan Gustafson led Iowa with 20 points and 12 rebounds, with Hannah Stewart netting 13 and Mackenzie Meyer dropping in 13.

The Scarlet Knights, making their first-ever Big Ten Tournament semifinal appearance, fell to 22-9 on the year and will now await Selection Monday for its next postseason appearance.

Iowa advances to meet top-seeded Maryland for the 2019 Big Ten title on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

FIRST QUARTER
Gustafson was limited to only two first half points, but the Hawkeyes'  Meyer & Stewart combined for 14 points in the first quarter.

While it was Carey with the first bucket of the contest, Iowa churned out seven-unanswered points to take the lead and pulled in front 16-4 with 2:45 to go before Rutgers closed the gap. The Scarlet Knights punched back on a 9-2 run and trailed 18-13 at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.

SECOND QUARTER
Shots did not want to drop early in the second quarter as both squads combined to go 2-of-11 to open up the frame with the Hawkeyes opening to a 22-13 edge.

Peleg Pelc dropped in a 3-pointer to make it a six-point ball game with six minutes left, but the Hawkeyes countered with eight unanswered to go up by double digits for a 30-16 lead with 3:11 on the clock.

Rutgers managed to cut its deficit down to single digits late in the stanza as a steal and the ensuing 3-pointer from the hands of Wilson saw the Scarlet Knights trail, 23-32, with 1:41 to go.

Gustafson, however, closed the quarter with five-straight points to put her Hawkeyes ahead 37-23 at the break.

THIRD QUARTER
It was balanced scoring to kick off the second half, but a 7-0 run by the Hawkeyes midway thru the quarter pushed Iowa to its largest lead of the night at 51-31 with 4:51 left.

The Scarlet Knights nearly managed to close the deficit to single digits before the close of the quarter. RU scored nine straight and went on an 11-4 spurt over the final 3:50 entering the final frame down 57-44.

FOURTH QUARTER
Iowa led 61-47 with 8:02 left in the game when the Scarlet Knights began the comeback. Rutgers rattled off 11-unanswered points over the next three minutes and the once 20-point Hawkeye lead was whittled down to a possession. Peleg Pelc maneuvered through the lane to cap the run as the Hawkeyes clung to a 61-58 edge with 4:45 to go.

Rutgers would pull within a three to tie on two more occasions. The last was a Victoria Harris spin move in the paint with 2:02 on the clock with the Scarlet Knights trailing 65-62.

Davis cushioned the Hawkeye lead on a 3-pointer on the next possession, but RU responded with Guirantes knocking down two from the line. The Bellport, New York native, who finished the night 6-of-6 from the stripe, cut into the Iowa edge with 1:14 remaining at 68-64, but the Scarlet Knights would not draw closer.

After a Stewart layup put Iowa back up by six, Wilson had a chance to half the RU shortfall with 30 seconds to go, but her shot from 3-point range did not connect.

Davis followed with two more free throws for the Hawkeyes and Peleg Pelc knocked in her fourth 3-pointer of the night for the final margin.  

UP NEXT
Rutgers awaits Selection Monday to find out its postseason fate. The selection show for the 2019 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament will air on ESPN at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 18.



KNIGHT NOTES

• Rutgers has kept 30 of its 31 opponents to date under its scoring average. Iowa entered Saturday's contest pouring in 79.8 points per game and was held to 72.
• Arella Guirantes, who led RU with for the 10th time in scoring with her 16 points, has averaged 16.8 over the last six games.
• Noga Peleg Pelc's 14 points were the most since dropping in her season-high 19 against Brown in the nonconference final versus Brown (Jan. 4).
• Noga Peleg Pelc's four made 3-pointers were the most by the freshman guard against a Big Ten team this season. Her previous high was three at Illinois (Jan. 9).
• Stasha Carey tied her career-high with six steals. She also had six thefts against Penn State back on Jan. 18, 2018.
• In the last four games, Rutgers has outscored its opposition, 84-41, in the fourth quarter including 23-15 against the Hawkeyes.
• Rutgers connected on seven 3-pointers and has sunk five or more shots from long range on 15 occasions this season.

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