Sunday, January 5
West Lafayette, Ind.
12:00 PM (ET)
Rutgers University
at
Purdue
Game 14: Women's Hoops at Purdue
Jan 02 | Women's Basketball
Scarlet Knights play the Boilermakers on the road on Sunday, Jan. 5
PISCATAWAY, N.J.. (Dec. 30, 2019) - Rutgers women's basketball (11-2, 1-1) hits the road to Purdue (11-3, 2-0) for a Big Ten game on Sunday, Jan. 5 at noon, airing live on Big Ten Network.
Off to their best start to a season since 1990, the Scarlet Knights improved to 5-1 in Big Ten openers last Saturday following a 15-point comeback and a 64-61 victory at Wisconsin. No. 14 Indiana ended Rutgers' seven-game winning streak on New Year's Eve, despite the Scarlet Knights' edge in rebounding, points in the paint and points off turnovers.
HISTORIC START: Rutgers is 11-2, signaling its best start to a season during the C. Vivian Stringer era (since 1995) and best overall since the 1990-91 squad opened 13-0.
B1G TIME: C. Vivian Stringer, the all-time winningest coach in Big Ten play with 213 victories, leads the Scarlet Knights into the conference slate one year after RU's most successful season in the league since joining in 2014-15. Rutgers' 13 regular season Big Ten wins, the No. 3 Big Ten Tournament seed and the tourney semifinals finish in '18-19 were all program bests.
PLAYING B1G: Rutgers has owned the paint this season, outscoring opponents by an average of 16.4 points per game down low. The Scarlet Knights are 11-1 this season when outscoring opponents in the paint.
B1G HONORS: Redshirt Jr. guard Arella Guirantes leads the Big Ten in scoring at 19.7 points per game (21st nationally). She has been honored by the Big Ten in five weekly honors this season. Guirantes was named to the Big Ten Honor Roll and as a Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Honorable Mention with averages of 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 20 total free throws during a 2-0 week for the Scarlet Knights Dec. 2-9. Guirantes is a two-time Big Ten Women's Basketball Player of the Week and three-time B1G Honor Roll listee this season.
IN THE POLLS: Rutgers is once again receiving votes in both the AP (24 points) and and ESPN/USA Today Coaches (5 points) Polls. Rutgers received votes in both polls in Weeks 1-3, 5-8. RU is currently listed No. 44 in the RPI rankings.
D-FENCE: The Scarlet Knights' 11 wins have beem fueled by stifling defense. RU ranks No. 6 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .315 and No. 10 in the nation in scoring defense at 52.1 points allowed per game. RU has held 12 of 13 opponents under its scoring average, and have done the same in 42 of its last 45.
NEW-LOOK KNIGHTS: Rutgers women's basketball enters the 2019-20 season without four of the top five leaders in games started from last winter, while returning 45% of its points and 35% of its rebounds. The eight returning Scarlet Knights (seven letterwinners) make up 29 percent of last year's games started. The projected starting lineup with last year's number of starts in parantheses: Khadaizha Sanders (0 – injury), Arella Guirantes (21), Tekia Mack (2), Mael Gilles (9) and Jordan Wallace (0).
FUTURE IS BRIGHT: C. Vivian Stringer and her staff have secured the No. 8 nationally ranked recruiting class for 2020 according to ESPN, led by the signing of No. 6 ranked prospect Diamond Johnson out of Neumann Goretti in Philadelphia. Blue Star Basketball ranks the class No. 5 in the nation.
• RU has made 22 of its last 24 free throws.
• Arella Guirantes has made 23 straight free throws.• At least two players have scored in double-figures in all 13 games. RU is 8-0 when three or more score in double-digits and 2-0 when five or more accomplish double-figure scoring.
• Nine different Scarlet Knights have scored at least one point on five occasions this season.
• Rutgers is 11-1 when scoring more points in the paint and more points off turnovers than its opponents.
• Guirantes makes the most of her time (1st in Big Ten in minutes per game) - ranking 5th in the nation in free throw attempts (91) and 3rd in the Big Ten in field goal attempts (201).
• Guirantes set new career highs in free throws made and taken in the Towson win, connecting on 11-of-14 from the charity stripe.
• The Scarlet Knights have held 42 of its last 45 opponents under their scoring average. Since the beginning of 2017-18, RU has held 71 of its last 77 opponents under their scoring average.
• The victory at Wisconsin marked Rutgers' fourth comeback for a win after trailing by six points or more this season after erasing a six-point deficit to Georgia Tech, eight points against Harvard, and an 11-point disadvantage to Vanderbilt.
• KK Sanders passed out 16 assists compared to just one turnover over 55 minutes combined in the Southern and Marshall victories.
Rutgers, as a team or individually, is ranked in the Top 25 in the nation in five statistical categories through games played on Dec. 26, including a pair of Top 10 marks in key defensive figures..
• Team: FG% defense (6th - .315)
• Team: Scoring defense (10th - 52.1)
• Arella Guirantes: FT attempts (5th - 91)
• Arella Guirantes: FT made (9th - 70)
• Arella Guirantes: Points/gm (21st - 19.7)
Rutgers visits Illinois on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT).
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Off to their best start to a season since 1990, the Scarlet Knights improved to 5-1 in Big Ten openers last Saturday following a 15-point comeback and a 64-61 victory at Wisconsin. No. 14 Indiana ended Rutgers' seven-game winning streak on New Year's Eve, despite the Scarlet Knights' edge in rebounding, points in the paint and points off turnovers.
| THE SCOUT |
- The Boilermakers (11-3, 2-0) are undefeated at home inside Mackey Arena at 7-0 and start 2-0 in the Big Ten with wins over Ohio State (66-55) and Wisconsin (72-61).
- Two of their losses have come against ranked opponents - No. 22/21 Gonzaga (63-50) and No. 5/6 South Carolina (85-49).
- Ranked fifth in the Big Ten in scoring defense (58.9 points allowed per game), Purdue gets their stops with blocked shots. The Boilermakers rank 11th in the nation with their 72 blocks.
- Ae'Rianna Harris is the all-time leading defensive rebounder in Purdue history, and is 32 away from leading in overall rebounds. She is also the program blocked shots leader. Harris has 8.5 rebounds per game to go with her 12.0 points per contest.
- Karissa McLaughlin leads the team with 12.5 points per game, 19 steals and an .862 mark from the free throw line.
| HEAD-TO-HEAD |
| KNIGHT NOTES |
B1G TIME: C. Vivian Stringer, the all-time winningest coach in Big Ten play with 213 victories, leads the Scarlet Knights into the conference slate one year after RU's most successful season in the league since joining in 2014-15. Rutgers' 13 regular season Big Ten wins, the No. 3 Big Ten Tournament seed and the tourney semifinals finish in '18-19 were all program bests.
PLAYING B1G: Rutgers has owned the paint this season, outscoring opponents by an average of 16.4 points per game down low. The Scarlet Knights are 11-1 this season when outscoring opponents in the paint.
B1G HONORS: Redshirt Jr. guard Arella Guirantes leads the Big Ten in scoring at 19.7 points per game (21st nationally). She has been honored by the Big Ten in five weekly honors this season. Guirantes was named to the Big Ten Honor Roll and as a Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Honorable Mention with averages of 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 20 total free throws during a 2-0 week for the Scarlet Knights Dec. 2-9. Guirantes is a two-time Big Ten Women's Basketball Player of the Week and three-time B1G Honor Roll listee this season.
IN THE POLLS: Rutgers is once again receiving votes in both the AP (24 points) and and ESPN/USA Today Coaches (5 points) Polls. Rutgers received votes in both polls in Weeks 1-3, 5-8. RU is currently listed No. 44 in the RPI rankings.
D-FENCE: The Scarlet Knights' 11 wins have beem fueled by stifling defense. RU ranks No. 6 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .315 and No. 10 in the nation in scoring defense at 52.1 points allowed per game. RU has held 12 of 13 opponents under its scoring average, and have done the same in 42 of its last 45.
NEW-LOOK KNIGHTS: Rutgers women's basketball enters the 2019-20 season without four of the top five leaders in games started from last winter, while returning 45% of its points and 35% of its rebounds. The eight returning Scarlet Knights (seven letterwinners) make up 29 percent of last year's games started. The projected starting lineup with last year's number of starts in parantheses: Khadaizha Sanders (0 – injury), Arella Guirantes (21), Tekia Mack (2), Mael Gilles (9) and Jordan Wallace (0).
FUTURE IS BRIGHT: C. Vivian Stringer and her staff have secured the No. 8 nationally ranked recruiting class for 2020 according to ESPN, led by the signing of No. 6 ranked prospect Diamond Johnson out of Neumann Goretti in Philadelphia. Blue Star Basketball ranks the class No. 5 in the nation.
| TRENDING |
• Arella Guirantes has made 23 straight free throws.• At least two players have scored in double-figures in all 13 games. RU is 8-0 when three or more score in double-digits and 2-0 when five or more accomplish double-figure scoring.
• Nine different Scarlet Knights have scored at least one point on five occasions this season.
• Rutgers is 11-1 when scoring more points in the paint and more points off turnovers than its opponents.
• Guirantes makes the most of her time (1st in Big Ten in minutes per game) - ranking 5th in the nation in free throw attempts (91) and 3rd in the Big Ten in field goal attempts (201).
• Guirantes set new career highs in free throws made and taken in the Towson win, connecting on 11-of-14 from the charity stripe.
• The Scarlet Knights have held 42 of its last 45 opponents under their scoring average. Since the beginning of 2017-18, RU has held 71 of its last 77 opponents under their scoring average.
• The victory at Wisconsin marked Rutgers' fourth comeback for a win after trailing by six points or more this season after erasing a six-point deficit to Georgia Tech, eight points against Harvard, and an 11-point disadvantage to Vanderbilt.
• KK Sanders passed out 16 assists compared to just one turnover over 55 minutes combined in the Southern and Marshall victories.
| NATIONAL RANKS |
• Team: FG% defense (6th - .315)
• Team: Scoring defense (10th - 52.1)
• Arella Guirantes: FT attempts (5th - 91)
• Arella Guirantes: FT made (9th - 70)
• Arella Guirantes: Points/gm (21st - 19.7)
| UP NEXT |
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
- RU -
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F/G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballWomen’s Basketball Post Game Press Conference - Oregon
Thursday, January 29
Women’s Basketball Post Game Press Conference - Washington
Monday, January 26
Women’s Basketball Post Game Press Conference - Michigan
Friday, January 23
Women’s Basketball Post Game Press Conference - Maryland
Friday, January 09
