Thursday, January 9
Urbana-Champaign, Ill.
8:00 PM (ET)
Rutgers University
at
Illinois
Photo by: Ben Solomon
Game 15: Women's Hoops at Illinois
Jan 08 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J.. - Rutgers women's basketball (12-2, 2-1) has their second straight road game, as they will travel to face Illinois (9-5, 0-3). The game will be at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, Jan. 9 at the State Farm Center
The Scarlet Knights have won seven of their past eight games following a 59-53 win Sunday at Purdue. Arella Guirantes shot 8-of-13, including 4-of-4 behind the arc, to register a game-high 22 points while pacing four Scarlet Knights in double figures. Rutgers was 10-of-11 at the charity stripe, including a perfect 6-of-6 with less than :30 seconds remaining, to secure its second Big Ten road win in as many attempts this season.
SERIES HISTORY: Rutgers leads the all-time series against the Illini 5-1. In the last meeting, Rutgers won 71-60 on Jan. 9. 2019. The Scarlet Knights have won two straight, and are 2-1 all-time in Champaign.
HISTORIC START: Rutgers opened with an 11-2 record, 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 214 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 12-1 this season when outscoring opponents in the paint.
EYES ON GUIRANTES: Redshirt Jr. guard Arella Guirantes leads the Big Ten in scoring at 19.8 points per game (18th nationally). She is also the team's leading rebounder at 7.2 per game and paces the team in bloccks (1.15), minutes (35.23) and free throw percentage (77.4). 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 and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls. Rutgers received votes in both polls in Weeks 1-3, 5-8.
D-FENCE: The Scarlet Knights' 12 wins have been fueled by stifling defense. RU ranks No. 6 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .320 and No. 6 in the nation in scoring defense at 52.1 points allowed per game. RU has held 13 of 14 opponents under its scoring average, and have done the same in 43 of its last 46.
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 parentheses: 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 32 of its last 35 free throws.
• Arella Guirantes has made 25 straight free throws.
• At least two players have scored in double-figures in all 14 games. RU is 9-0 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 12-1 when scoring more points in the paint and more points off turnovers than its opponents.
• 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 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, including a pair of Top 10 marks in key defensive figures..
• Team: FG% defense (6th - .321)
• Team: Scoring defense (6th - 52.1)
• Arella Guirantes: FT attempts (14th - 93)
• Arella Guirantes: FT made (11th - 72)
• Arella Guirantes: Points/gm (21st - 19.7)
Rutgers returns home to host Nebraska on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. It will be Father-Daughter Day and Letterwinners Day- Presented by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Scarlet Knights have won seven of their past eight games following a 59-53 win Sunday at Purdue. Arella Guirantes shot 8-of-13, including 4-of-4 behind the arc, to register a game-high 22 points while pacing four Scarlet Knights in double figures. Rutgers was 10-of-11 at the charity stripe, including a perfect 6-of-6 with less than :30 seconds remaining, to secure its second Big Ten road win in as many attempts this season.
| THE SCOUT |
- The Illini are 9-5 overall, with a 9-2 non-conference mark denoting the program's best 11-game start since the 2006-07 season.
- Winless in Big Ten play thus far, they most recently dropped an 83-42 decision to No. 12 Indiana.
- Redshirt-junior Petra Holešínská leads Illinois in scoring at 14.1 points per game, thanks in part to a .471 three-point shooting percentage that leads the Big Ten.
| KNIGHT NOTES |
HISTORIC START: Rutgers opened with an 11-2 record, 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 214 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 12-1 this season when outscoring opponents in the paint.
EYES ON GUIRANTES: Redshirt Jr. guard Arella Guirantes leads the Big Ten in scoring at 19.8 points per game (18th nationally). She is also the team's leading rebounder at 7.2 per game and paces the team in bloccks (1.15), minutes (35.23) and free throw percentage (77.4). 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 and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls. Rutgers received votes in both polls in Weeks 1-3, 5-8.
D-FENCE: The Scarlet Knights' 12 wins have been fueled by stifling defense. RU ranks No. 6 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .320 and No. 6 in the nation in scoring defense at 52.1 points allowed per game. RU has held 13 of 14 opponents under its scoring average, and have done the same in 43 of its last 46.
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 parentheses: 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 25 straight free throws.
• At least two players have scored in double-figures in all 14 games. RU is 9-0 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 12-1 when scoring more points in the paint and more points off turnovers than its opponents.
• 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 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 - .321)
• Team: Scoring defense (6th - 52.1)
• Arella Guirantes: FT attempts (14th - 93)
• Arella Guirantes: FT made (11th - 72)
• Arella Guirantes: Points/gm (21st - 19.7)
| UP NEXT |
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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