MADISON, Wis. – Rutgers women's basketball (2-0, 1-0) boasted four scorers in double-digits while the defense grabbed 22 steals in a 70-65 Big Ten road victory at Wisconsin (1-2, 0-2) on Friday evening in the Kohl Center.
 
The Scarlet Knights opened the conference season with a win on the back of turning 27 Badger turnovers into 27 points. The staunch defensive effort made up for less-than-ideal 36 percent shooting mark from the field.
 
"Our team had high spirits and were supportive of each other, and that's going to be the key," head coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "We were glad to get that win. We had veteran players that were able to play the press, putting pressure on Wisconsin and stepping it up throughout the game. They are an excellent shooting team, so we tried to take them out of their rhythm."
 

Zipporah Broughton led all scorers on Friday with 18, one short of a career-high, while leading the thievery with a career-high six steals. Freshman Diamond Johnson notched a young-career-high of 17, topping her 15 from the Nov. 27 debut and adding six rebounds. Arella Guirantes was 10-of-11 from the free throw line, helping her to 16 points to go with her team-high nine boards. Tekia Mack rounded out the quartet of double-figure scorers with 11, adding five steals in the process.
 
Rutgers survived some early shooting woes. The Badgers edged ahead as RU was stuck in an 0-of-8 drought in the first quarter. Wisconsin led by four midway through the second quarter before the Scarlet Knights put together five points in 11 seconds off a pair of turnovers, capped by Diamond Johnson's three-point play off Arella Guirantes' steal.
 
With two minutes left in the contest, Wisconsin rode a 4-of-4 stretch while Rutgers slipped into an 0-of-4 slide as the Badgers got within two possessions at 65-61. Tekia Mack had three points, two from the field and one from the line to maintain the slim lead down the stretch.
 
The Scarlet Knights return home to host No. 12 Maryland on Monday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. on Big Ten Network+.
 
KNIGHT NOTES

• For the second straight game to start the season, C. Vivian Stringer rolled out a starting lineup consisting of Arella Guirantes, Tekia Mack, Mael Gilles, Zipporah Broughton and Tyia Singleton.
• Rutgers has won four consecutive Big Ten openers and moves to 6-1 in conference openers since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15.
• Rutgers' 22 steals were the most in a single-game since 23 against FDU in December 2017 and tying the most in a Big Ten contest with 22 from a Penn State win from 2015.
• Rutgers has held both opponents this season under their scoring average (Wisconsin 75.5), adding up to 89 of its last 97.
• One season after setting a Rutgers record in free throws made with 171, Arella Guirantes starts this year 16-of-17 from the stripe (94 percent).