PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Feb. 16, 2020) – Rutgers women's basketball (18-7, 8-6) used four double-digit scorers to post a 62-41 victory over Michigan (16-9, 7-7) on Sunday at the RAC to break a tie for sixth place in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights move into a tie for fifth in the conference with four regular season games remaining.
The Scarlet Knights led for 32 of the 40 minutes and iced the 21-point win by holding the Wolverines scoreless for 9:28 of game clock from the end of the third into most of the fourth quarter.
"There's no doubt this was a must-win game," said head coach
C. Vivian Stringer. "It was the biggest game of the year, and we won it by playing together. Michigan is a very good basketball team and we did everything we needed to do to beat a team of that quality. Four players in double-digits, rebounding and defense. That's what it took."
The win avoided a season sweep by the Wolverines after Michigan claimed a victory in Ann Arbor on Jan. 26 by a score of 71-57. In that game, Michigan had advantages in rebounding (34-28), points off turnovers (18-9) and points in the paint (40-26). Rutgers flipped the script at home, keeping Michigan to 22 points in the paint and winning the rebound battle, 38-32, and points off turnovers, 23-12, on Sunday.
Michigan's Naz Hillmon, a 17.1 points-per-game performer, managed just five points at the RAC on 2-of-8 shooting in 29 minutes.
- Arella Guirantes led all scorers with 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting with a three-pointer, a 9-of-11 mark from the free throw line, four boards, four assists, a steal and two blocks.
- Mael Gilles posted her highest career Big Ten point output with 14, shooting 6-of-11 with two 3's, six rebounds, three steals and a career-high four blocks.
- Tekia Mack added 12 with a pair of triples to go with four rebounds and a team-high four steals.
- Khadaizha Sanders netted 10 with three assists compared to just one turnover while playing all 40 minutes.
- Gilles, Sanders and Guirantes all played the entire 40 minutes on Sunday.
Rutgers' 14-2 run into the second quarter handed the home team a lead it would not relinquish. However, it was the statement bridging the third to fourth quarters that left the lasting impact. The Scarlet Knights held the Wolverines scoreless for nine and a half minutes and pushed the lead to 20-plus in front of a raucous and pink-clad RAC faithful.
- Despite a 2-for-10 start from the field, Rutgers remained tied at 5-5 at the first media timeout thanks to causing two Michigan turnovers. Tekia Mack and KK Sanders had the Rutgers buckets. Rutgers' full-court press left Michigan just two seconds to get the ball over midcourt, and the long pass was intercepted by Mack, who dished to Guirantes on the fast break. On the final possession of the quarter, Guirantes was fouled taking a three and made 2-of-3 from the line to hand RU the 16-10 lead at the end of one.
- RU extended a 14-2 run into the second quarter with Sanders' slashing layup. Michigan missed eight straight shots as Gilles' swipe and lay-in gave Rutgers its largest lead at 22-13. Right before half, Gilles scored again before Guirantes made a free throw and blocked Michigan's buzzer-beater attempt to set the halftime score at 30-21 in favor of the Scarlet Knights.
- Michigan's three-minute scoring drought allowed Rutgers to stretch the lead to 14 behind Guirantes shooting from the floor and the foul line. The Wolverines ended a five-minute period without a field goal to get the deficit to 10, but Guirantes step-back jumper and Mack's floater each were true to force a Wolverine timeout with RU up 42-28 with 3:29 to play in the third.
- Mack and Guirantes knocked down triples on back-to-back possessions surrounding a defensive stop to cement a 52-33 lead with 8:01 to go, prompting a Michigan timeout. The Wolverines were frustrated on offense, managing their first fourth-quarter points with 2:31 to go in the game.
- Rutgers leads the all-time series over Michigan 6-3 and 5-3 as Big Ten opponents. In their ninth meeting, 41 points is Michigan's lowest total in the series by nine points.
- The victory marks Rutgers highest RPI win of the season as it stands. Michigan is No. 33.
- Naz Hillmon (17.1 points, 8.6 rebounds per game) was held to five points and four rebounds.
- Guirantes produced her 11th 20-point game of the season, and 15th of her career.
- RU is 37-7 over the past three seasons at the RAC.
- Rutgers is ranked No. 8 in the nation in field goal percentage defense, which received a boost by allowing just a .300 Michigan average from the floor during Sunday's win.
- Rutgers last had four players in double-figures in a win against Nebraska on Jan. 12 (Guirantes, Sanders, Mack and Jordan Wallace).
- Rutgers held Michigan to 22 points in the paint after allowing 40 in a loss in Ann Arbor on Jan. 26.
- Rutgers outscored Michigan 23-12 in points off turnovers, marking the 22nd time in 25 games RU has outscored opponents off miscues.
- Rutgers has had at least two double-digit scorers in 24 of 25 games and improve to 16-2 when three or more score in double-figures.
- RU has swiped double-digit steals in eight of its last 12 games and improve to 11-2 this season in games with 10 or more steals. They had 11 against Michigan.
- Holding Michigan 31 points under its 72.2 season scoring average, Rutgers has held 24 of 25 opponents this season under their scoring medians and in 54 of the last 57 dating back to the start of 2018-19.
- KK Sanders is now three assists away from becoming the 10th player in Rutgers history with 400 career assists.
With four games remaining in the regular season, Rutgers stands in a tie for fifth place in the Big Ten with Ohio State, who visits the RAC on Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. The top four seeds receive a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament in March, while seeds 5-10 secure a single bye. Seeds 5 and 6 play their first game against a team that played in the opening round.
The Scarlet Knights play their final road game of the regular season at No. 19/21 Northwestern on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. ET (7 CT).
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