PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Feb. 27, 2020) – Rutgers women's basketball (20-8, 10-7) put together a 20-point team victory to mark its 20
th win of the season, defeating Wisconsin (11-18, 3-15) by a score of 63-43 at the RAC on Thursday night in the penultimate game of the 2019-20 regular season.
The Scarlet Knights rode three double-digit scorers, a plus-13 rebounding advantage and a team-first passing mentality to the victory. Rutgers' first 13 baskets came off assists in the victory and they ended with 16 assists on 19 field goals.
The triumph gives head coach
C. Vivian Stringer her 37
th official 20-win season, which is now the most all-time in women's college basketball – surpassing the late, great Pat Summitt.
"This was a Rutgers win, a true Scarlet Knight victory," said Coach Stringer. "I love Pat dearly, so it's great company to be in. In the end, it's a milestone. The important thing was we took care of business tonight in a whole-team and defensive win, beating a team by 20 that we only beat by three earlier this season. We needed this."
Fresh off her career-high 36 points,
Arella Guirantes followed it up with a cool 26 – powered by a school record setting performance at the free throw line. Guirantes was a perfect 14-of-14 from the charity stripe, a new program record for makes without a miss in a single game. As a team, Rutgers was 20-of-23 (87 percent) from the line in the win.
- Guirantes coupled her 26 points with six boards, two assists, two steals and a block.
- Mael Gilles netted 13 on 5-of-10 shooting, including a 3-of-5 mark from the beyond arc. She added eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 29 minutes of action.
- Jordan Wallace was the third Scarlet Knight in double-figures, scoring 12 on a 5-of-8 mark from the floor to go with five boards.
- Khadaizha Sanders passed out seven assists, joining her six rebounds and three steals.
- Both teams shot under 37 percent, with the difference coming from Wisconsin's .308 grade from the floor on Thursday.
As Wisconsin's game-long struggles continued in the late third quarter to the tune of a 1-of-9 stretch from the field, Jordan Wallace got herself in double-figures and handed Rutgers its first double-digit lead of the game. Rutgers is now 11-1 this season with Wallace in double-digits, a stat the Scarlet Knights would support by carrying the momentum into the fourth on an 11-2 run.
- Rutgers' offense was sluggish out of the gate, going 1-of-4 with four turnovers during the first four minutes. The defense kept them in the game, keeping Wisconsin in a similar cold stretch. Wallace, who started the RU scoring, finished the quarter with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting. Mael Gilles scored Rutgers' last four points of the quarter, including a floater from the baseline on their last possession with 25 seconds left.
- The Badgers' offensive woes continued into the second, when Rutgers held them scoreless for 2:45 during a 1-of-8 stretch from the floor in which RU went ahead 18-14 on Guirantes' three-pointer and Wallace's second chance bucket.
- Mack attacked the rack in the third, scoring Rutgers' first seven points in the period for the Scarlet Knights' largest lead of the game. Another Guirantes trey pushed the lead to nine. Meanwhile, Wisconsin finished the third 1-of-9 as Wallace laid in a bucket for the 41-30 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
- Guirantes lit up the scoreboard in the fourth, continuing a perfect night at the free throw line and scoring 10 of her points in the first five minutes of the final period to push Rutgers quickly to an 18-point lead at 52-34. Gilles hit triples on back-to-back possessions around the 4:30 mark to push the lead over 20, allowing RU to coast to its 20th win of the season.
- The victory gives Hall of Fame head coach C. Vivian Stringer her 37th 20-win season, which is now the all-time record for most 20-win seasons in a career – breaking a tie with former Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt.
- Guirantes hit 14-of-14 from the free throw line, a new Rutgers program record for makes without a miss. It also broke the RAC record by four shots (previous RAC record was 10-of-10).
- The last Big Ten player to go perfect from the line with at least 14 attempts is from more than three years ago - Wisconsin's Cayla McMorris (14-of-14) vs. Ohio State on Feb. 4, 2017.
- Rutgers holds at 66.4 points scored per game, the fifth most offensively productive offense for the Scarlet Knights during the C. Vivian Stringer era (since 1995). The four higher scoring average teams all made the NCAA Tournament (in '98, '99, '03 and '15).
- Guirantes now has 13 20-or-more point performances this season, and 17 for her career. She leads the Big Ten with
- Rutgers' home record improves to 13-2 this season and 39-7 over the last three seasons for an .848 winning percentage.
- Rutgers outscored Wisconsin 15-9 in points off turnovers, marking the 24th time in 28 games RU has outscored opponents off miscues.
- Ranking No. 17 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .348, Rutgers boosted its ranking by allowing .308 against Wisconsin.
- Holding the Badgers 22 points under their 65.5 season scoring average, Rutgers has held 26 of 28 opponents this season under their scoring median and in 56 of the last 60 dating back to the start of last season.
- Jordan Wallace has scored 9+ in five of her last seven games. Rutgers improves to 11-1 when she scores in double-figures.
With one game remaining in the regular season, Rutgers stands in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Big Ten. Rutgers can finish between fifth and seventh. If Rutgers, Michigan and Ohio State remain tied at the end of the regular season, Rutgers will come out of that group as the No. 5 seed.
The Scarlet Knights conclude the 2019-20 regular season at home on Sunday, March 1 against No. 18/20 Iowa at the RAC at 12 noon on Senior Day.
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