Thursday, February 6
Piscataway, N.J.
7:00 PM (ET)
Rutgers University
vs
Penn State
Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)
Game 22: Women's Hoops vs. Penn State
Feb 05 | Women's Basketball
Scarlet Knights look for third season sweep of Nittany Lions since joining the Big Ten
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Feb. 5, 2020) - Rutgers women's basketball (16-5, 6-4) hosts Penn State (7-15, 1-10) in the final leg of a home-and-home season series at the RAC on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.
The Scarlet Knights are 9-2 at home this season and 35-7 over the last three seasons at the RAC. The home-court advantage helped fuel a 15-2 start to the year, Rutgers' best opening to a season since the 1990-91 squad began 16-1 on their way to the NCAA Tournament. Rutgers is seeking its third season sweep of the Nittany Lions since joining the Big Ten for the 2014-15 season.
B1G TIME: C. Vivian Stringer, the all-time winningest coach in Big Ten play with 218 victories, leads the Scarlet Knights through the conference slate one year after RU's most successful season in the league since joining in '14-15. Rutgers' 13 regular season Big Ten wins, the No. 3 B1G Tournament seed and the tourney semis finish in '18-19 were all program bests.
STATE OF SUCCESS: Boosted by a 15-2 start to the season - Rutgers' best to open a campaign since the 1990-91 squad started 16-1 - the Scarlet Knights have clinched their third straight winning regular season and 16th in the last 17 years under Hall of Fame head coach C. Vivian Stringer.
AG1K: Redshirt Jr. guard Arella Guirantes is the second leading scorer in the Big Ten at 19.4 points per game (19th nationally). Amid a 16-point third quarter against Michigan State on Jan. 20, Guirantes became the 39th player in Rutgers history to score her 1,000th career point in a Scarlet Knight uniform. She scored 288 at Texas Tech as a freshman, 386 as a redshirt sophomore at Rutgers, and 388 this season "On the Banks." She has been honored in six Big Ten weekly awards this year, twice as the Big Ten Player of the Week and four times on the weekly honor roll.
TRAPEZOID OF TERROR: Since the 2002-03 season, the Scarlet Knights have gone 214-50 (.810) at the RAC. RU is 35-7 (.833) over the last three seasons at home, finished out 2018-19 at 13-2 and started this season 9-2.
PLAYING B1G: Rutgers has owned the paint this season, outscoring opponents by an average of 15.0 points per game down low. The Scarlet Knights are 16-3 this season when outscoring opponents in the paint. RU has outrebounded 11 of its last 15 opponents and ranks fourth in the B1G in average rebounding margin at +4.0.
RESUME BUILDING: Rutgers has received votes in 11 of 13 AP Top 25 Polls this season. RU is currently listed No. 46 in the RPI rankings with victories over No. 33 Purdue and No. 45 Virginia, with losses to No. 13 Indiana, No. 21 LSU and No. 40 Michigan.
D-FENCE: The Scarlet Knights' 16 wins have been fueled by stifling defense. RU ranks No. 6 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .335 and No. 15 in the nation in scoring defense at 55.0 points allowed per game. RU, who leads the Big Ten in points allowed and field goal percentage defense, has held 20 of 21 opponents under its scoring average, while doing the same in 50 of its last 53 dating back to last season.
NEW-LOOK KNIGHTS: Rutgers women's basketball entered the 2019-20 season without four of the top five leaders in games started from last winter, returning 45% of its points and 35% 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 is coming off its first double-overtime game since Dec. 5, 2016. Rutgers fell to 6-5 in double-OT games all-time.
• After averaging 12.6 minutes and 3.1 points per game over her first 16 contests, Zipporah Broughton has averaged 31.6 minutes over the past three games and averaged 7.0 points per contest over that span.
• Illinois' .264 shooting last Thursday was RU's lowest field goal percentage allowed in a Big Ten game since Michigan managed a mark of .262 on 2/8/15.
• Rutgers has swiped double-digit steals in five of the last seven games and are 9-2 this season in games with 10 or more steals.
• KK Sanders is 12 assists away from becoming the 10th player in RU history with 400.
• Rutgers' four turnovers vs. Michigan State was its lowest in a game since five against Wisconsin on Jan. 7, 2016.
• At least two players have scored in double-figures in 20 of 21 games. RU is 14-2 when three or more score in double-digits.
• Rutgers is 16-3 when scoring more points in the paint and more points off turnovers.
• The Scarlet Knights have held 50 of its last 53 opponents under their scoring average. Since the beginning of 2017-18, RU has held 79 of its last 85 opponents under their scoring average.
Rutgers, as a team or individually, is ranked in the Top 25 in the nation in four statistical categories through games played on Feb. 4, including a pair of Top 15 marks in key defensive figures.
• Team: FG% defense (6th - .335)
• Team: Scoring defense (15th - 55.0)
• Arella Guirantes: Points/gm (19th - 19.4)
• Arella Guirantes: FG attempts (23rd - 335)
Rutgers heads to the DMV to face No. 13/12 Maryland in a Big Ten road game on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 12 noon ET.
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Scarlet Knights are 9-2 at home this season and 35-7 over the last three seasons at the RAC. The home-court advantage helped fuel a 15-2 start to the year, Rutgers' best opening to a season since the 1990-91 squad began 16-1 on their way to the NCAA Tournament. Rutgers is seeking its third season sweep of the Nittany Lions since joining the Big Ten for the 2014-15 season.
| ON THE AIR |
- Watch on BTN+ (Play-by-play: Lou Brogno, Color: Tim Catalfamo)
- Listen on WCTC 1450 AM (Play-by-play: Ralph Bednarczyk, Color: Mark Peterson)
- Listen on WRSU 88.7 FM (Play-by-play: Brant Wolff and Randy DeGregorio)
| PROMOTIONS |
- Student For a Day - Tickets starting at $10 for general seating in the student section.
| THE SCOUT |
- The Nittany Lions (7-15, 1-10) earned its lone Big Ten victory of the season against Michigan State on Jan. 9.
- Four of Penn State's wins this season have come over 2019 NCAA Tournament teams.
- Junior Kamaria McDaniel is the Big Ten's leading scorer with 19.9 points per game, a mark that also ranks 15th nationally. Senior Siyeh Frazier (12.7 ppg) is also averaging double-digit points.
- Penn State ranks 12th nationally in free throws made (322) and 27th in free throws attempted (442) as of Feb. 5.
| HEAD-TO-HEAD |
| KNIGHT NOTES |
STATE OF SUCCESS: Boosted by a 15-2 start to the season - Rutgers' best to open a campaign since the 1990-91 squad started 16-1 - the Scarlet Knights have clinched their third straight winning regular season and 16th in the last 17 years under Hall of Fame head coach C. Vivian Stringer.
AG1K: Redshirt Jr. guard Arella Guirantes is the second leading scorer in the Big Ten at 19.4 points per game (19th nationally). Amid a 16-point third quarter against Michigan State on Jan. 20, Guirantes became the 39th player in Rutgers history to score her 1,000th career point in a Scarlet Knight uniform. She scored 288 at Texas Tech as a freshman, 386 as a redshirt sophomore at Rutgers, and 388 this season "On the Banks." She has been honored in six Big Ten weekly awards this year, twice as the Big Ten Player of the Week and four times on the weekly honor roll.
TRAPEZOID OF TERROR: Since the 2002-03 season, the Scarlet Knights have gone 214-50 (.810) at the RAC. RU is 35-7 (.833) over the last three seasons at home, finished out 2018-19 at 13-2 and started this season 9-2.
PLAYING B1G: Rutgers has owned the paint this season, outscoring opponents by an average of 15.0 points per game down low. The Scarlet Knights are 16-3 this season when outscoring opponents in the paint. RU has outrebounded 11 of its last 15 opponents and ranks fourth in the B1G in average rebounding margin at +4.0.
RESUME BUILDING: Rutgers has received votes in 11 of 13 AP Top 25 Polls this season. RU is currently listed No. 46 in the RPI rankings with victories over No. 33 Purdue and No. 45 Virginia, with losses to No. 13 Indiana, No. 21 LSU and No. 40 Michigan.
D-FENCE: The Scarlet Knights' 16 wins have been fueled by stifling defense. RU ranks No. 6 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .335 and No. 15 in the nation in scoring defense at 55.0 points allowed per game. RU, who leads the Big Ten in points allowed and field goal percentage defense, has held 20 of 21 opponents under its scoring average, while doing the same in 50 of its last 53 dating back to last season.
NEW-LOOK KNIGHTS: Rutgers women's basketball entered the 2019-20 season without four of the top five leaders in games started from last winter, returning 45% of its points and 35% 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 |
• After averaging 12.6 minutes and 3.1 points per game over her first 16 contests, Zipporah Broughton has averaged 31.6 minutes over the past three games and averaged 7.0 points per contest over that span.
• Illinois' .264 shooting last Thursday was RU's lowest field goal percentage allowed in a Big Ten game since Michigan managed a mark of .262 on 2/8/15.
• Rutgers has swiped double-digit steals in five of the last seven games and are 9-2 this season in games with 10 or more steals.
• KK Sanders is 12 assists away from becoming the 10th player in RU history with 400.
• Rutgers' four turnovers vs. Michigan State was its lowest in a game since five against Wisconsin on Jan. 7, 2016.
• At least two players have scored in double-figures in 20 of 21 games. RU is 14-2 when three or more score in double-digits.
• Rutgers is 16-3 when scoring more points in the paint and more points off turnovers.
• The Scarlet Knights have held 50 of its last 53 opponents under their scoring average. Since the beginning of 2017-18, RU has held 79 of its last 85 opponents under their scoring average.
| NATIONAL RANKS |
• Team: FG% defense (6th - .335)
• Team: Scoring defense (15th - 55.0)
• Arella Guirantes: Points/gm (19th - 19.4)
• Arella Guirantes: FG attempts (23rd - 335)
| UP NEXT |
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Players Mentioned
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