PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Feb. 6, 2020) – Rutgers women's basketball (17-5, 7-4) overpowered Penn State (7-16, 1-11) by a score of 72-39 on Thursday evening at the RAC to sweep the season series.
The Scarlet Knights dominated every facet of a game that Rutgers led for 37 of the 40 minutes. RU secured significant advantages in rebounds (42-19) – its highest margin ever in a Big Ten game – along with points in the paint (40-22), off turnovers (24-9) and second chance (20-2) thanks to 14 offensive boards.
Rutgers shot 52 percent from the floor while the No. 6 ranked field goal percentage defensive unit tamed the Nittany Lions to 32 percent shooting. Penn State's 39 points was Rutgers' second lowest allowed since joining the Big Ten.
- It was 24 points for #24 Arella Guirantes, who led all scorers in produced her fourth double-double of the year with 10 rebounds. She shot 7-of-9 from the floor, 9-of-12 from the line, and added four assists, a steal and two blocks.
- Jordan Wallace was nearly perfect on the shooting end, going 6-of-7 for 12 points.
- Khadaizha Sanders cracked double-digits for the 16th time this year with 10 points to go with three assists.
- Tekia Mack produced game-high marks of 11 rebounds and seven assists, with the seven helpers going down as a new career high – surpassing her previous best of six from earlier this season against Marshall.
- Zipporah Broughton earned her first start of the season, poured in nine points and thieved a career-high five steals.
- In just 12 minutes, Maori Davenport accounted for a +19 while she was on the court with solid defense, four points and five rebounds.
Penn State hung around into the second quarter, when Rutgers turned on the jets and kept them on full blast until the final buzzer. The second period opened on a 13-0 run powered by Guirantes' personal nine-point streak, a double-digit lead and all the confidence Rutgers needed to cruise to a significant victory at home.
- Zipporah Broughton hit a smooth corner three to spark a 9-0 Rutgers run, capped by Guirantes' second-chance bucket for an early 11-6 lead. A low-scoring opening period ended with Penn State on a scoring drought of 3:30 before a shot clock buzzer beater set Rutgers' slim lead at 14-12.
- Guirantes scored nine unanswered points to start the second quarter, pushing Rutgers to a 13-0 spurt and its first double-digit advantage of the contest. The Scarlet Knights' shooting cooled off from a torrid pace to start the frame, ending on a 2:42 scoreless stretch and allowed Penn State to cut the deficit to nine at halftime on a 6-0 scoring run.
- Guirantes reached the 20-point mark with 5:57 to play in the third and handing Rutgers another double-digit lead. She chipped into a 19-2 run, stamped by Rutgers' 15 straight points to nearly double up Penn State, 50-26. Mael Gilles beat the third quarter horn with her first points of the game – sealing a 52-29 Rutgers edge heading to the fourth.
- The Scarlet Knights kept their foot on the gas in the fourth as seven different Scarlet Knights netted points, led by four apiece from centers Jordan Wallace and Maori Davenport.
- Rutgers leads the all-time series over Penn State, 28-18, dating back to 1977. RU is ahead 9-1 as Big Ten opponents and have won 10 of the last 11 overall. The Scarlet Knights own three season sweeps of the Nittany Lions since joining the Big Ten for the 2014-15 season.
- RU's +23 rebounding (42-19) margin was the program's highest in a Big Ten game since joining the conference in 2014-15.
- Penn State's 39 points was Rutgers' second lowest allowed since joining the Big Ten. It was the lowest allowed since Illinois' 37 in 2018.
- Rutgers held the Big Ten's leading scorer Kamaria McDaniel (19.9 points per game) to eight points through three quarters.
- Guirantes produced her 10th 20-point game of the season, and 14th of her career. It was her fourth double-double of the season, and seventh of her career.
- RU is 36-7 over the past three seasons at the RAC.
- Rutgers outscored Penn State 40-22 in the paint, marking the 20th time in 22 games RU has outscored foes in the stripe this season. Rutgers has outscored opponents by an average of 15.4 points per game over that run.
- Rutgers outscored Penn State 24-9 in points off turnovers, marking the 20th time in 22 games RU has outscored opponents off miscues.
- Rutgers has out rebounded opponents by an average of 12 over the past three games, including margins of 20 against Illinois and 23 against Penn State.
- Rutgers has had at least two double-digit scorers in 21 of 22 games and improve to 15-2 when three or more score in double-figures.
- RU has swiped double-digit steals in six of its last eight games and improve to 10-2 this season in games with 10 or more steals.
- Holding Penn State 29 points under its 68.1 season scoring average, Rutgers has held 21 of 22 opponents this season under their scoring medians and in 51 of the last 54 dating back to the start of 2018-19.
- Zipporah Broughton earned her first start of the year and fourth of her career after getting three as a freshman last season.
- KK Sanders is now nine assists away from becoming the 10th player in Rutgers history with 400 career assists.
- With six games remaining in the regular season, Rutgers stands in fifth place in the Big Ten. The top four seeds receive a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament in March, while seeds 5-10 secure a single bye.
The Scarlet Knights play two games away from Piscataway – at No. 13/12 Maryland on Sunday, Feb. 9 at noon and at Michigan State on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.
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