ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands – Osh Brown led another Rutgers women's basketball second-half comeback with a 20-point, 20-rebound double-double, but this fight back fell short with a 77-74 loss to DePaul on Thanksgiving Day to begin the Paradise Jam at the University of the Virgin Islands.
 
The Scarlet Knights (4-2) nearly erased an 18-point deficit for the second consecutive game with a 27-point third quarter, but the final game-tying attempt at the buzzer fell short, as did the comeback attempt. DePaul improved to 4-1.
 
Brown's 20-20 double-double was the first of its kind in her storied collegiate career. She had 12 offensive rebounds to help Rutgers score 19 second-chance points in the game, while scoring 14 of her 20 points during the second-half comeback.
 
Victoria Morris hit two 3-pointers in the second half as part of her 19 points, a season-high. Shug Dickson made her Rutgers debut after missing the first five games, contributing impact minutes with eight points, four boards, and a team-high three assists.
 
RU shot a season-best .424 from the floor and outrebounded an opponent (45-43) for the sixth-straight game to start the season. The Blue Demons' advantages were on the fast break (34-15) and scoring 21 points off 20 Scarlet Knight miscues.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Tyia Singleton and Awa Sidibe each scored four points, but DePaul gained the early edge shooting 69% from the field for a 24-14 lead.
• Shug Dickson scored her first Rutgers points early in the second, then contributed to a 6-0 run to help cut the Blue Devil lead to 38-26 midway through the second. Sidibe had eight at the break as RU used a 10-3 run to end the first half.
• Rutgers put together its most productive third quarter of the season, netting 27 points and cutting a once-18-point DePaul lead down to one possession at 60-57 after three. A 10-4 Rutgers run was highlighted by a four-point play as Victoria Morris missed the free throw on her and-one bucket before Osh Brown came up with the putback.
• DePaul increased its lead to eight at 67-59 before Brown and Tyia Singleton scored back-to-back second-chance buckets. At the midway point, Morris scored five points in a row to get as close as Rutgers had been all game, 72-70. Both teams went scoreless for two minutes before DePaul scored just enough to fight off a Brown bucket and two Morris free throws down the stretch.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Rutgers won the Paradise Jam three times in 2004, 2009, and 2015 with Michelle Campbell, Brittany Ray, and Kahleah Copper taking tournament MVP honors in respective years.
• Osh Brown's 20-20 double-double is Rutgers' first since Betnijah Laney scored 24 with 24 rebounds against UNC on Dec. 4, 2014 in a game that went to double-overtime. Laney had 21 points and 20 rebounds at the end of regulation in that game.
• Rutgers has outrebounded opponents in all six games this season.
• Shug Dickson made her Rutgers debut and scored her first RU points. Freshman Kierra Sanderlin also recorded her first collegiate points in the contest.
• Osh Brown grabbed double-digit rebounds for the 63^rd in her career. She is the NCAA Division I active career leader with 1,179 rebounds.
• Osh Brown reached 20 points for the 24^th time in her college career.
• Awa Sidibe records her second Division I double-digit game in consecutive contests after transferring from junior college Salt Lake.
• Victoria Morris records double-digit scoring for the 71^st time.
• Rutgers has held all six opponents this season under their scoring averages, stretching that trend to 24 of the last 25 games and 111 in the last 120 dating back to 2017.
• For the first time this season, Rutgers repeated a starting lineup, sending out Jailyn Mason, Victoria Morris, Awa Sidibe, Lasha Petree, and Osh Brown for the second game in a row.
• DePaul evened the all-time series at 5-5 and have now one both neutral-site games in the series.

SOUND OFF

Acting head coach Timothy Eatman: "I want to give DePaul credit. They were aggressive and that kept us on our heels, and we couldn't attack. In the second half, we fought back and competed. We played with spirit and heart once again, but we have to rebound the basketball better all over the floor."
 
Eatman on Osh Brown: "Osh is a warrior. She plays hard and is relentless going downhill. I'm so happy for her because she's reaping the benefits of how hard she works at practice. Anytime a player works that hard, that consistently, you're going to have a great chance to find success."

UP NEXT

Rutgers plays Game 2 of the Paradise Jam against Vanderbilt on Friday, Nov. 26 at 1 p.m. ET (2 p.m. local).


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