MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Rutgers women's basketball (9-17, 2-12) won its second consecutive Big Ten game with a 79-61 victory at Minnesota (12-15, 5-10) on Thursday night at Williams Arena, marking the Scarlet Knights' first win in Minneapolis in its fifth try.
The Scarlet Knights took the lead for good midway through the second quarter with a 14-0 run en route to a 79-point output, their highest of the 2021-22 season. Rutgers led by as many as 24 in the fourth quarter, avenging a 61-49 Minnesota win on Jan. 6 of this season in Piscataway.
Lasha Petree led all scorers with a season-high 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Osh Brown notched double-double No. 10 on the year with 12 points and 11 rebounds, good for her NCAA active-leaving 59
th of her career.
Tyia Singleton (12 points) and
Shug Dickson (10 points) were the third and fourth Scarlet Knights in double-figures, while
Sayawni Lassiter paced the offense with five assists to go with her seven points.
Rutgers owned nearly every phase of the game with a +16 margin in rebounding, outshooting the Gophers 48 to 30 percent, dominating points in the paint, 28-8, and outscoring Minnesota, 12-0, on the fast break. Rutgers committed a season-low 10 turnovers in the victory.
- Lasha Petree scored eight in the first period. Minnesota knocked down consecutive threes to close the period to lead 15-13.
- Minnesota missed its final nine shots of the second as Rutgers went on a 14-0 run into halftime with the 33-22 lead. Shug Dickson and Sayawni Lassiter both scored four points during the game-changing rally.
- Lassiter and Jailyn Mason made threes during 5-0 and 6-0 runs, respectively, to keep RU up by double-digits for most of the third. Petree's three-point play handed Rutgers its biggest lead up 17 before ending the third with the 55-40 advantage.
- Osh Brown exploded for eight points in the final frame to secure her double-double as Rutgers put up 24 – its most productive period of the game. Petree and Jailyn Mason (eight points) connected on threes to push the lead to 24 points at 69-45 midway through the final quarter.
- Osh Brown recorded her 10th double-double of the season and the NCAA active-leading 59th of her career.
- Lasha Petree made three 3-pointers in a game for a second consecutive game, and the sixth time this season.
- Rutgers' 10 turnovers are a season-low, besting the previous best mark of 12 against Minnesota at home on Jan. 6.
- Rutgers had four players score in double-figures for the fifth time this season, and the second consecutive time in two Rutgers Big Ten victories.
- Rutgers has outrebounded 21 of 26 opponents this season with an average margin of +6.0, which ranks third in the Big Ten.
- Holding Minnesota eight points under their scoring average, Rutgers has held opponents an average of 15.7 under their scoring averages over the last six contests.
- Rutgers has held 42 of its last 45 opponents under their scoring averages, going back to 129 of its last 140 since 2017-18.
- Lasha Petree reached 20 points or more in a game for the 30th time in her career.
- Double-figure scoring career marks: Brown (85th), Lasha Petree (79th), Shug Dickson (47th), Tyia Singleton (10th).
- The Starting 5 of Sayawni Lassiter, Jailyn Mason, Lasha Petree, Tyia Singleton, and Osh Brown took the floor as the starting unit for the fifth time this season.
- Rutgers is now 7-5 against Minnesota all-time since 1982, including a 6-5 mark as Big Ten regular season opponents. Minnesota falls to 4-1 at home in the series.
Rutgers returns home to host Purdue at Jersey Mike's Arena on Sun., Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. live on Big Ten Network.
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