INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Rutgers women's basketball (11-19) thrived and advanced from the first round of the 2022 Big Ten Tournament, defeating Penn State (11-18) by a score of 75-50 on Wednesday at Gainbridge Field House in its highest margin of victory in a Big Ten Tournament game.
The Scarlet Knights move on to the second round, where fifth-seeded and No. 14/12 ranked Indiana waits on Thursday, March 3 at approximately 2 p.m. on @bigtennetwork.
Penn State led by one at 21-20 with 3:35 left in the second quarter before Dickson buried a triple, and Rutgers never looked back. The Scarlet Knights added to a six-point halftime lead with a 23-point third period while the defense kept the pressure on and RU led 54-36 with 10 minutes to play. The margin ballooned to 28 at its highest in the fourth.
Osh Brown led all scorers with 18 points on highly efficient 8-of-11 shooting while recording career double-double No. 60 with 13 rebounds.
Shug Dickson added 14 points, seven rebounds, and a career-high nine assists.
Tyia Singleton scored eight of her 10 points in the first quarter to set the tone for the offensive victory.
The 25-point win surpassed the program's previous best at the Big Ten Tournament from 2019, a 15-point victory over Purdue in the quarterfinals. The 75 points surpassed its best B1G Tournament offensive output of 67 during a loss to Iowa in 2019. Rutgers' 54 rebounds were also a team Big Ten Tournament high by 11 rebounds (43 vs. Ohio State in 2018).
Rutgers won battles on the glass (54-32), points in the paint (40-20) and bench points (24-12), while outshooting the Nittany Lions, 43 to 24 percent.
- Tyia Singleton scored Rutgers' first five points, sparking an efficient offensive start as the Scarlet Knights used a run of six consecutive made shots to go on a 15-2 run and lead 15-6 with 2:42 to play in the opening quarter, which ended with a 17-11 RU advantage.
- Rutgers made three 3-pointers in the second off the hands of Shug Dickson, Victoria Morris, and Sayawni Lassiter. The defense, meanwhile, held Penn State to 31 percent shooting in the frame to take a 31-25 lead into the break.
- Brown sandwiched a Dickson layup with a couple of buckets to start the second half on a 6-0 run, with another 6-0 coming shortly after for a 43-27 advantage.
- Destiny Marshall, Chyna Cornwell, and Erica Lafayette got in on the scoring party in the fourth period as Rutgers maintained more than a 20-point lead down the stretch.
- Making its eighth appearance in the Big Ten Tournament, Rutgers is 6-7 all-time in the conference event. The Scarlet Knights have made the quarterfinal round in four consecutive years from 2018-2021 and in six of its seven tournaments.
- Rutgers' 54 rebounds is a season-high, a Big Ten Tournament high, and the most in any game since 54 against Niagara on Nov. 13, 2019.
- Shug Dickson passed out a career-high nine assists, surpassing her previous best of eight, done twice last season.
- Rutgers had at least 10 different scorers in a game for the 10th time this season.
- Rutgers has outrebounded 24 of 30 opponents this season with an average margin of +6.3, which ranks third in the Big Ten.
- Double-figure scoring career marks: Brown (88th), Shug Dickson (50th), Tyia Singleton (11th).
- The Starting 5 of Shug Dickson, Jailyn Mason, Lasha Petree, Tyia Singleton, and Osh Brown took the floor as the starting unit for the eighth time this season.
- In its first meeting against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament and first conference tournament meeting since the A10 in 1990, Rutgers improved to 31-19 all-time against the Nittany Lions.
Gallery: (3-2-2022) WBB vs. Penn State (B1G Tourney)
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