PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers women's basketball team (13-20, 3-15 B1G) fell to Buffalo (28-7, 13-5 MAC) in the WNIT Great 8 on the road Sunday afternoon.
Destiny Adams led the team in her final game with her 17th career double-double, amassing 26 points and 13 rebounds. JoJo Lacey also reached double digits with 16 points and Chyna Cornwell brought in nine rebounds.
How it Happened
- JoJo Lacey got RU going with a jumper, but Buffalo answered right away with two shots at the line to tie it up.
- Awa Sidibe followed up with her first three of the game in addition to a layup. Chyna Cornwell also added a field goal, but Buffalo wouldn't be discouraged, adding seven points to tie the score, 9-9, at the 6:08 mark.
- Adams went to the rim to put RU back ahead, but the Bulls came right back with a three-point play to take their first lead, 12-11, at the 4:40 media timeout.
- Out of the stop, Adams and Lacey recorded back-to-back buckets to go up three points but once again Buffalo hit a three to knot the score back.
- Adams gave her team a spark with five consecutive points to put RU back on top. The Bulls hit two more shots from the charity stripe before the end of the opening quarter, but RU stayed in front, 20-17.
- The Scarlet Knights began the second quarter on a 7-0 run, including five points from Adams alone, to go up by double digits, 27-17.
- Buffalo put an end to the spurt with four points in a row. Kennedy Brandt netted her first points of the tournament with a three, but the Bulls matched it with another three-point-play to cut the deficit to six, 30-24, at the 4:43 media timeout.
- Buffalo recorded a layup out of the pause, but Adams answered with three consecutive points, to stay in front by seven.
- Both teams recorded one free throw before the end of the half, but Rutgers went into the locker room with the 34-27 lead. Adams ended the first 20 minutes with 17 points to lead all players on the floor.
- The Bulls scored five points out of halftime to cut the gap to two, 34-32, in the opening minutes.
- Cornwell put an end to the drought with a three-point-play and Adams chipped in a free throw to extend the advantage back to seven points with just under six to play.
- The opposition cashed in on a three ball before the 4:55 media timeout to make the score 39-35.
- Zachara Perkins netted consecutive layups following the break but once again Buffalo did not go quietly. The home team scored five in a row to put the score back within one, 43-42 and force an RU timeout with 1:49 to go.
- Adams added a basket before time expired in the third to give Rutgers the 45-42 boost heading into the final 10 minutes.
- The teams traded scores through the opening moments of the fourth, but Buffalo broke away to hit a three. They continued a 7-0 run to get in front, 51-47. Lacey interrupted the spree with back-to-back field goals with just over six to go to tie the score, 51-all.
- Over the next several minutes, the Bulls cashed in on seven shots at the line in a row to go back up, 58-51.
- Sidibe broke up the scoring with her second three-pointer of the day, but the opponent went right back to it on offense. Buffalo went on another 7-0 run to take their first double figure lead of the contest, 65-54, and the Scarlet Knights used their second timeout with 2:25 remaining.
- Lacey and Adams once again broke up the stretch with layups to put the difference back at seven points. However, the Bulls added two more free throws just before another RU timeout at the :35.8 mark.
- Lacey sandwiched two more free throws from Buffalo with two threes, to make the score 69-64 with :21.4 remaining.
- The late effort wasn't enough however, as the Bulls made two free throws to end the contest with a 71-64 victory.
Knights Notes
- Adams recorded her 17th double-double of the season and 25th of her career with 26 points and 13 rebounds. She has reached double-digits in 29 games this season including 20 of the last 21 outings. The senior has also accumulated eight 20-point games.
- With 16 points, JoJo Lacey has now amassed double figures in 18 contests.
- Chyna Cornwell
- Awa Sidibe recorded a career-high six assists against the Bulls, two off of her career best.
- Zachara Perkins also totaled five assists, matching her career high which she set against Charleston (March 27).
- RU won the battle of the boards, 44-37.
- The Scarlet Knights also topped the Bulls in points in the paint (38-24) and second chance points (23-8).
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