Despite a spirited effort and a dominant first quarter, the Scarlet Knights narrowly fell to Wisconsin 70-63 to ring in the New Year. This was the second straight Big Ten game in which Rutgers fell by single digits in a close contest, as the Knights fell 70-64 in East Lansing against #24 Michigan State their last time out.
The Scarlet Knights built a 28-9 lead through the end of the first quarter, with Rutgers’ defense playing an inspired first period. On offense, Imani Lester and Kaylah Ivey both
knocked down two threes and scored eight points through the first quarter, while Faith Blackstone had six points.
However, the Badgers came all the way back in the second quarter, cutting the Knights’ lead to 36-30 by halftime. Guard Kyrah Daniels led the charge with 11 points while fellow guard Destiny Howell had six. Forward Gift Uchenna Okeke had four, while Wisconsin had seven combined points off the bench from center Dorja Iva Zaja and guard Lacey Steele.
After a 28-point first quarter, Rutgers cooled off significantly before halftime, which has been a recurring issue for the Knights this season. But in the third quarter, RU held steady and maintained its lead, pushing it as far as ten points before holding a seven-point lead heading into the final quarter.
However, Wisconsin answered back in the final frame, cutting the lead to two points roughly halfway through the period on the back of two triples from Howell. The Badgers tied the contest at 61 with two Daniels free throws before Daniels made a midrange jumper to give UW the 63-61 lead with less than a minute and a half left.
Steele came up with a pivotal turnover that resulted in another three-pointer from Howell, and that pushed the Badgers’ lead to 66-61 with 42 seconds left in the game. Nene Ndiaye was fouled by Daniels and converted both free throws to cut the deficit to four with under 30 seconds to play, but the Scarlet Knights were forced to play the foul game. Wisconsin converted three of four of its late attempts from the line and held on for a 70-63 victory.
Rutgers saw four scorers in double figures and was led by Zachara Perkins’ 17 points, while Lester was right behind at 16 points. Ndiaye had 12, Ivey had 10, and Blackstone rounded out the starting lineup with six points, as she went 2-3 from beyond the arc but 2-8 from the floor overall. Antonia Bates had just two points but pulled in eight rebounds, while Ivey led the Knights with six assists.
For the Badgers, Daniels led the way with 20 points, while Howell had 16 points. Each went 4-7 from beyond the arc, while Steele connected on four of six three-point attempts to lead bench scorers with 12 points. Uchenna Okeke had a near double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, while Ronnie Porter had a game-high 10 assists to go with seven rebounds and two points.
The Scarlet Knights will next travel to Columbus to take on the #19 Buckeyes on Sunday at 2 PM. The game will have a TV broadcast on Big Ten Network.
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