Rutgers women’s basketball took on the Rhode Island Rams in the program’s annual Recess Game, with schoolchildren from around the area filling the student section and all across the arena. The young students provided just as much, if not even more, enthusiasm as the Rutgers students usually would, creating a strong homecourt advantage that was unusually pronounced from tip-off to the final buzzer.
The Scarlet Knights got off to a fast start, taking an 11-7 lead at the first media timeout. Kaylah Ivey
started a red-hot 3-3 from the field, including a three-pointer from the top of the key to build an early lead against their fourth straight mid-major challenger. Rutgers closed the quarter strong to take a 21-13 lead after the first period.
Rhode Island cut into the Rutgers lead early in the second quarter, with stingy defense and timely offense to cut the deficit to 28-26 at the midpoint. Despite the Rams coming within one point, an 8-0 run within the final minute stretched Rutgers’ lead to 40-31 at the break. After a defensive stop, Rutgers operated quickly to set up Kaylah Ivey for a buzzer-beating three-pointer that got the crowd fired up and gave the Knights some separation.
Rutgers pushed the lead to double-digits with 5:46 in the third quarter, but the Rams continued to fight and trailed by eight at the four-minute media timeout. A 6-0 run for Rhode Island cut the deficit back to four points, but the Scarlet Knights finished the quarter strong once again to lead by seven after the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Scarlet Knights stayed in front of the Rams, withstanding mini-runs from Rhode Island with timely scoring of their own. They led by six with under two minutes to go, but Rhode Island came within three points after Brooklyn Gray connected on a rare three-pointer for the Rams in the final minute.
Janae Walker countered with a reverse layup under the basket to put the Knights up by five with roughly 36 seconds to play. After Gray split a pair of free throws to pull the Rams within four, Nene Ndiaye banked in a layup and made the ensuing free-throw to complete the three-point play. The Scarlet Knights converted enough free throws to keep the Rams out of reach, holding off a feisty Rhode Island team by the score of 68-63.
Ndiaye was Rutgers’ top performer for the third straight game, opening the game a perfect 3-3 from the field, 4-4 from the line, and cashing in on a three from the right corner for an early 11 points. She made a crafty layup and a three-pointer near the end of the second quarter to lead all scorers with 16 at halftime, setting a new career-high of 24 points by the end of the game.
For the Rams, starting guard Brooklyn Gray led their scorers with 18 points, going 5-9 from the field and 7-8 from the line. Palmire Mbu was right behind with 17 points, shooting 6-9 from the field and making both of her three-point attempts in addition to three of her five free throws. The starting forward also had five boards, an assist, and a steal for Rhode Island. Center Albina Syla had six points and led the Rams with ten rebounds.
The Scarlet Knights shot 47% from the field and 43% from three-point range, going 6-14 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, they held Rhode Island to 37% from the field and an ice-cold 3-16 from downtown, which amounted to just 19%. Zachara Perkins finished with 12 points and four rebounds, while Kaylah Ivey added 13 points, with three rebounds, three assists, and a steal while playing 39 of 40 minutes. Rutgers will next be in action when they host Fairleigh Dickinson University, the reigning NEC champs, on Sunday at 2 PM.
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