Rutgers women's basketball set to take on Purdue on Sunday
The Rutgers women’s basketball team is set to take on Purdue on Sunday after beating No. 21 Northwestern yesterday. The Scarlet Knights (7-3, 3-3) will head to West Lafayette, Indiana to take on the Boilermakers (6-9, 3-8) in an afternoon showdown.
In Rutgers’ win against the Wildcats (11-4, 9-4), sophomore forward Tyia Singleton lead the team in points with 17 with senior forward Tekia Mack close behind with 16 points. The Knights' defense was strong against Northwestern with 36 rebounds, 13 of those coming from Mack. Mack is coming off of her fifth career double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
This is Rutgers’ first time seeing Purdue this season due to game postponements caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The Boilermakers are coming off a four-game losing streak where it lost to No. 12 ranked Michigan. Kayana Traylor leads Purdue with 209 points through 15 games.
For the Knights, fifth-year senior Arella Guirantes has been on the top of her game with back to back games with double-digit points. Guirantes is a candidate for the Senior Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School (CLASS) Award and has been named Big Ten Player of the Week twice this season.
Rutgers shot 74 percent from the free-throw line in its win against Northwestern by going 14-19. The Boilermakers are strong in this category with a 70 percent free-throw percentage for the season. The Knights had freshman guard Diamond Johnson, Singleton, Guirantes and Mack score 14 or more points in their win against the Wildcats.
Defensively, Guirantes leads Rutgers with 21 blocks and 52 defensive rebounds on the season. Ra Shaya Kyle holds that title for Purdue with 12 blocks in 15 games. The Knights have been strong defensively as they out-rebounded Northwestern 36-27.
Coming off of their loss against Michigan, the Boilermakers struggled to put up more than 49 points with Traylor leading Purdue with 15 points. Rokia Doumbia, Madison Layden and Traylor were the three players for the Boilermakers to put up double digits in points.
Rutgers will be looking to extend its winning streak to three games when they play a Big Ten opponent, Purdue, on Sunday.
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