Rutgers women's basketball looks for back-to-back wins against Penn State
After taking down Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, the No. 25 Rutgers women’s basketball team returns to the Banks to try to do it again.
The second leg of the home and home series was rescheduled from Jan. 21, when the Scarlet Knights (12-3, 8-3) were on a four-week pause due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Since that hiatus, Rutgers has won seven straight games. The Knights kept the latter six of those opponents to less than 60 points.
Before their defeat to Rutgers, the Nittany Lions (9-12, 6-11) took down No. 15 Ohio State, ending a four-game losing streak.
Sunday’s matchup was a defensive battle, with the Knights getting the edge in points off turnovers, 13-3. Additionally, Rutgers grabbed 10 steals, approximately three less than its nationwide fourth-best of 13.1.
Leading the way for Penn State in the first game was Shay Hagans with 15 points and five rebounds. Johnasia Cash added a double-double with 11 in both points and rebounds. She is tied for second in the team with 25 steals, with Hagans holding the lead at 36 steals. Cash has 14.6 points per game (PPG) and right behind her is Makenna Marisa with 14.2 PPG.
Makenna leads the Nittany Lions with 104 assists and is second on the team with 106 rebounds.
Senior forward Mael Gilles led the scoring effort for the Knights with 16 points, 1 away from her career-high. She hit two shots from deep as well. Fifth-year senior guard Arella Guirantes played all 40 minutes and logged 14 points with five assists.
After the Sunday game, Guirantes said the key to winning the next game would be keeping Penn State off the boards.
“All the little things that we just have to fix … those little things came up big for us today and big for them,” Guirantes said.
Fueling Rutgers’ defensive machine, senior forward Tekia Mack leads the Knights with 41 steals, while Gilles, Guirantes and true freshman guard Diamond Johnson all have more than 30 swipes.
Johnson left early in the third quarter after injuring her ankle but returned in grand fashion with a triple. She has made approximately half of her attempts from downtown, good for fourth in the country.
Johnson has become a fixture in the starting lineup and in the short rotation that head women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer has played recently. On Sunday, Stringer played only two players from the bench, to which, after the game, she said, “With Penn State, you can’t play around.”
Freshman center Sakima Walker was 1 of the 2 bench players who checked in. In just 10 minutes on the floor, she grabbed seven rebounds and put up 2 points.
With two games left on their schedule, Rutgers is within the top four of the Big Ten, given a double-bye in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
For updates on the Rutgers women's basketball team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
