From Rutgers Athletics
Rutgers Women’s Basketball Upsets #4 Maryland on the Road
Scarlet Knights Close Out 2018 With 73-65 Victory over the Terps
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Rutgers women's basketball team closed out 2018 on a high note following a 73-65 upset victory at No. 4/4 Maryland on Monday afternoon at the Xfinity Center.
The Scarlet Knights improve to 9-3 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play, while the Terps suffer their first loss of the 2018-19 season, falling to 12-1 overall and 1-1 in league action.
The win marked RU's first victory over a top 10 opponent since 2009.
Rutgers finished with four Scarlet Knights in double figures led by 18 points from redshirt senior forward Stasha Carey and a near triple-double from redshirt junior guard Ciani Cryor with 12 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. Graduate student guard Charise Wilson and freshman Noga Peleg Pelc contributed 10 points each in the upset.
For Maryland, Taylor Mikesell led the Terps with 18 points. Kalia Charles added in 15, while Blair Watson chipped in 11 points and Brianna Fraser came off the bench for 10 points.
FIRST QUARTER
Rutgers opened the contest with Wilson and Cryor knocking down shots from long range and took an eight-point advantage with eight-straight points from the hands of Carey. The Cleveland, Ohio native closed her run dropping in a fast-break 3-pointer to give RU a 19-11 edge with 4:11 to go in the stanza.
The Scarlet Knights, who finished the opening quarter 5-of-8 from 3-point range, held on to the advantage ending the first frame up 24-28.
SECOND QUARTER
The Terps opened the second quarter outscoring the Scarlet Knights 6-2 to knot the score at 30-30.
After a two-minute drought for both squads, back-to-back layups by Cryor saw RU take back the lead for a 34-30 advantage at the midway point.
Maryland converted only one field goal over the final 4:45 of the quarter with Rutgers heading into the locker room ahead, 41-36.
THIRD QUARTER
Both teams struggled offensively after the intermission combining to shoot 7-of-25 from the floor.
Rutgers held a 43-39 advantage at the midway point of the quarter but a 6-0 run by the Terps over the final 3:14 knotted the score at 47-47 entering the game's final 10 minutes of action.
FOURTH QUARTER
Charles gave the Terps its first lead since the opening moments of the game at 53-52 with a trip to the free throw line with 6:32 to go.
Peleg Pelc, in the midst of scoring eight-straight points for the Scarlet Knights, hit a jumper right outside the paint returning the lead to RU for good.
A Mikesell three with 5:15 would pull the Terps within one, 57-56, but that would be the closest Maryland would get as Rutgers, who shot 93 percent from the free throw line, would net 11 of its 12 attempts from the line down the stretch.
UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights return to the RAC to close out nonconference play with Brown on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m.
KNIGHT NOTES
Rutgers Women’s Basketball Upsets #4 Maryland on the Road
Scarlet Knights Close Out 2018 With 73-65 Victory over the Terps
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Rutgers women's basketball team closed out 2018 on a high note following a 73-65 upset victory at No. 4/4 Maryland on Monday afternoon at the Xfinity Center.
The Scarlet Knights improve to 9-3 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play, while the Terps suffer their first loss of the 2018-19 season, falling to 12-1 overall and 1-1 in league action.
The win marked RU's first victory over a top 10 opponent since 2009.
Rutgers finished with four Scarlet Knights in double figures led by 18 points from redshirt senior forward Stasha Carey and a near triple-double from redshirt junior guard Ciani Cryor with 12 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. Graduate student guard Charise Wilson and freshman Noga Peleg Pelc contributed 10 points each in the upset.
For Maryland, Taylor Mikesell led the Terps with 18 points. Kalia Charles added in 15, while Blair Watson chipped in 11 points and Brianna Fraser came off the bench for 10 points.
FIRST QUARTER
Rutgers opened the contest with Wilson and Cryor knocking down shots from long range and took an eight-point advantage with eight-straight points from the hands of Carey. The Cleveland, Ohio native closed her run dropping in a fast-break 3-pointer to give RU a 19-11 edge with 4:11 to go in the stanza.
The Scarlet Knights, who finished the opening quarter 5-of-8 from 3-point range, held on to the advantage ending the first frame up 24-28.
SECOND QUARTER
The Terps opened the second quarter outscoring the Scarlet Knights 6-2 to knot the score at 30-30.
After a two-minute drought for both squads, back-to-back layups by Cryor saw RU take back the lead for a 34-30 advantage at the midway point.
Maryland converted only one field goal over the final 4:45 of the quarter with Rutgers heading into the locker room ahead, 41-36.
THIRD QUARTER
Both teams struggled offensively after the intermission combining to shoot 7-of-25 from the floor.
Rutgers held a 43-39 advantage at the midway point of the quarter but a 6-0 run by the Terps over the final 3:14 knotted the score at 47-47 entering the game's final 10 minutes of action.
FOURTH QUARTER
Charles gave the Terps its first lead since the opening moments of the game at 53-52 with a trip to the free throw line with 6:32 to go.
Peleg Pelc, in the midst of scoring eight-straight points for the Scarlet Knights, hit a jumper right outside the paint returning the lead to RU for good.
A Mikesell three with 5:15 would pull the Terps within one, 57-56, but that would be the closest Maryland would get as Rutgers, who shot 93 percent from the free throw line, would net 11 of its 12 attempts from the line down the stretch.
UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights return to the RAC to close out nonconference play with Brown on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m.
KNIGHT NOTES
- The victory marked RU's first win over a top 10 opponent since 2009 when the unranked Scarlet Knights upended No. 8 Auburn in the NCAA Tournament on March 23, 2009.
- The win snapped a seven-game win streak by the Terps over the Scarlet Knights and the first in the series since the two squads became conference foes in 2014-15.
- Rutgers has kept all 12 opponents to date under their scoring average. The Terps averaged 78.2 points per game entering today's contest and were held to a 65 points, the second fewest scored by the squad.
- The Scarlet Knights won the war on the boards, 38-28. Maryland entered the New Year's Eve game as one of the top rebounding teams in the nation ranking second in rebounding margin (17.0) and fifth in rebounds per game (48.3).
- Rutgers entered the game shooting 68.8 percent from the free throw line and ended the game missing only one shot from the charity stripe going 14-of-15 a 93.3 percent clip. It was, however, not RU's best game from the line this season as the Scarlet Knights went a perfect 6-of-6 against ETSU during the Vancouver Challenge.
- Stasha Carey led RU for the third time this season in scoring with her 18 points from off the bench.
- Ciani Cryor set a new benchmark in assists with 11 helpers surpassing her previous career mark of nine last set against Michigan State exactly one year ago. The last time a Scarlet Knight had double figure assists was Khadaizha Sanders' 10 assists against Seton Hall on Dec. 13, 2016.
- Cryor's nine rebounds were also a career mark resetting her previous high of seven boards against Wake Forest on Nov. 19, 2017.
