The Rutgers women’s basketball team defeated Nebraska 71-70 in a thrilling game played at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln,
Nebraska, to claim their first Big Ten victory of the year. From December 5, 2023, to the present, the Scarlet Knights (7-17, 1-10) has a
12-game losing skid.
These are three things to remember from Rutgers’ thrilling victory.
Keeping up the ante against Nebraska in the first half
This season, the Knights have been plagued by slow starts. Most famously, on January 17, Rutgers fell behind Illinois 23-5 in the first
quarter of a game. When the Knights trailed Wisconsin 22-3 after the first ten minutes on January 27, they were unable to escape the
trap they had set for themselves.
The game on Saturday was different, as Rutgers managed to maintain a tie with
Graduate student center Kassondra Brown easily scored 11 points in the first quarter while going 3-for-3 from the field, 2-for-2 from
three-point range, and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
As six out of eight Rutgers players managed to score in the second quarter, the Knights continued to grind out victories, outscoring the
Cornhuskers 18–17.
The Knights hit an incredible 68.2 percent from the field by the end of the first half, while their opponents were unable to get going.
Despite making only 13 of 33 field goals, Nebraska’s success rate from the field was 39.4%.
Rutgers was knotted with the Cornhuskers at 38-38 at the half, despite committing 15 turnovers.
Dominance in the third quarter
In their game against Michigan State on Tuesday, the Knights struggled mightily in the third quarter. In the quarter, Rutgers fell down
25-11, which gave the Spartans (16-5, 6-4) all the momentum they needed to win easily.
After just four days, the Knights showed a fresh start as they defeated Nebraska 22–11 in third-quarter points. Junior guard and center
Destiny Adams scored seven points, while senior guard Erica Lafayette made two huge three-pointers.
Rutgers exploited the Cornhuskers, shooting a scorching 17.6 percent from the field, and led Nebraska 60-49 going into the fourth
quarter.
Nebraska attempts to change the score in the final quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the Cornhuskers settle into a rhythm, which led to a thrilling finish in Lincoln.
The Knights led 64-54 at 8:21 in the last quarter, but Nebraska scored 7 points in a row to cut their deficit to 3 points with 7:17
remaining. Jillian Huerter, a freshman guard, scored a three-pointer shortly afterward to give Rutgers a six-point advantage, but the
Cornhuskers remained resilient.
After Maddie Krull made a three-pointer at 4:22, Nebraska was behind by three points once more. A successful jumper by the
Cornhuskers with 2:16 remaining in the game left the score at 69-68, with the Knights still leading. Mya Petticord, a sophomore guard,
and Alexis
With five seconds remaining, Adams was fouled and was unable to make either of her two free throws. Nebraska also had to execute
an inbound pass from the sideline in the final few tenths of a second. The ball ended up in the hands of Markowski, who managed to
collect it and attempt a shot beneath the rim, but her effort was unsuccessful. The Cornhuskers succeeded in doing just that. With a
victory, Rutgers snapped a losing streak that had lasted nearly two months.
In addition to pulling down five rebounds and handing out four assists, Brown concluded the game with 21 points. With a collective
shooting percentage of 59.6 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from three-point range, every Knight who on the court was able to
score.
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