Third-seeded and No. 19 Rutgers WBB falls to Iowa in B1G Tourney quarters
Time for a reset.
No. 19 Rutgers women's basketball's nine-game winning streak was snapped as the third-seeded Scarlet Knights fell to sixth-seeded Iowa, 73-62, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN.
The win is Iowa's second over Rutgers this season. Rutgers now waits for Selection Monday to determine its seed and who it will play in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
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The first quarter was extremely ugly for Rutgers, which committed five turnovers the last six minutes of the frame. The last five minutes, Iowa finished out the quarter on a 13-2 run, including a 10-0 burst highlighted by a 3-pointer. Iowa easily broke Rutgers 55-defense.
Rutgers shot just 21% in the first (4-of-19) while Iowa shot 61% (9-of-15).
Gabbie Marshall terrorized Rutgers with six made 3-pointers. She had 22 points at halftime. Her sixth stretched the Hawkeye's lead to 21, the largest deficit Rutgers faced all year.
The Scarlet Knights clawed back a little with a 7-0 run as Arella Guirates scooped in a layup and Diamond Johnson hit a step-back 3-pointer and a floater at the 1:41 that would be the game's last points before halftime. Iowa led 39-25 at the break.
To begin the third, Rutgers got a stop defensively, and then Guirantes hit a 3-pointer from the left corner as Tekia Mack recorded the assist. Guirantes then notched a three-point play to make it a 10-point game.
But the unselfish Hawkeyes surged again, 48-33, as Monika Czinano made two layups in the paint as she fended off the defender. Another jumper for 1,001th career point made it 50-35.
A mini 5-0 run by Rutgers on a Guirantes jumper and a Diamond three made it a 10 point game a little less than midway through the third quarter.
In the fourth, a steal and a layup at the other end capped a 7-0 to make it 69-61, but Czinano made a bucket in the paint to stop the spurt.
The hot shooting from long range continued for Iowa in the fourth with McKenna Warnock getting in on the action.
Overall, Marshall's career-high and Iowa's steady shooting were too much to overcome
For the full stats, click here.
RUTGERS PLAYER OF THE GAME: Diamond Johnson
Playing in her first postseason game, the freshman guard tallied 15 points in the first half and 26 points once the final whistle sounded. She made 11-of-21 attempts.
RHOOPS PLAY OF THE GAME: Guirantes hits a 3-pointer to start the second half
KEY STAT(S): Rutgers just 21 percent in the first quarter missing 15 shots....Gabbie Walker drained six threes in the first half and seven for the game...Marshall scored a new career-high 27 points....Iowa outrebounded Rutgers 37-33....usually a key to Rutgers' success, it had just nine points of turnovers in the opening 20 minutes to Iowa's 14....Rutgers was 0-3 from the foul line in the first half and just 4-of-10 in the game....Iowa tallied 20 assists on 29 made buckets
UP NEXT: Rutgers heads back to Piscataway before making its way to Texas for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Monday is on March 15 at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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