Rutgers loses to Indiana, drops 3rd straight game

On Saturday, the Rutgers women’s basketball team dropped its third straight game with a 64-58 loss on the road against Indiana. The loss puts the Scarlet Knights at 17-6 on the season, while the Hoosiers improved to 11-12. 

The loss at Indiana boiled down to a few factors. Number one was scoring. 

Rutgers relies heavily on senior guard Tyler Scaife each and every game to be its leading scorer — which is exactly what she does. But, with no one else on the team averaging more than 8 points per game, the team has a hard time finding other scoring options. 

In this game, Scaife had 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting. A fine performance by any means, but not enough to carry the team over Indiana. Junior guard KK Sanders chipped in with 10 points of her own shooting 5-of-12 from the field. 

Another problem in this game was foul trouble and free-throw shooting. The Knights shot a dismal 7-of-13 from the charity stripe — only 53.8 percent. Meanwhile, Indiana was able to get to the foul line for 29 shots in the game, making 25 of them. Free-throw shooting was the clear difference in this game. 

The Hoosiers also shared the ball exceptionally well in this one, having four players finish in double figures in points. Amanda Cahill, Jaelynn Penn and Kym Royster each had 14 points, while Tyra Buss had 12. 

Another reason why Rutgers struggled in this one was turnovers, where it committed 18 to Indiana’s 17. It is very hard to win games when you lose both the turnover battle, while also getting beat exceptionally at the foul line. 

The Knights lack scoring depth, and it has shown in their three-game skid. Scaife can do a lot, but she can’t do it all on her own. 

Having played nine games so far in the Big Ten schedule, Rutgers sits smack in the middle of the conference, checking in at seventh with a 5-4 conference record. In their next game, the Knights will travel to play No. 14 Maryland, who has an 18-3 record and sits atop the Big Ten with a 7-1 conference record. 

With seven games remaining on the season, the schedule only gets harder down the stretch. In the remaining games, Rutgers plays three out of the top four Big Ten teams. The team plays the Terrapins twice, as well as No. 12 Ohio State and No. 16 Michigan.  

The remaining games should be an excellent test for the Knights heading into the Big Ten tournament, and may be a push for entrance into the women’s NCAA tournament come March.