Minnesota Headed to Piscataway for Matchup with Rutgers on Tuesday

MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota women's basketball team (14-9, 4-8 B1G) is headed to Piscataway, N.J. for a Tuesday night matchup with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-19, 1-12 B1G). The Feb. 13, game is scheduled to be televised by the Big Ten Network while Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist will broadcast the game on KFAN+.

GAME INFORMATION
TV/Stream: Big Ten Network
Tip Time: 6:00 p.m. CT.
Radio: KFAN+ (96.7 FM) and the iHeartRadio app (Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist)

ABOUT THE RUTGERS GAME

Minnesota and Rutgers are meeting for just the 14th time, with the Scarlet Knights holding an 8-5 advantage in the series that started back in 1982. Minnesota won its last game in Piscataway in 2022, a 62-49 victory that was the first road win for the Maroon and Gold over Rutgers in seven attempts.
Rutgers has won three of the last four meetings with the Golden Gophers with the last win in the series for M
Rutgers has been without its leading scorer, sophomore Kaylene Smikle, since December 30. Smikle, a Big Ten All-Freshman team member last season, was averaging 16.1 points per game and shooting 40 percent from the floor and 32.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Destiny Adams has been Rutgers' leader on the offensive side of the ball without Smikle with an average of 15.0 points per game while also bringing down 7.2 rebounds per game. Chyna Cornwell leads the team in rebounds per game at 7.6 and also scores an average of 7.9 points per game and is the team's leader in field goal percentage at 54.2 percent.
As of Feb. 10, Rutgers top national team statistic has been the team's ability to block shots with a 4.5 average in blocks per game which is 41st in the country and No. 1 in the Big Ten. Rutgers also is one of the best in the conference in free throw attempts per game at 19.9, which is fourth in the Big Ten and 51st nationally. Additionally Rutgers is No. 6 in the conference in rebounds per game at 36.9.

GOPHER NOTABLES

Minnesota dropped its fifth straight game, the latest being against No. 5/5 Ohio State at Williams Arena, 71-47. Minnesota held Ohio State to just 29 first-half points, but could not find enough offense to pull off the upset of the Buckeyes at home. Janay Sanders led the way with 16 points, 12 coming in the fourth quarter. Amaya Battle filled the stat sheet with seven points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals in the loss. Battle now has registered five or more assists in four straight games, which is tied for her longest streak of the season for the second-year Gopher.
Amaya Battle became the ninth Gopher in program history to register three different games with 10 or more assists when she dished out 10 dimes in the loss to Michigan State. Battle has registered two of those three performances this season and is now 52 assists shy of breaking into the program's top 10 career list in just 53 games played.
University of Minnesota head women's basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit announced on Jan. 29, that sophomore guard Mara Braun suffered a foot injury against Illinois that will require surgery and will be out indefinitely. This season Braun has been one of the Big Ten's top scorers at 17.8 points per game, which is fourth in the conference, while shooting a career high 37 percent from three.
Without Mara Braun in the lineup Janay Sanders has slid into the starting lineup for the Gophers the past three games and has upped her scoring average from 5.3 to 17.3 points per game. Since joining the starting linep Sanders has shot a team-leading 60.6 percent (20-of-33) from the floor. Sanders has been the most effective when driving tot he basket with the graduate from Charlotte, N.C., leading the team in fouls drawn at 3.6 per game during conference play.
Last season the Gophers were ranked 291st in the NCAA and 13th in the Big Ten in turnovers per game (17.7) per game but through 23 games this season are ranked 46th in the country and No. 5 in the Big Ten at 13.5.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the youngest team in the Big Ten with 11 underclassmen (does not include redshirts in their third year of college).

BY THE NUMBERS
4.9 - Amaya Battle's assist rate of 4.94 assists per game in her career is currently the fourth-best per game in school history.
66 - During conference play Sophie Hart has scored the first basket of the game 66.7 percent of the time.
21 - Mallory Heyer has made at least one three in 21 straight games.
48 - During conference play Minnesota has shot 48.8 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter.
10 - Minnesota is 10-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points.

The Maroon and Gold are headed back home for a Feb. 17, matchup with Northwestern. The game will be streamed on B1G+ starting at 2 p.m. CT.

For more information on the Gophers, continue to check back with GopherSports.com. Keep up with the University of Minnesota women's basketball on Twitter (X.com), Instagram (@GopherWBB) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the 2023-24 season.

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Players Mentioned

Amaya Battle

Mara Braun

Sophie Hart

Mallory Heyer

Janay Sanders