Rutgers Women’s Basketball Takes On Elite Field At Vancouver Showcase

The Rutgers women’s basketball team is headed north of the border for Thanksgiving, as they are one of eight teams competing in the Vancouver Showcase. They’ll bring an undefeated record with them.

On Sunday afternoon, Rutgers (4-0) defeated Albany 65-39 as four players scored in double figures. Caitlin Jenkins produced her third double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Arella Guirantes also scored 12 points, all on three-pointers, as she made 4 of 9 attempts. Noga Peleg Pelc (11 points, 5 assists) and Mael Gilles (10 points) rounded out the scoring.

Vancouver Showcase

This event takes place on three consecutive days between November 22nd through 24th. Rutgers will take on Drake at 2:30 p.m. PST, who are also off to a 4-0 start and own a victory over Big Ten foe Nebraska. ESPNW ranks Drake as the top mid-major team in college basketball so far this season and they are receiving 12 votes in the national AP Poll. The Bulldogs are averaging 82.5 points per game and are shooting 49.8% from the field, as well as 43.2% from three-point range, making 10+ per game. Drake has four players averaging double figures scoring wise and are led by Sara Rhine, who is posting 16.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Becca Hittner (5-12), Maddy Dean (9-17), and Nicole Miller (11-12) are the other three double-digit scorers and are all shooting very well from three-point range, stats in parenthesis.

Rutgers is averaging 73.8 points per game, which is on pace to be the highest scoring team head coach C. Vivian Stringer has had in her 24 years leading the program. Defensively, they are holding opponents to just 59.3 points per game. They are shooting 46.3% from the field and 34.4% from three-point range.

Caitlin Jenkins leads Rutgers in scoring and rebounding, as the senior averages 12.3 points and 11.0 boards per game. Redshirt sophomore Arella Guuirantes is averaging 10.5 points and 4.3 rebounds, while Israeli freshman Noga Peleg Pelc is scoring 10.0 points per contest. Charise Wilson has done a good job of running the offense, scoring 8.3 points per game and leading Rutgers with 4.8 assists, while also grabbing 2.8 boards per contest.

The Scarlet Knights have been shorthanded all season and that will continue this weekend. Multi-year starting point guard KK Sanders has been out all season with a wrist injury and her return is yet to be determined. Ohio State grad transfer Sierra Calhoun has missed every game so far with an ankle injury, but could see her first action of the season this weekend. 5-star recruit Zippy Broughton has been out since the first game after injuring her ankle in practice but is expected to play in Thursday’s opening round game.

The winner of Drake-Rutgers will play the winner of Gonzaga-Notre Dame, who are ranked #1 in the country and are the defending national champions. The other side of the bracket includes #9 Oregon State (3-0) and #13 South Carolina (2-1).

To stream any of the games from the Vancouver Showcase, click here. (note: you do have to subscribe and pay $.) For live stats, click here.

All three Rutgers games will be broadcast live on WRSU 88.7 FM with Stephen Nelson & Raj Shah on the call.

Here is the complete bracket for the Vancouver Showcase.

Once Rutgers returns to the states, they will play at Virginia Tech (5-0) on Wednesday, November 28th as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.