NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Arella Guirantes scored a career-high 20 points with 10 rebounds, Tyia Singleton earned her first career double-double, and No. 24 Rutgers beat 22nd-ranked Ohio State 71-63 on Friday night.
With the win, Rutgers secures the Big Ten’s No. 3 seed to the conference tournament which starts next week. It’s Rutgers’ highest regular season conference finish since joining the Big Ten in 2014.
Singleton scored 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked six shots. Tekia Mack added 11 points for the Scarlet Knights (14-3, 10-3), who won their ninth straight.
Braxtin Miller scored 19 points and Jacy Sheldon 15 for Ohio State (13-7, 9-7). Miller’s jumper 25 seconds in gave the Buckeyes their only lead. Rutgers built a 21-9 advantage and the Buckeyes never got within six points the rest of the way.
The Buckeyes’ season comes to an end due to a self-imposed — but NCAA-recommended — postseason ban as a result of recruiting violations by a former assistant coach.
The Big Ten Conference tournament will be held in Indianapolis with the 12th and 13th seeds to square off on Tuesday.
The Scarlet Knights earned a top-four seed and won’t play again until March 11 in the quarterfinals.
More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25.
