No 23 Rutgers women beat Indiana 63-52 in Big Ten opener

Mar 5, 2015, 05:14 pm

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Kahleah Cooper scored 16 points and Betnijah Laney had 12 points and 15 rebounds to lead No. 23 Rutgers, the fifth-seed, to a 63-52 win over 12th-seeded Indiana in the second round of the Big Ten tournament on Thursday.

Tyler Scaife added 14 points and Briyona Canta had 10 assists for the Scarlet Knights (22-8), who face fourth-seeded and No. 24-ranked Northwestern in Friday's quarterfinals.

Tyra Buss made 11 of 12 free throws and scored 19 points for the Hoosiers (15-16), who only shot 29.8 percent (17 of 57), including 3 of 18 from 3-point range.

Rutgers outscored Indiana 7-2 in the closing seconds of the first half for a 37-28 lead then opened the second half with an 8-2 run to go up 45-30. The Hoosiers never really threatened from there but used a 9-0 run, the final four points on Buss free throws, to get it under 10 before Cynthia Hernandez ended the game with a 3 for Rutgers.