Gameday preview: Gophers women's basketball at Rutgers

4:15 p.m. at Rutgers • Rutgers Athletic center • TV: BTN (1500-AM)

Gophers at a glance: A poor first half left No. 21 Minnesota (16-3, 5-2 Big Ten) playing catch-up against Purdue on Thursday at Williams Arena. The Gophers gave up 50 first-half points, and despite a dramatic second-half rally, fell 90-88 in overtime. … Amanda Zahui B. scored 26 points on 11-of-11 shooting, but played just 27 minutes after being in foul trouble for the third consecutive game.… Point guard Shayne Mullaney tied a school record with a career-best 15 assists in the loss. The junior has had double-digit assists in three of her past four games. … The Gophers received a big boost on Friday when senior guard Rachel Banham announced that she'd return for a fifth year. Banham tore her ACL on Dec. 10 and expects to receive a medical hardship exemption.

Scarlet Knights at a glance: No. 25 Rutgers (13-5, 4-3) has had an up-and-down start to its first Big Ten campaign with lopsided losses to Ohio State, Iowa and Maryland. Each of the Scarlet Knights' four wins — at Indiana, vs. Michigan, at Penn State,and at Wisconsin — have been by at least 10 points, though. … The 2014 WNIT champions have had a week off since winning 73-63 at Wisconsin on Jan. 18, a game in which five players scored in double figures. … Rutgers is 0-5 against top-25 opponents this season, its closest game those ranked teams was a 96-96 overtime loss to then-No. 6 North Carolina on Dec. 4. … C. Vivian Stringer is in her 20th season as Rutgers coach after 12 years at Iowa.