Rutgers University
Maryland
Women's Basketball to Face No. 9/11 Maryland on the Road
Jan 14 | Women's Basketball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The Rutgers women's basketball team (8-10, 2-4 B1G) will travel to face No. 9/11 Maryland (13-4, 4-2 B1G) on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 1 p.m.
This will be the second time the teams have met in 13 days as the Scarlet Knights hosted the Terrapins on Jan. 2 at Jersey Mike's Arena. The contest will be streamed on B1G+.
On the Call
- Watch on B1G+
- Listen on WRSU
Last Time Out
After trailing for the first two quarters of the contest, the Scarlet Knights rebounded to defeat Minnesota, 65-59, on the road Thursday night.
RU overcame a nine-point deficit to claim their second consecutive Big Ten win after defeating Nebraska, 57-45, on Jan. 12.
Kaylene Smikle paced the team with her 14th double-digit scoring outing, netting 20 points. Kassondra Brown recorded her first double-double at Rutgers with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Awa Sidibe (13) and Kai Carter (12) rounded out the group of four Scarlet Knights in double figures.
Along with Brown's game-best 10 boards, Smikle (6) and Erica Lafayette (5) were also key contributors.
Making History
Thursday's victory marked the 1,000th program win for Rutgers. The six-point win also marked head coach Coquese Washington's 100th Big Ten win.
The Scarlet Knights are the 22nd Division I program to reach 1,000 wins and the fourth this season. RU is also the third current Big Ten program to reach the milestone along with Maryland and Ohio State.
1,000 reasons to celebrate 🤩#GoRU | #RUWBB pic.twitter.com/lPeNAOdFXQ
— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) January 13, 2023
Milestones on milestones.
— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) January 13, 2023
Congrats on 100 wins in the Big Ten, Coach @CoqueseWashing ♥️#GoRU | #RUWBB pic.twitter.com/ujSxkmRKki
Smikle Earns Second Big Ten Freshman of the Week Honor
Kaylene Smikle became the first freshman in program history to win two Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards in the same season after earning the award on Monday afternoon.
Smikle is also just the third player in program history to earn a conference weekly award twice in a season as Arella Guirantes did it twice (2019-20 & 2020-21).
The freshman led the Scarlet Knights to split a pair of league contests this past week, falling to then. No. 17/18 Maryland (67-78) and defeating Nebraska (57-45) for the team's first Big Ten win of the season. Smikle led scoring in both affairs, netting a career-high 29 against the Terps and 20 versus the Cornhuskers to average 24.5 points between the two outings.
In addition, the guard grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against UMD plus six boards at the hands of Nebraska to average 7.5 off the glass. She also registered two assists and 2.5 steals over the week.
First Year Phenom
Freshman Kaylene Smikle continues to impress as she paces the team with 16.9 points per game in addition to averaging 21.7 points in Big Ten play.
Smikle is the only Scarlet Knight to net 20+ points in a game, accomplishing the feat eight times, including five times off the bench.
- 22 points vs. South Dakota State (Nov. 20)
- 23 points vs. Cornell (Nov. 27)
- 21 points vs. Ohio State (Dec. 4)
- 22 points at Illinois (Dec. 7)
- 26 points vs. Princeton (Dec. 15)
- 29 points vs. Maryland (Jan. 2)
- 20 points vs. Nebraska (Jan. 7)
- 20 points vs. Minnesota (Jan. 12)
The freshman has reached double-digit scoring in 14 of 18 outings this campaign, including 18+ points in the last six contests.
The Farmingdale, New York product has also been solid from beyond the arc. Her 33 three-pointers lead the Scarlet Knights while her five three's against South Dakota State rank as the highest performance in a single game this season for RU. She has hit at least one three in all but one outing this slate and cashed in on two or more in six of the last seven games.
Doubling Up
Chyna Cornwell has burst onto the floor this season for the Scarlet Knights as a huge presence in the post.
She leads the team with five double-doubles, tied for second in the big Ten, including back-to-back outings against Illinois (Dec. 7) and Hampton (Dec. 10):
- vs. Seton Hall – 10 points, 10 rebounds
- vs. Cornell – 11 points, 16 rebounds
- at Illinois – 10 points, 11 rebounds
- vs. Hampton – 18 points, 14 rebounds
- vs. New Orleans – 15 points, rebounds
In addition, Awa Sidibe (11 pts, 10 reb) recorded a double-double against Seton Hall (Nov. 11) while Kassondra Brown (10 pts, 10 reb) also hit the accomplishment Minnesota (Jan. 12).
Strong Off the Boards
In all but two wins, Rutgers has secured more rebounds than the opposition. This season, RU has outrebounded its opponents 694 to 649 (+45).
The team has recorded 30+ rebounds in 16 of 18 outings and 40+ boards in eight games. The Scarlet Knights grabbed a season-high 53 off the glass against Cornell (Nov. 27) for its highest rebounding margin (+23).
Chyna Cornwell leads the Scarlet Knights off the boards, with 8.8 rebounds per game to rank third in the Big Ten. Her 16 rebounds against Cornell also measures up as the second-best single game performance this season.
Cornwell also paces the league with 62 total offensive boards.
The Scarlet Knights Against the Top-25
RU will meet six teams mentioned between the AP Top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Polls:
- No. 3/3 Ohio State
- No. 6/6 Indiana
- No. 12/9 Iowa
- No. 17/20 Michigan
- No. 9/11 Maryland
- RV/NR Nebraska
Washington Returns to the Big Ten
The Washington era at Rutgers signals the head coach's return to the Big Ten, after serving as the head coach at Penn State for 12 seasons. From 2012-14, the Lady Lions claimed three consecutive Big Ten regular-season titles, becoming one of four programs in conference history to win three or more regular-season crowns in a row. She guided Penn State to two Sweet 16 appearances in 2012 and 2014 while developing 17 players to All-Big Ten status on 32 separate occasions.
Washington earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors three times (2012-14), WBCA Regional Coach of the Year twice (2012, 2013), and was named a finalist for WBCA National Coach of the Year two times (2012, 2013). She was also selected as the 2011 and 2014 Black Coaches Association (BCA) Female Coach of the Year.
Successful Staff
Washington won't be the only new face on the sidelines this season as she named Tasha Pointer, Nikki McCray-Penson and John Hampton assistant coaches during the offseason.
Pointer returns "On The Banks," bringing 18 total years of coaching experience, including eight seasons on the sidelines with the Scarlet Knights from 2007-15. As a player from 1997-2001, Pointer led Rutgers to the 2000 Final Four, the hallmark of a 128-game career that produced program-record totals of 839 assists and 292 steals while scoring 1,456 points. Pointer was inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008, which was also her first year on the coaching staff that guided the Scarlet Knights to an NCAA Elite Eight, a Sweet 16, and a WNIT Championship during seven overall trips to the postseason.
McCray-Penson comes to Piscataway, New Jersey with 15 years of college coaching experience, most recently as a head coach at Mississippi State and Old Dominion, which followed a standout college playing career at Tennessee, nine seasons in the WNBA and two gold-medal winning performances with Team USA at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics.
Hampton, the former head coach at Clarkson University, has spent the last seven seasons at St. Joseph's, including the last three as the Hawks' assistant head coach. At St. Joe's, Hampton helped lead the Hawks to the postseason twice, an Atlantic 10 Tournament title game, a Hawk Classic crown, and a WNIT victory. Hampton graduated from Mansfield University in 2008, where he joined the men's basketball program as a walk-on and went on to earn the team's MVP twice in 2007 and 2008. He was selected as a PSAC All-Conference honoree as a senior.
Scarlet Knights on the Big Screen
The Scarlet Knights are set for eight appearances between the Big Ten Network and Fox Sports 1.
- vs. Ohio State – Dec. 4 – 12 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. New Orleans – Dec. 18 – 2 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. Maryland – Jan. 2 – 2 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. Nebraska – Jan. 7 – 2 p.m. (BTN)
- at Minnesota – Jan. 12 – 8:30 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. Michigan – Jan. 19 – 8:30 p.m. (BTN)
- at Iowa – Feb. 12 – 3 p.m. (FS1)
- at Wisconsin – Feb. 20 – 8 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. Illinois – Feb. 26 – 2 p.m. *Could be flexed to B1G+
The entire Big Ten Tournament run will also be broadcast nationally.
The remaining 11 home games on the schedule not set to air on TV will be streamed on Big Ten+.
History Against Maryland
Maryland owns the edge over Rutgers in the all-time series, 30-12. The Scarlet Knights have dropped the last six meetings, with the team's most recent win coming on Dec. 31, 2018 (73-65).
Scouting the Terps
After winning six in a row, Maryland dropped its most recent outing to No. 6 Indiana (61-68) on Jan. 12. Before that, they had not lost a game until Dec. 12 versus Nebraska (67-90).
The Terrapins are 3-2 against ranked opponents this season, defeating then-No. 17 Baylor (73-68) and then-No. 7 Notre Dame (74-72) in addition to then-No. 6 UCONN (85-78). The team fell to No. 1 South Carolina in their second game of the season (56-81) in addition to the Hoosiers.
Diamond Miller (18.8), Shyanne Sellers (14.4) and Abby Meyers (14.2) pace the team with double-digit averages. Miller also tops the statistics when it comes to rebounding with 6.6 boards per game.
Last Time Out Against UMD
Rutgers fell to then-No. 16/17 Maryland in its most recent meeting, 78-67, on Jan. 2, 2023.
Kaylene Smikle led all scorers with 29 points, setting a new career-high. Kassondra Brown was the other double-digit scorer for Rutgers, collecting 12 points on 71.4 percent shooting.
Awa Sidibe tied her career-high with six assists in the contest. She continues to share the ball well, averaging 5.8 assists over the last four games.
Rutgers had a strong presence down low, out rebounding Maryland 39-33 (+6). The Scarlet Knights also earned one more block (4-3) and scored six more points in the paint than the Terrapins (36-30). Chyna Cornwell had another strong performance on the glass with 13 rebounds, her third highest total this season.
Next Up
Rutgers will return home to welcome No. 17/20 Michigan to Jersey Mike's Arena on Thursday, Jan. 19 for an 8:30 p.m. contest. The game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network, the Scarlet Knights' fourth game on national television in the month of January.
Follow Along
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@RutgersWBB) for all of the latest news and updates. The team is also on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersWBB). For all Rutgers Athletics news follow us on Twitter(@RUAthletics), Instagram (@RUAthletics), and Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics). For additional updates, please download the Gameday App.
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