Rutgers University
Northwestern
Women's Basketball Gets Back Into Big Ten Play at Northwestern
Dec 29 | Women's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. – The Rutgers women's basketball team (6-8, 0-1 B1G) will get back into Big Ten play as it travels to face Northwestern (5-7, 0-1 B1G) on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 3 p.m. ET.
The game will be streamed live on B1G+ and available to listen live on WRSU.
Last Time Out
Rutgers closed its nonconference slate on Sunday evening, falling to No. 16/14 Virginia Tech (8-2, 0-0 ACC), 84-59, at Jersey Mike's Arena.
Kaylene Smikle led scoring for the Scarlet Knights with a 22-point performance. The sophomore also added four rebounds, one block and one steal.
Kassondra Brown also netted double figures, with her season-best 15 points. In addition, Brown added six boards.
Chyna Cornwell led RU off the glass with 11 boards to add to the team's total of 35.
KB 1K
Brown used a layup at the fourth quarter's 7:02 mark against La Salle to record her 1000th career point.
🚨 1,000 POINTS 🚨
— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) December 6, 2023
With that bucket, Kassondra Brown surpasses the 1,000-point milestone!
📺 @BigTenPlus
📊 https://t.co/VR8Tl6zKNk #GoRU | #RUWBB pic.twitter.com/LSHy7eq2iD
The graduate student out of Abington, Pennsylvania, had a strong game with a season-best 12 points, going 5-of-8 shooting (63 percent) from the field, along with six rebounds.
Brown becomes the 39th Scarlet Knight in program history to reach the milestone and the second under head coach Coquese Washington.
All the smiles, all the celebrations, all the love for KB's 1,000th 🤩#GoRU | #RUWBB pic.twitter.com/lpEsAlzdSF
— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) December 6, 2023
Smikle's Success
Kaylene Smikle has not skipped a beat following her historic freshman season "On The Banks" as she continues to achieve greatness.
The sophomore guard currently paces the team with 17.1 points per game. She has reached double figure scoring in 11 of 14 games this season and 20+ points in six outings so far.
- vs. Wagner (Nov. 6) - 20 points
- vs. Auburn (Nov. 12) - 19 points
- at Seton Hall (Nov. 15) - 13 points
- vs. Texas Tech (Nov. 24) - 20 points
- vs. Boise State (Nov. 25) - 25 points
- vs. Delaware State (Nov. 29) - 33 points
- vs. Lafayette (Dec. 1) - 13 points
- vs. La Salle (Dec. 5) - 21 points
- vs. Indiana (Dec. 9) - 19 points
- vs. Princeton (Dec. 13) - 14 points
- vs. Virginia Tech (Dec. 17) - 22 points
The sophomore guard has now reached double figures in 37 games during her collegiate career and 20+ points in 20 contests.
Against Lafayette, she recorded the first 30+ point game of her career with 33 points. The performance was the first 30-point performance since Arella Guirantes recorded 30 points in the NCAA Tournament against BYU on March 22, 2021. The sophomore's 33 points also marked the most points recorded at Jersey Mike's Arena since Guirantes recorded 36 points in the building on February 22, 2020 against Ohio State.
In addition, the Farmingdale, New York product has added to her game, finding success off the glass. She ranks fourth on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game and has secured 5+ boards in seven contests. Smikle has recorded the first two double-doubles of her career this season as well.
- vs. Wagner (Nov. 6) - 20 points, 11 rebounds
- vs. La Sallle (Dec. 5) - 21 points, 11 rebounds
Strong Off the Boards
The Scarlet Knights are picking up where they left off last season with a strong presence on the boards.
In the second game of the season against Wagner, RU beat their previous high off the glass from last season, grabbing 55 boards. The squad outrebounded its opponent in nine of 13 games this season including a campaign high +24 margin against Wagner.
RU has reached 40+ rebounds in seven outings this campaign, including three of its last six contests.
With 560 rebounds so far, Rutgers currently paces the Big Ten off the glass, leading the second-place team, Iowa, by 45 boards.
Copper Comes Home
Rutgers has officially announced the addition of three-time WNBA All-Star and Scarlet Knights alum, Kahleah Copper, to round out its 2023-24 coaching staff. Copper played for Rutgers from 2012 to 2016, was picked No. 7 overall in the 2016 WNBA draft and has since gone on to be a WNBA Champion, WNBA Finals MVP and one of the league's most dynamic players.
Copper will serve as the Director of Athletic Culture & Professional Development with a focus on helping student-athletes continue to grow and develop for careers on the next level. Copper will aid in recruiting efforts, alumni events, fundraising as well as community outreach opportunities. An eight-year veteran of the WNBA, Copper will also assist with on-court workouts and share her professional basketball experience.
50 Seasons
Rutgers will celebrate 50 seasons of women's basketball on Sunday, Jan. 21 against Michigan at 2 p.m. The team will welcome back both Letterwinners and fans "On The Banks" during the weekend for various events, activities and giveaways celebrating 50 years of Rutgers women's basketball.
Since their first season in 1974, the Scarlet Knights have proven they are a nationally elite program with a tradition of success. The program has appeared in 26 NCAA Tournaments in addition to four Sweet Sixteens, five Elite Eights, two Final Fours and one National Championship game.
Rutgers has also produced over 35 1,000-point scorers, four First Team All-Americans and 56 All-Conference Team Selections. Scarlet Knights have gone onto find success at the professional level as well, with 24 alumni who have competed in the WNBA, six WNBA Champions, four Olympians and 11 Team USA Basketball members.
RU has had two Naismith Hall of Fame coaches in Theresa Grentz and C. Vivian Stringer who both led the program to new heights during their time in Piscataway, setting a strong foundation and culture for generations to follow. Current head coach Coquese Washington has continued to build upon their tradition and bring Rutgers into a new era.
Rutgers just launched its 50 seasons website, where you can scroll through photo and video galleries, check out a timeline of the program's history, view archives statistics and Alumni Spotlights. Fans can also submit their favorite Scarlet Knights memory from through the years. You can access all this information and more here.
The Scarlet Knights Against the Top-25
Rutgers is currently slated to face four opponents currently ranked in the AP/USA Today/WBCA Coaches Polls.
- No. 4/3 Iowa*
- No. 14/14 Virginia Tech
- No. 16/15 Indiana*
- No. 17/13 Ohio State*
Michigan State* (AP), Penn State* (AP Poll), Maryland (USA Today/WBCA), Princeton (USA Today/WBCA), and Seton Hall (USA Today/WBCA) are also all currently receiving votes in the polls.
*Big Ten contest
Successful Staff
Along with Washington, assistant coaches Tasha Pointer and John Hampton will also be returning to the sidelines this season for the Scarlet Knights. There will also be some new faces as well, with the additions of Nneka Enemkpali, Jeanine Wasielewski and Kahleah Copper to the staff.
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.
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.
Enemkpali comes to Piscataway after two seasons at Southern California where she also served as the Recruiting Coordinator. While with the Trojans, Enemkpali led efforts to sign the No. 1 prospect in the 2023 class. She also helped USC make strides on the court as she coached the 29th overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, Kadi Sissoko, to all All-Pac 12 honors. In addition, Enemkpali guided Rayah Marshall to All-PAC 12 and All-Defense honors as a sophomore. She went on to be selected to represent USA at the 2023 Americup games. Enemkpali is a 2015 graduate of Texas, where she earned three All-Big 12 selections and finished ranked No. 10 all-time in career rebounds (899) and No. 30 in career points (1,116).
Prior to joining the Scarlet Knights, Wasielewski was most recently the head coach at Southwestern Michigan College. She led the revival of the women's basketball program there, after a 25-year hiatus. In the program's first season back to competition in 2022-23, she recruited and coached a team of all freshmen to an 18-9 overall record, a 13-1 record on their home court and a third-place finish in conference that earned the squad a postseason tournament bid. She also spent time at Saint Francis (PA), Penn State under Washington, Loyola Chicago and MSU Denver. During her own collegiate player career, Wasielewski was a four-year letter winner at Northwestern University. She was a key contributor on the 1990 Big Ten Championship team, participated and advanced in two NCAA Tournaments and posted back-to-back 20-win seasons.
Copper enjoyed a legendary career at Rutgers before becoming one of the faces of the WNBA. The seventh overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft, Copper has played a pivotal role in leading the Chicago Sky's rise to success, becoming a three-time WNBA All-Star and leading the team to its first WNBA Championship in 2021 as the Finals MVP. Copper has played 254 games for the Sky, fourth most in franchise history, over her seven-year career in a Sky uniform. She ranks top-five in multiple statistical categories including fourth in scoring (2,676 points), tied for third in 25-plus point games in a single season with seven in 2023 and fifth in total rebounds (799). Copper finished her collegiate career third on Rutgers' all-time scoring list with 1,872 career points, only Sue Wicks and Cappie Pondexter ranked higher at the time. The Philadelphia native also led RU to a 2014 WNIT Championship and was named the MVP of the tournament as a sophomore. That same season, she was also selected to the American Athletic Conference First Team. Copper also guided the Scarlet Knights to the Second Round in the NCAA Tournament in 2015. She was a two-time Second Team All-Big Ten selection, by both the coaches and media.
Scarlet Knights on the Big Screen
Rutgers will appear on national television seven times this season with six scheduled contests on the Big Ten Network and one on Fox Sports 1.
- vs. Auburn – Saturday, Nov. 12 – 5 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. Indiana – Saturday, Dec. 9 – 4 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. Virginia Tech – Sunday, Dec. 17 – 5:30 p.m. (FS1)
- vs. Iowa – Friday, Jan. 5 – 6 p.m. (BTN)
- at Ohio State – Thursday, Jan. 11 – 6 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. Maryland – Tuesday, Feb. 6 – 8:30 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. Minnesota – Tuesday, Feb. 13 – 7 p.m. (BTN)
Theme Games
Rutgers will celebrate multiple theme games throughout the season. More theme games and details will be released as each individual contest approaches.
- Nov. 6 – vs. Monmouth – Opening Day
- Nov. 12 – vs. Auburn – Nikki McCray-Penson Day
- Nov. 18 – vs. Saint Francis – Food Drive
- Nov. 19 – vs. Delaware State – Recess Game
- Dec. 9 – vs. Indiana – Blackout Game & Community Day
- Dec. 17 – vs. Virginia Tech – Holiday Hoops/Youth Spirit Game
- Jan. 5 – vs. Iowa – Scarlet Out Game
- Jan. 21 – vs. Michigan – 50 Season Celebration Game
- Feb. 6 – vs. Maryland – Black Excellence Game
- Feb. 17 – vs. Wisconsin – Play4Kay Game
- March 3 – vs. Northwestern – Senior Day/Thank You Fans
History Against Northwestern
Rutgers is 7-7 in the all-time series against Northwestern. The Scarlet Knights have come out on top in the last three meetings, including two wins last season and one victory in the Big Ten Tournament, 63-59.
Scouting the Wildcats
After a six-game skid, Northwestern came out on top in its last two games, defeating Bradley (86-68) and Temple (72-68). The team is 0-1 in Big Ten play, suffering a 71-58 loss to Maryland on Dec. 10.
Caileigh Walsh (12.1) and Sydney Wood (10.4) both lead the Wildcats, averaging double-digit points. Wood also paces the team off the glass with 4.8 rebounds per game.
Looking Ahead
Rutgers will remain on the road at Purdue, going up against Purdue on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. ET.
Jumping to Iowa
The following traffic patterns will be altered for the Iowa game on Jan. 5:
Pre-Game Road Adjustments
Below is the diagram for entry flow of traffic for pre-game. This road adjustment will go into effect 60 minutes before tip. Hospital Road will be converted to a two-lane one-way toward Suttons Lane so fans can make their way to the lots in preparation for the game.
Post-Game Road Adjustments
Below is the diagram that details exit flow of traffic for post-game. This will go into effect with 5 minutes left in the second half of the game. Hospital Road will be re-converted to a two-lane one-way toward Ave E so fans can leave campus.
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.
