Rutgers University
Northwestern
Women's Basketball Welcomes Northwestern Wednesday Night
Feb 14 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The Rutgers women's basketball team (10-16, 4-10 B1G) will be back in Jersey Mike's Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 15 to take on Northwestern at 7 p.m.
The contest will be streamed on B1G+.
The Scarlet Knights will also be celebrating their Black Excellence Game in honor of Black History Month. The team will be wearing special Adidas Black History Month uniforms in an effort to remind every to continue exploring our past and celebrating the present.
ᴇxᴘʟᴏʀɪɴɢ ᴏᴜʀ ᴘᴀꜱᴛ, ᴄᴇʟᴇʙʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴏᴜʀ ᴘʀᴇꜱᴇɴᴛ.
— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) February 13, 2023
Rutgers will wear Black Excellence jerseys against Northwestern on Wednesday‼️#GoRU | #RUWBB | #adidasbasketball pic.twitter.com/WW6saLqbxf
On the Call
- B1G+ (Dom Savino and Dominique Patrick)
- Listen on Fox Sports New Jersey 1450 AM / 93.5 FM (Ralph Bednarczyk & Mark Peterson)
- Listen on WRSU
Last Time Out
Rutgers was downed by No. 5/6 Iowa, 111-57, on the road, Sunday afternoon.
Kaylene Smikle netted 28 points to lead all scoring in the game and come within one point of matching her career high. She also paced the team with five rebounds and five steals.
Smikle (8-for-8) and Awa Sidibe (2-for-2) led the Scarlet Knights at the free throw line as the team went a perfect 10-for-10.
Milestones on Milestones
With 11 points against Michigan State on Jan. 22, Kai Carter reached the 1,000-point milestone. She hit a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the achievement. She is the only active Scarlet Knight to hit 1,000 career points.
1⃣0⃣0⃣0⃣
— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) January 22, 2023
📺 @BigTenPlus
📊 https://t.co/jYZDXYwoSM#GoRU | #RUWBB | #B1GWBBall pic.twitter.com/QoqsmthpRh
The next game against Penn State (Jan 29), Carter also notched her 500th career rebound, recording eight total boards in the win.
1,000 points and 500 rebounds... what a time to be Kai Carter 🤩
— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) January 27, 2023
📺 @BigTenPlus
📊 https://t.co/IQ5v58OZii#GoRU | #RUWBB | #B1GWBBall pic.twitter.com/TDOcOQEPqG
Making History
The team's win over Minnesota (Jan. 12) marked the 1,000th program win for Rutgers. The six-point win also marked head coach Coquese Washington's 100th Big Ten win.
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
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
First Year Phenom
Freshman Kaylene Smikle continues to impress as she paces the team with 17.4 points per game in addition to averaging 19.9 points in Big Ten play.
Smikle is the only Scarlet Knight to net 20+ points in a game, accomplishing the feat 12 times, including versus nine Big Ten opponents:
- 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 at Minnesota (Jan. 12)
- 21 points at Maryland (Jan. 15)
- 27 points at Michigan State (Jan. 22)
- 25 points at Indiana (Jan. 29)
- 28 points at Iowa (Feb. 12)
The rookie has reached double-digit scoring in 21 of 25 outings this campaign. She has hit double figures in the last 13 of 14 games.
The Farmingdale, New York product has also been solid from beyond the arc. Her 46 three-pointers lead the Scarlet Knights while her five three's against South Dakota State rank as the highest performance in a single game for RU. She has hit at least one three in 24 of 26 contests this slate.
In addition, Smikle has been efficient from the charity stripe, making 23 free throws in a row over the course of five outings, dating back to Jan. 26 vs. Penn State. She went 5-for-6 at the line against the Nittany Lions but has been perfect since.
B1G Blocks
Rutgers has recorded 113 blocks over 26 games to rank second in the Big Ten. RU was the first team in the league to hit triple digits.
Antonia Bates paces RU with 26 total blocks, ranking eighth in the Big Ten. She has led the team in the stats six times. Kaylene Smikle also sits in 12th with 21 swats and has paced the squad in seven games. Four Scarlet Knights have registered three or more blocks in a single contest two or more times.
Doubling Up
The Scarlet Knights have combined for 10 double-doubles this season including three in Big Ten play.
Chyna Cornwell leads the team with eight double-doubles, including three in Big Ten play:
- vs. Seton Hall (Nov. 11) – 10 points, 10 rebounds
- vs. Cornell (Nov. 27) – 11 points, 16 rebounds
- at Illinois (Dec. 7) – 10 points, 11 rebounds
- vs. Hampton (Dec. 10) – 18 points, 14 rebounds
- vs. New Orleans (Dec. 18) – 15 points, rebounds
- at Maryland (Jan. 15) – 15 points, 13 rebounds
- vs. Penn State (Jan. 26) – 16 points, 10 rebounds
- vs. Wisconsin (Feb. 5) – 16 points, 11 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
Rutgers has secured more or the same rebounds as the opposition in 14 outings this season, including all but three wins. This season, RU has outrebounded its opponents 953-949 (+4).
The team has recorded 30+ rebounds in 21 of 26 outings and 40+ boards in 10 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 8.4 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.
In addition, the Conover, North Carolina native ranks second in the Big Ten with 82 total offensive rebounds.
The Scarlet Knights Against the Top-25
RU will still meet four teams mentioned between the AP Top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Polls this season:
- No. 7/6 Iowa
- No. 12/14 Michigan
- RV/RV Illinois
- NR/RV Purdue
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 Northwestern
Northwestern owns the 5-7 edge in the all-time series against Rutgers. The two programs have traded the lats four contests back and forth as the Wildcats came out on top in the last meeting on Jan. 13, 2022 (63-68).
Scouting the Wildcats
Northwestern has struggled as the team dropped eight contests in a row before earning its first Big Ten win over Wisconsin, 70-67, at the end of January. Since then, the Wildcats have been on a four-game slide, most recently falling to Purdue, 61-76.
Caileigh Walsh (11.5) and Sydney Wood (10.6) paces the team with double-digit point averages. Walsh also leads the team off the glass with 5.0 rebounds per game.
Next Up
Rutgers will play its final two road games on the season, traveling to Wisconsin on Monday, Feb. 20 (8 p.m. ET) and Michigan on Thursday, Feb. 23 (7 p.m.).
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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