PISCATWAY, N.J. – Kassondra Brown's 18 points led five different Scarlet Knights with at least 12 as Rutgers women's basketball (2-1) used a balanced attack to defeat NJIT (1-2) by an 87-71 final score on Sunday at Jersey Mike's Arena.
The Scarlet Knights dominated the glass with a 50-30 advantage in rebounding and turned the possession battle into a season-high point output on 53 percent shooting from the field. Meanwhile, NJIT was held to 34 percent from the floor. Rutgers made the most of its free throws, making 20-of-21 from the line, led by Brown's 8-of-8 mark.
"We knew we had a height advantage, so we wanted to pound the ball inside," said head coach Coquese Washington. "Chyna Cornwell, Kassondra Brown, and Awa Sidibe have done a great job our first three games getting buckets down there efficiently. That's something we needed to take advantage of today in the paint."
The advantage led to Rutgers outscoring the Highlanders, 44-26, in the paint.
Brown led Rutgers with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go with her 8-of-8 mark from the free throw line and nine rebounds. Erica Lafayette, Sidibe, and freshman Kaylene Smikle all chipped in 13 points, with Smikle reaching a young career high in her third collegiate game. Cornwell was the fifth in double figures with 12 on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting, also falling one board shy of a double-double with nine.
The work on the boards was accomplished on both ends, with 13 offensive rebounds leading to a 25-9 advantage in second chance points.
On Sue Wicks Day, the program's all-time leading scorer (2,655) returned "On the Banks" to be honored and address the crowd at Jersey Mike's Arena. The greatest scorer in Rutgers history inspired the team's highest scoring quarter of the season with 27 points in the second, leading to a season-high 87 points in the victory.
A 10-0 run in the first quarter, fittingly powered by four different players (Smikle, Brown, Sidibe, and Kai Carter), gave Rutgers a lead it would not relinquish at 12-6 with 2:12 to play in the opening period. The Scarlet Knights closed the second quarter on an 11-1 run to lead by 16, and used an 11-0 run midway in the third to go ahead 59-33, again with four different players contributing to the scoring spurt.
Rutgers did withstand a final counterpunch from NJIT, which put together a 12-0 run early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 68-54. Abby Streeter hit one of her three 3-pointers to stop the run, one of two triples for Streeter in the final quarter for her nine points.
Carter ended with nine points and eight boards, while Lafayette had a team-high four assists.
Knight Notes
- Four or more players have reached double-digit scoring in all three games so far this season.
- Rutgers' 27 points in the second quarter was the highest scoring period of the 2022-23 season.
- Rutgers had five players in double-figure scoring and improve to 2-0 when five players score in double-digits.
- Kaylene Smikle reached double-digits for the first time in her career.
- Awa Sidibe, Erica Lafayette, and Chyna Cornwell have scored in double-figures in all three contests.
Sound On
Next Up
Rutgers stays home to host North Carolina Central on Wed., Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at Jersey Mike's Arena, the final game before a three-game trip to the Battle4Atlantis in the Bahamas from Nov. 19-21.
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