Rutgers University
North Carolina Central
Women's Basketball to Face NC Central in Midweek Contest
Nov 15 | Women's Basketball
PISCATWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers women's basketball team (2-1) will finish out their four-game home stand on Wednesday, Nov. 16 against North Carolina Central (1-2). The game at Jersey Mike's Arena will tip off at 7 p.m. and be streamed on Big Ten+.
On the Call
- Watch on B1G+ (Play-by-play: Dom Savino; Analyst: Dominque Patrick)
- Listen on Fox Sports New Jersey 1450 AM / 93.5 FM (Play-by-play: Ralph Bednarczyk; Analyst: Mark Peterson)
- Listen on WRSU 88.7 FM
Last Time Out
Kassondra Brown's 18 points led five different Scarlet Knights with at least 12 as Rutgers 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.
Sunday Funday 👌 ➡️ Sunday Dubday 👏#GoRU | #RUWBB pic.twitter.com/VjtK18bHby
— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) November 14, 2022
Doubling Up
Four or more Scarlet Knights have reached double-digit scoring so far this season. Awa Sidibe, Chyna Cornwell and Erica Lafayette lead the charge, as they have reached 10+ points in all three contests. RU is 2-0 this season when five or more players reach double figures.
In addition, against Seton Hall (Nov. 11), Sidibe (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Cornwell (10 points, 10 rebounds) both recorded their first double-doubles of their career.
The Scarlet Knights Against the Top-25
With the release of the AP Top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Preseason Polls, RU is set to face seven teams ranked between the two rankings, including six Big Ten and three nonconference opponents:
- No. 4/6 Iowa*
- No. 8/15 Ohio State*
- No. 11/5 Tennessee
- No. 12/11 Indiana*
- No. 19/18 Maryland*
- No. 22/22 Nebraska*
- No. 23/23 Michigan*
*Big Ten contest
Future opponent Princeton is mentioned in the poll collecting four votes. UCLA (31), South Dakota State (15) and Gonzaga (5) who are apart of the Battle4Atlantis Tournament field are also receiving votes.
Staying Home
The Scarlet Knights will compete in 12 nonconference games this season before jumping into Big Ten play.
Of the 12 games, RU will play eight at their home court of Jersey Mike's Arena, including the first four. The only time the team will leave "On The Banks" will be for three games at the Battle4Atlantis Tournament, held in Paradise Island, Bahamas and to face Boston College for the ACC/B1G Challenge.
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.
The Returners
The trio of Chyna Cornwell, Erica Lafayette and Awa Sidibe will suit up in Scarlet & White once again this season, returning to the roster.
Sidibe leads the group, playing 30 games in the 2021-22 slate with four starts. She added 4.1 points per game in addition to 20 steals. Cornwell saw action in 24 outings, averaging 2.2 points, 2.2 rebounds per game and a .606 shooting percentage (23-of-38). Rounding out the group, Lafayette appeared in 17 games and made one start, recording a season-best four points and two rebounds against Delaware State.
Transferring In
The Scarlet Knights welcomed three transfers during the offseason in Kassondra Brown, Kai Carter and Abby Streeter.
An Abington, Pennsylvania native, Brown comes from nearby Saint Peter's where she appeared and started in 28 games during the 2021-22 slate. She averaged 14.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game and ranked 33rd in the nation with 13 double-doubles and 35th with 10.1 rebounds per game. Brown was a two-time MAAC Player of the Week (2/14 and 2/28) and was named to the 2021-22 MAAC All-Second Team.
Carter joins RU after playing three seasons at UNC Ashville. During her junior season (2021-22) led the Bulldogs in 3-pointers made (55) and rebounds (200), while also ranking second in scoring (473 points) and 3-point shooting percentage (28.9). The Atlanta, Georgia product posted seven double-doubles as a junior and scored 20 or more points nine times. Carter was also a 2021 All-Big South Second Team selection.
Hailing from Nashua, New Hampshire, Streeter comes "On The Banks" after stops at Rhode Island and most recently Hartford. Over the course of the 2021-22 season, Streeter appeared in all 30 games for the Hawks and started the final 28 games of the season. She averaged 9.6 and 2.5 rebounds per game and paced the team with 78 three-pointers made and ranked second with a 41.7 percentage.
New Kids "On The Banks"
Freshmen Kaylene Smikle and Antonia Bates joined Rutgers ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Smikle is a 6-foot winger out of Farmingdale, New York. She was ranked as a four-star recruit in addition to the No. 11 ranked wing in the nation according to espnW and the No. 64 overall recruit in the country. Smikle was also named the 2021-22 Gatorade Pennsylvania Girls Basketball Player of the Year, the first in her high school's (Westtown) history.
Originally from Bound Brook, New Jersey, Bates is a 6-foot-3 star guard/forward. She moved to Easton, Pennsylvania when she was four, where she played for Notre Dame High School before transferring to Rutgers Prep for her final year of high school. Bates scored 12.4 points per game last winter for Notre Dame while leading the Crusaders to their first state semifinal in program history. She was the No. 40 ranked guard in the country according to espnW.
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+.
Theme Games
Rutgers women's basketball has announced the following four theme games for the 2022-23 season:
- Dec. 4th – C. Vivian Stringer Day
- Feb. 5th – Play4Kay Game
- Feb. 26th – Senior Day / Thank You Fans
More theme games and details will be released as each individual contest approaches.
History Against North Carolina Central
Wednesday's game will be the first-ever meeting between Rutgers and North Carolina Central.
Scouting The Eagles
After defeating Johnson C. Smith (69-56) in its season opener, North Carolina Central dropped consecutive contests to FIU (56-103) and Campbell (55-71).
Jerni Kiaku leads the way for the Eagles with 12.7 points per game. The freshman has reached double digits in two of the three contests so far (13 points vs. Johnson C. Smith and 16 points vs. Campbell). Blessing Okoh paces the team on the boards, averaging 6.0 rebounds. She brought in a career-high 13 rebounds in the season opener.
Last season, NCC finished with a 5-20 overall mark including a 3-11 record in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Next Up
Rutgers will leave Jersey Mike's Arena for the first time this season to compete in Battle4Atlantis in the Bahamas from Nov. 19-21. The team will take on Tennessee in the first contest of the three-game tournament on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 12 p.m. ET. The game be streamed on FloHoops.
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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