PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS — The Rutgers women's basketball team (3-2) fell to No. 11/12 Tennessee in the first round of Battle4Atlantis, 94-54, on Saturday afternoon.
Kaylene Smikle led the team with a career-high 16 points. Awa Sidibe paced the team with eight boards while also adding 10 points. Kassondra Brown also netted 12 points to round out the group of three Scarlet Knights in double figure scoring.
How it Happened
- Tennessee came out to an early 7-0 lead, forcing a Rutgers timeout at the 8:50 mark in the first quarter. Brown broke through to get Rutgers' first points at 7:45.
- Smikle and Sidibe followed up with a baskets to cut the deficit, 9-6 at the halfway point of the opening period.
- The Scarlet Knights ended the first quarter on a 6-0 run, forcing three turnovers in the final 1:26. The Lady Vols ended the first half with a slight 22-15 edge.
- Tennessee continued to its strong play to start the second, extending their lead to 38-19 at the 6:40 media timeout.
- With 1:30 to play, RU went on another big 7-0 spurt, holding UT scoreless for over three minutes to cut the lead to 14 points.
- The Lady Vols turned it around though, ending the first half on a 10-0 run to take the 52-28 lead into the locker room.
- Tennessee continued to go to the basket, going 5-of-5 from the field leading into the 5:48 media timeout to extend its advantage, 64-32. UT went on another big run to end the third in front.
- At the midway point of the fourth, Brown added a jumper from the top of the key to put herself in double digits. Moments later she added two from the charity stripe to extend her total to 12 points.
- Chyna Cornwell packed on, recording a big three-point play followed up with a second chance layup to get Rutgers' to 49 total points.
- Smikle capitalized, scoring on the final two possessions with a three-pointer and a field goal. The team was also strong on defense to end the contests, forcing four Lady Vol turns in the closing 3:47.
Knight Notes
- Awa Sidibe has now reached double-digit scoring in all five games this season. Three or more players have reached double figures in every game so far this campaign.
- RU has been solid from the charity stripe through the first four contests of the season, with a 73.6 percent overall shooting percentage on the season. On Saturday, RU shot 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the line.
Next Up
Rutgers will play their second game in the Battle4Atlantis Tournament in either seven (5 p.m.) against RV/RV UCLA or RV/RV South Dakota State.
Follow Along
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