PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The Rutgers women's basketball team (4-4) downed Cornell on Sunday afternoon, 71-52, in Jersey Mike's Arena. Kaylene Smikle led the way with a career-high 23 points in addition to eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
The Scarlet Knights dominated off the glass, outrebounding the Big Red 53-30 (+23), a season high. Chyna Cornwell paced the team with 16 total rebounds, securing 11 boards in the first half alone, for a new career best.
In addition to her rebounding success, Cornwell also netted 11 points for her second double-double of the season. Awa Sidibe (16) and Abby Streeter (12) also joined the pair in double-figure scoring.
"I thought we did a good job of pursuing the ball," head coach Coquese Washington said. "There were a few times where we had two or three of our players fighting over the ball. That's something we definitely want to do was to use our aggressiveness to come down with the ball and I thought we did that. These two [Smikle and Cornwell] in particular did a really good job on the boards. Chyna [Cornwell] has been doing a great job on the boards all year so it was really good to see her and Kaylene [Smikle] joined the party with her in terms of getting there and crashing."
How it Happened
- Awa Sidibe got the Scarlet Knights on the board with an early layup. Brown built on the lead with another bucket on the following possessions.
- After more points from Smikle, Cornell answered to put the score within one, with a free throw and a three-pointer, 6-5.
- The Big Red hit a jumper just before the halfway mark of the period to overtake the 7-6 lead.
- Out of the stop, Rutgers and Cornell hit back-to-back three's to keep the opposition ahead, 10-9. Cornwell added a layup and shot from the line to regain the edge, 12-10.
- Cornell tied it up once again, just moments later on a fast break, 12-all.
- Rutgers came out with the first three scores of the second period, to take the 20-12 edge. Smikle and Streeter hit consecutive three's, forcing a Cornell timeout.
- Smikle followed up with her fourth three-pointer of the game out of the break to extend RU's advantage, 25-14.
- The Big Red followed up with a pair of scores to cut the deficit, 25-19. Both teams added one more score to end the half with an eight-point difference, 29-21.
- After an early basket from the Scarlet Knights to start the third, Cornwell came back with consecutive points to put the score within six, 31-25.
- Sidibe and Streeter answered though with five combined points to extend Rutgers' lead to double digits, 36-25.
- At the 4:58 media timeout, the Scarlet Knights went on a 7-0 run, forcing three turnovers to overtake the 13-point advantage.
- Following the stop, the Big Red scored on back-to-back plays to cut the lead back to 10, 42-32. Rutgers outscored Cornell 4-2 to end the third and take the 11-point lead into the final 10 minutes of action.
- Both teams traded baskets to start the fourth, keeping a comfortable 12-point difference at the 7:00 mark. Cornell kept its foot on the gas however, scoring four points in under 30 seconds to cut the deficit and force a Rutgers' timeout, 53-45.
- Out of the break, RU earned two big stops, forcing turnovers on two possessions in a row to put an end to the Big Red's spurt.
- Rutgers continued to go on an 8-1 run, holding Cornell to 0-of-6 from the field to take the 61-46 lead.
The Scarlet Knights kept piling on, adding eight free throws in the final two minutes to play. Cornell netted four points in the span to make the score 69-52. Smikle added one final driving layup to end the contest with the 19-point victory.
Volume Up
Knight Notes
- Smikle's 23-point outing marks the most points by a Scarlet Knight this season. It is also the second +20-point performance of the season after the freshman dropped 22 against South Dakota State (Nov. 20).
- Sidibe shot the ball exceptionally well against the Big Red, going 5-for-5 from the field and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
- Cornwell's double-double (11 pts, 16 reb) is her second and third for the team this season. She recorded her first against Seton Hall (10 pts, 10 reb).
- RU has outrebounded its opponent in all four wins this season. Sunday's 53 (+23) boards marks a new season high.
- Sunday afternoon's contest marks the second time this season four RU players have reached double-digit scoring. The team is now 1-1 when accomplishing the feat.
- The Scarlet Knights secured seven three-pointers against the Big Red, a season high. Smikle (3-for-4) and Streeter (4-for-9) led the charge from deep.
- Rutgers is 4-0 when leading at halftime and the third quarter.
Next Up
Rutgers will head north for the ACC/B1G Challenge, traveling to Boston College on Wednesday, Nov. 30 for a 7 p.m. tip.
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