CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Rutgers women's basketball team (4-4) will travel to Boston College (5-3) for the ACC/B1G Challenge on Wednesday, Nov. 30 for a 7 p.m. tip.
The game will be broadcast on NESN.
Last Time Out
The Scarlet Knights downed Cornell on Sunday afternoon, 71-52, in their return to 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.
RU 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.
First Year Phenom
Eight contests into the season, freshman Kaylene Smikle has made a big impact for the Scarlet Knights.
While leading the team with 13.6 points per game, Smikle is the only Scarlet Knight to net 20+ points in a game, scoring 22 against South Dakota State (Nov. 20) and a career-best 23 against Cornell (Nov. 27). She has reached double-digit scoring in five outings this campaign.
The Farmingdale, New York product is sold from beyond the arc, shooting 38.9 percent from deep to rank second on the team. Her 14 three-pointers currently paces the Scarlet Knights as well as her five three's against the Jack Rabbits for the highest performance in a single game this season for RU.
Strong Off the Boards
In all four wins for Rutgers this season, Rutgers has secured more rebounds than its opposition.
The team has recorded 30+ rebounds in seven of eight outings, including a season-high 53 against Cornell (Nov. 27). The team also earned its highest rebounding margin against the Big Red, +23.
Chyna Cornwell leads the Scarlet Knights off the boards, with 8.8 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.
The Scarlet Knights Against the Top-25
RU will meet nine teams mentioned between the AP Top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Polls, including six Big Ten and three nonconference opponents:
- No. 4/5 Ohio State*
- No. 5/4 Indiana*
- No. 10/10 Iowa*
- No. 20/21 Maryland*
- No. 22/18 Texas#
- No. 17/20 Michigan*
- RV/RV Tennessee#
- NR/RV Nebraska*
- RV/RV South Dakota State#
*Big Ten contest
# Battle4Atlantis
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.
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 Boston College
Rutgers owns the 14-10 edge over Boston College in the all-time series. The teams met at least once every season from 1996-2005 when both were in the BIG EAST conference and then sparked a new rivalry in a three-year stretch from 2009-11.
Rutgers won the last meeting at home, 74-58, on Nov. 16, 2011, but fell, 75-84, the last time the team played at Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts on Dec. 12, 2010.
Scouting The Golden Eagles
After the first three games of its season, Boston College went on a four-game winning streak, defeating Northeastern (64-59), Providence (73-64), Holy Cross (52-42) and Morgan State (75-34). The run was ended by Stephen F. Austin at the Puerto Rico Clasico, 53-67.
Earlier in the season, the Golden Eagles fell to Big Ten foe then-No. 14/15 Ohio State, 64-82.
Dontavi Waggoner paces the team, averaging 11.6 points in addition to 26 steals. Maria Gakdeng leads the team off the glass with 8.4 rebounds per game.
Next Up
Rutgers will return to Jersey Mike's Arena to celebrate C. Vivian Stringer against Ohio State in the Big Ten opener on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 12 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
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.
- RU -
