UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Rutgers women's basketball team (6-9, 0-3 B1G) fell to Penn State (10-4, 1-2 B1G) on Friday night on the road, 90-72.
Kaylene Smikle netted a team-high 18 points for her 11th double-digit scoring outing of the season. Chyna Cornwell and Kassondra Brown also reach double figures with 13 apiece while Erica Lafayette added 10.
The Scarlet Knights outrebounded the Nittany Lions, 41-29 (+12). Brown paced the team witth eight boards while Cornwell also secured seven off the glass.
How it Happened
- Penn State got out to an early 4-2 lead, as Smikle scored the loan basket for Rutgers in the opening minutes of play. The freshman continued to go to the rim, adding another layup as the Nittany Lions extended their edge, 7-4.
- The opposition pressed on, going on an 11-0 run and forcing multiple turnovers to take the 18-4 advantage and force a Scarlet Knights' timeout at the 5:40 mark.
- Cornwell ended the spurt out of the stop, securing a layup to cut the deficit. Brown and Smikle followed up, added back-to-back scores to put the score within 11 points.
- Penn State continued to pile on, ending the first quarter in front, 33-13.
- Both teams started off the second period with free throws, each hitting both shots from the line. Penn State kept it going with a three, but Sidibe, Smikle and Brown answered with seven combined points to cut down on the lead.
- The Nittany Lions came back with a jumper and pair of shots from the charity stripe to go into the 4:57 media timeout up, 42-22.
- Out of the break, Rutgers went 3-for-3 from the field, including back-to-back three-pointers from Smikle and Abby Streeter.
- Penn State did not let up though, matching RU on the floor to maintain the 49-28 edge with just over a minute to play in the opening half. The opponent added four more points before halftime to go into the locker room with the 53-29 lead.
- Brown kicked off scoring for the Scarlet Knights in the second half with a three-pointer. Cornwell followed up with a layup to keep the offensive momentum going.
- However, the Nittany Lions netted nine points to start the third and keep the comfortable edge.
- Lafayette and Kai Carter collected consecutive scores before an RU timeout just before the halfway point of the third.
- Sidibe hit a big three-point play out of the stop to try to close the gap. Penn State, however, outscored Rutgers 12-8 to bring the 72-50 advantage into the final quarter of action.
- Brown once again kicked off scoring in the fourth quarter with an early layup. Lafayette and Cornwell followed up with buckets, but PSU kept their foot on the gas, keeping the 20-point lead with 8:24 to play.
- Rutgers added a quick four points thanks to Smikle and Lafayette, forcing Penn State's first timeout of the contest. Both squads added scores out of the break to keep the difference the same.
- The Nittany Lions went onto score five unanswered points and extend their lead. Brown ended the stretch with a layup and both teams then went onto added two pairs of shots from the line.
- Lafayette added two more final free throws to end scoring with Penn State on top, 90-72.
Knights Notes
- Kaylene Smikle hit two three-pointers against the Nittany Lions, continuing her streak of making at least one three-pointer in every game this season. She has hit two or more shots from deep in the last four games.
- Smikle has netted double figures in 11 games this season and led scoring for RU in eight contests.
- The Scarlet Knight's 16 team assists marked their 10th double-digit assist game this season.
- With five assists on Friday, Sidibe has now earned five or more helpers this season. She has led the team in the statistic nine times.
- Rutgers outscored Penn State in the second half, 43-37.
Next Up
Rutgers will play its first game of 2023 against Maryland at Jersey Mike's Arena on Monday, Jan. 2. The contest will begin at 2 p.m. and broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
Follow Along
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