CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Chyna Cornwell recorded her third double-doubles (10 pts, 11 reb) of the season as the Rutgers women's basketball team (4-7, 0-2 B1G) fell to Illinois (8-2, 1-1 B1G) on Wednesday night.  

Kaylene Smikle paced the Scarlet Knights with 22 points for her second consecutive performance with 20+ points. Awa Sidibe also netted 13 points, in addition to eight boards, to round out the group in double-figure scoring.  

How it Happened 

• Rutgers got out to a lightening quick start, as the team won the opening tip and scored four seconds into the contest. Illinois turned around and quickly took the lead with a three on its first possession.  
• After both teams went scoreless through the 5:30 mark, the Illini broke through to build on their lead, 7-4. The opposition continued to go on a 6-0 run into the 4:42 media timeout.  
• Out of the stop, Kassondra Brown hit a three to put an end to the run for Illinois. Both teams traded points as the Illini stayed in front, 14-10. 
• With under two minutes to play, Illinois hit back-to-back three's to force RU's first timeout of the game and make the score 20-10. The team hit one more shot from deep before the end of the first to carry the 23-10 edge into the second period.  
• Sidibe added three field goals early for the Scarlet Knights to secure six points in beginning 2:12 of the quarter. Illinios recorded three shots from the line in addition to another three to keep the 29-16 lead. 
• At the halfway point of the second 10 minutes, both teams traded trips up and down the floor, but the opponent kept the lead, 35-20. 
• In the latter half of the period, both teams struggled to find the basket, going over four minutes without a score. Illinois added a three in the final moments of the half to take the 40-22 advantage into halftime.  
• Illinois and Rutgers each opened the second half with a three-pointer. The two teams went onto mirror each other further, each hitting two free throws and a shot from the floor. The Illini still kept the 49-29 edge. 
• Rutgers went on to battle as Cornwell added a layup while Smikle contributed a shot from the charity stripe to cut the deficit, 49-32. 
• Just under the 5:00 threshold, Illinois netted five points stay in control, 54-32.  
• Carter and Lafayette strung together consecutive buckets while Sidibe added a three just before the end of the third to make the score 60-43. 
• The Scarlet Knights started off the final period with a pair of scores from Smikle to cut the difference 60-47. The RU defense also forced two turnovers from the Illini on the first two possessions.  
• Illinois did not get a basket until the 7:18 mark when the team hit a three, the start of a 9-2 run for the team.  
• Both teams went onto trade possessions once again until the two-minute mark, as Illinois remained ahead, 78-57.  
• Smikle added three shots from the charity stripe while Cornwell secured a late layup to end the contest with a score of 80-62.  

Knight Notes  

• Smikle is the only Scarlet Knight to reach 20+ this season. She paces the team with four performances with 20 or more points, all off the bench. In addition to Wednesday's 22 points, she also secured 22 points against South Dakota State (Nov. 20), a career-best 23 against Cornell (Nov. 27) and 21 against Ohio State (Dec. 4). 
• Through two Big Ten games, Smikle is averaging 21.5 points per game.  
• Smikle has hit at least one three-pointer in all 11 games so far this season, including a career best five against South Dakota State (Nov. 20).  
• Sidibe and Smikle paces RU with eight double-digit scoring outings each.  
• Cornwell leads the team with three double-doubles this season.  
• Rutgers beat Ohio State off the glass, 35-24. The Scarlet Knights have either earned more boards than their opponents or tied off the glass in six of 10 matchups.  
• The Scarlet Knights owned the advantage in points off turnovers (19-15), second chance points (14-2) and bench points (30-17).  

Next Up   

Rutgers will travel to Illinois for its first Big Ten road game of the season on Wednesday, Dec. 7 (8 p.m. ET). The Scarlet Knights will then return home for three consecutive nonconference matchups against Hampton (Dec. 10), Princeton (Dec. 15) and New Orleans (Dec. 18) before getting back into conference play. 

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 -