COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Rutgers women's basketball team (8-11, 2-5 B1G) couldn't pull out the road win against No. 9/11 Maryland (14-4, 5-2 B1G) on Sunday afternoon, falling 80-56.
Chyna Cornwell recorded her sixth double-double of the season, netting 15 points in addition to collecting 13 rebounds. Kaylene Smikle paced the Scarlet Knights with 21 points, her ninth 20+ point performance. Smikle also added five rebounds, four steals and two blocks in the outing.
How it Happened
- Cornwell opened scoring for the day with an early layup off a great look from Brown. Maryland tied it up shortly after.
- Cornwell netted another field goal while Sidibe added a free throw to give the Scarlet Knights an early 5-2 edge. The Terrapins answered through, with consecutive scores to overtake the 7-5 lead and force an RU timeout.
- The Terps came out of the break on a 13-0 run, forcing multiple turnovers from the Scarlet Knights in the span.
- Smikle ended the stretch just after the 4:00 minute mark with a pair of shots from the charity stripe to make the score 18-7. Cornwell followed up with four more points to close the gap, 18-11.
- The two teams traded trips up and down the floor to end the first with UMD in front, 23-16.
- Maryland scored first in the second quarter, but Carter answered to match the opposition early. However, the Terrapins continued to attack the basket, going on another 12-0 run to stay ahead, 37-18 at the 4:16 media timeout.
- Smikle put an end to the spurt once again with her first three-pointer of the day, while Cornwell added another layup on RU's next possessions to cut the deficit, 39-23.
- Before the end of the opening half, Rutgers scored five more points thanks to another three from Smikle and a layup from Antonia Bates to go 3-for-3 from the field and make the score 44-28 at halftime.
- The Terps once again got scoring going in the third period, but Erica Lafayette had the quick answer with a jumper. UMD went onto add two more buckets and force Rutgers to use its second timeout of the contest.
- Through the middle of the period both teams struggled to generate any offensive momentum as neither scored any field goals for over 2:30. Maryland got on the board just before the 4:34 media timeout to stay up, 54-33.
- Following the stop, the Scarlet Knights outscored the Terrapins 8-2 to close the gap with just under two minutes to play.
- UMD netted four unanswered points to end the third with the 61-41 advantage.
- Smikle started off the final 10 minutes with her third three to slash the difference. Both teams stayed even with each other through the next few minutes to make it a 14-point game just before the 5:20 media timeout.
- Maryland came out of the break hot, outscoring Rutgers 11-1 to come out with the 80-56 victory.
Knights Notes
- Cornwell's double-double is her sixth of the season and second in Big Ten play. It marks the ninth time this campaign she has reached double-digit scoring and double figure rebounding, respectively.
- The double-double is the second consecutive for Rutgers as Brown (10 pts, 10 reb) secured the accomplishment in the team's last outing at Minnesota (Jan. 12). This is the second time this season the Scarlet Knights have registered double-doubles in back-to-back contests.
- Rutgers outrebounded Maryland, 42-41.
- With 21 points against Maryland, Smikle has now reached 20+ points nine times this season and is the only Scarlet Knight to pass the 20-point milestone, hitting the mark in the last four outings.
- The freshman guard also paces the team reaching double-digits in 15 contests and has led Rutgers in scoring in the past seven games, dating back to when the team saw Princeton (Dec. 15).
- Smikle leads the Scarlet Knighrs with 36 three-pointers and has hit at least one three in 18 of 19 games this slate.
- In addition, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week recorded four steals against the Terps, her sixth performance with 3+ grabs. She leads RU with 35 steals.
- With four assists, Awa Sidibe has now led the team in the statistic 13 times this season.
Next Up
Rutgers will return home to welcome No. 17/20 Michigan to Jersey Mike's Arena on Thursday, Jan. 19 for an 8:30 p.m. contest. The game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network, the Scarlet Knights' fourth game on national television in the month of January.
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