MADISON, Wis. — The Rutgers women's basketball team (11-16, 5-10 B1G) will travel to Wisconsin (8-19, 3-12 B1G) on Monday, Feb. 20 for a 7 p.m. ET contest.
The game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
On the Call
- Watch live on BTN
- Listen live on WRSU
Last Time Out
Rutgers came back to defeat Northwestern (8-18, 1-14 B1G), 62-48, on Wednesday night at Jersey Mike's Arena.
The teams went back-and-forth all night, as the game contained 10 total lead changes. Northwestern jumped out to an early 14-10 lead after the first quarter, but Rutgers outscored the Wildcats in the second quarter to cut the deficit to one going into halftime.
With 10 minutes to play, the contest was knotted at 42, but the Scarlet Knights outscored the Wildcats, 20-6, in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Rutgers forced 28 Northwestern turnovers in the victory.
Junior Chyna Cornwell had a career-high 17 boards in the win, helping Rutgers out rebound the opposition, 46-33. The forward also contributed eight points.
Kaylene Smikle also had a big night, netting 21 points and grabbing seven rebounds. She tied a career-high five steals for the second straight game, as the freshman continues to provide strong defensive efforts for RU.
Kassondra Brown netted double figures, collecting 12 points and going a perfect 6-for-6 at the charity stripe.
Awa Sidibe recorded 11 points and nine rebounds, marking her second most boards in a game this season.
Milestones on Milestones
With 11 points against Michigan State on Jan. 22, Kai Carter reached the 1,000-point milestone. She hit a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the achievement. She is the only active Scarlet Knight to hit 1,000 career points.
The next game against Penn State (Jan 29), Carter also notched her 500th career rebound, recording eight total boards in the win.
Making History
The team's win over Minnesota (Jan. 12) marked the 1,000th program win for Rutgers. The six-point win also marked head coach Coquese Washington's 100th Big Ten win.
The Scarlet Knights are the 22nd Division I program to reach 1,000 wins and the fourth this season. RU is also the third current Big Ten program to reach the milestone along with Maryland and Ohio State.
First Year Phenom
Freshman Kaylene Smikle continues to impress as she paces the team with 17.6 points per game in addition to averaging 20.0 points in Big Ten play.
Smikle is the only Scarlet Knight to net 20+ points in a game, accomplishing the feat 13 times, including versus 10 Big Ten opponents:
- 22 points vs. South Dakota State (Nov. 20)
- 23 points vs. Cornell (Nov. 27)
- 21 points vs. Ohio State (Dec. 4)
- 22 points at Illinois (Dec. 7)
- 26 points vs. Princeton (Dec. 15)
- 29 points vs. Maryland (Jan. 2)
- 20 points vs. Nebraska (Jan. 7)
- 20 points at Minnesota (Jan. 12)
- 21 points at Maryland (Jan. 15)
- 27 points at Michigan State (Jan. 22)
- 25 points at Indiana (Jan. 29)
- 28 points at Iowa (Feb. 12)
- 21 point vs. Northwestern (Feb. 12)
The rookie has reached double-digit scoring in 22 of 27 outings this campaign. She has hit double figures in the last 14 of 15 games.
The Farmingdale, New York product has also been solid from beyond the arc. Her 48 three-pointers lead the Scarlet Knights while her five three's against South Dakota State rank as the highest performance in a single game for RU. She has hit at least one three in 25 of 27 contests this slate.
B1G Blocks
Rutgers has recorded 118 blocks over 27 games to rank third in the Big Ten. RU was the first team in the league to hit triple digits.
Antonia Bates paces RU with 26 total blocks, ranking eighth in the Big Ten. She has led the team in the stats six times. Kaylene Smikle also sits in 12th with 22 swats and has paced the squad in eight games. Four Scarlet Knights have registered three or more blocks in a single contest two or more times.
Doubling Up
The Scarlet Knights have combined for 10 double-doubles this season including three in Big Ten play.
Chyna Cornwell leads the team with eight double-doubles, including three in Big Ten play:
- vs. Seton Hall (Nov. 11) – 10 points, 10 rebounds
- vs. Cornell (Nov. 27) – 11 points, 16 rebounds
- at Illinois (Dec. 7) – 10 points, 11 rebounds
- vs. Hampton (Dec. 10) – 18 points, 14 rebounds
- vs. New Orleans (Dec. 18) – 15 points, rebounds
- at Maryland (Jan. 15) – 15 points, 13 rebounds
- vs. Penn State (Jan. 26) – 16 points, 10 rebounds
- vs. Wisconsin (Feb. 5) – 16 points, 11 rebounds
In addition, Awa Sidibe (11 pts, 10 reb) recorded a double-double against Seton Hall (Nov. 11) while Kassondra Brown (10 pts, 10 reb) also hit the accomplishment Minnesota (Jan. 12).
Strong Off the Boards
Rutgers has secured more or the same rebounds as the opposition in 15 outings this season, including all but three wins. This season, RU has outrebounded its opponents 999-982 (+17).
The team has recorded 30+ rebounds in 22 of 27 outings and 40+ boards in 11 games. The Scarlet Knights grabbed a season-high 53 off the glass against Cornell (Nov. 27) for its highest rebounding margin (+23).
Chyna Cornwell leads the Scarlet Knights off the boards, with 8.7 rebounds per game to rank third in the Big Ten. Her 17 career-best rebounds against Northwestern (Feb. 15) also measures up as the second-best single game performance this season in the Big Ten.
In addition, the Conover, North Carolina native paces the Big Ten with 91 total offensive rebounds.
The Scarlet Knights Against the Top-25
RU will still meet four teams mentioned between the AP Top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Polls this season:
- No. 7/7 Iowa
- No. 12/13 Michigan
- RV/RV Illinois
- NR/RV Purdue
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)
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+.
Last Time Against Wisconsin
Rutgers came out on top over Wisconsin, 73-67, in battle on Sunday, Feb. 5 in front of a packed Jersey Mike's Arena for the program's annual Play4Kay game.
The back-and-forth contest included 13 lead changes. Rutgers reclaimed the lead on a free throw from Kaylene Smikle with 2:16 left in the contest. The Scarlet Knights never conceded their lead after that, scoring 12 of the game's last 18 points to secure the win.
Free throws were a big factor in the victory as Rutgers shot 76.7 percent from the charity stripe (23-of-30) in the contest. The Scarlet Knights outscored the Badgers 25-16 in the fourth quarter, with 15 of Rutgers' points in the quarter coming from the line.
In another full-team effort, every Scarlet Knight scored in the win, including four in double figures.
Chyna Cornwell secured her eighth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points on 75.0 percent shooting from the field (6-of-8), and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Awa Sidibe had a career day as well, dishing out eight assists to eclipse her previous career-high of six. The senior also had 15 points, six rebounds, and went 7-of-8 at the foul line.
Kassondra Brown and Kaylene Smikle also found themselves in double digit scoring, netting 14 and 13 points, respectively. The freshman, Smikle, was perfect at the charity stripe going 6-of-6.
History Against Wisconsin
Rutgers owns the 12-3 all-time edge over Wisconsin. The Badgers won the last meeting on Jan. 16, 2022 (45-49), before this season's 73-67 RU win, as well as a pair of contests in 2017. Prior to last season's decision, the Scarlet Knights picked up six consecutive wins.
Scouting the Badgers
Wisconsin was on a four-game skid until the team earned a 76-70 win over Minnesota on Feb. 11. The Badgers lost their most recent game however to No. 7/7 Iowa, 61-91, on Feb. 15.
All five of UW's starters are averaging double-digit scoring in Julie Pospisilova (13.3), Serah Williams (13.0), Maty Wilke (11.1) Avery LaBarbera (10.9 and Brooke Schramek (10.8). Halle Douglass paces the team off the glass averaging 5.6 rebounds per game.
Next Up
Rutgers will continue its road trip to No. 12/13 Michigan on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.
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