MADISON, Wis. — Rutgers women's basketball (11-17, 5-11 B1G) couldn't complete the comeback on the road at Wisconsin (9-19, 4-12 B1G), falling 88-62 on Monday night.
Kaylene Smikle led the Scarlet Knights in scoring for the 16th time this season, netting 19 points in addition to a team-high seven rebounds and three assists.
Chyna Cornwell also landed in double digits with 14 points as well as five boards.
How it Happened
- Rutgers won the opening tip and Cornwell quickly put the team on the board with a layup. Each team went onto add a bucket before Wisconsin went on a 10-2 run to take the 12-7 edge.
- Smikle added her first points of the contest with a layup at the 6:32 mark to put the game within three points.
- The Badgers added one more basket before the 4:22 media timeout to widen the gap, 14-9. Out of the stop, the opposition netted a free throw followed by consecutive three's to force an RU timeout and go up, 21-9.
- Carter and Smikle combined for three points with 40 seconds left in the first quarter, but Wisconsin added a three of its own. Brown had the final points of the period however, as she cashed in on a three-point play right at the buzzer, to make the score 24-15.
- Smikle secured a layup to start the second quarter before UW went on another seven-point run to stay in front, 31-17. Carter ended the spurt with a pair of free throws with just under eight minutes to go in the period.
- The Badgers added four more points to keep the lead while the Scarlet Knights recorded two, thanks to a layup from Brown, before the 4:21 media timeout.
- Following the break, Brown and Smikle combined for four points with a pair of layups, to force Wisconsin's first timeout of the game and cut the deficit to 10, 35-25.
- UW added another three but the Rutgers' offense kept going onto a 7-0 stretch to put the contest within six, 38-32.
- In the final 1:26 of the opening half, the Badgers outscored the Scarlet Knights 8-3 to retain the 46-35 advantage going into the locker room.
- Smikle started off the second half with a steal and driving layup to close the gap, 46-37.
- Wisconsin came back with three points before Rutgers netted back-to-back layups to put the score within nine points, 49-40.
- The two teams continued to trade buckets before RU scored another pair of layups, to continue to cut the deficit, 51-44. UW used its second timeout with 7:05 to play in the third.
- Out of the break, the Badgers went onto record 15 unanswered points to regain the double-digit lead, 66-44. The Scarlet Knights called their second timeout with 1:53 left in the third quarter.
- The Badgers continued their run out of the stop, adding three more points to extend their edge, 69-44. Smikle ended the run with 20 seconds left in the period to end the third with a score of 69-46.
- Through the opening two minutes of the fourth quarter, both teams scored four apiece. UW continued their aggressive offensive play, outscoring RU 7-4 before the 4:05 media timeout. Cornwell had all four points for Rutgers in the span. Both teams continued to trade possessions through the end of the outing as Wisconsin came out on top, 88-62.
Knight Notes
- Smikle's 29 points marks her 23rd double digit outing this campaign. She has scored 10+ points in 15 of the last 16 contests and leads the team with 17.6 points per game including an average 19.9 points in Big Ten play.
- Smikle added to her team-leading 49 three-pointers with one make from behind the arc on Monday. She has at least one three-pointer in all but two games this season.
- With 27 boards against the Badgers, Rutgers has now passed the 1,000-rebound milestone with 1,026 grabs off the glass this season.
- The Scarlet Knights outscored the Badgers in the paint (48-28) and in second chance points (11-6).
Next Up
Rutgers will continue its road trip as the team travels to face No. 12/13 Michigan on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. on B1G+.
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