PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Kaylene Smikle and Chyna Cornwell of the Rutgers women's basketball team both earned All-Big Ten postseason honors.
Smikle was named to the All-Freshman Team (media & coaches) as well as the All-Big Ten Second Team (media & coaches). Cornwell was selected as an Honorable Mention (media) as well as Rutgers Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient.
Smikle is the second player in program history to earn a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team and the All-Freshman team in the same season. She is the first Second Team pick since 2021 (Diamond Johnson) and first All-Freshman selection since 2014 (Tyler Scaife).
Cornwell's Honorable mention is the first conference postseason award of her career. She is the 10th player in program history to take home the honor. RU has now earned an Honorable Mention (media) in eight consecutive seasons dating back to 2015.
Kaylene Smikle
Freshman Kaylene Smikle leads Rutgers and freshman in the Big Ten with 17.5 points per game in addition to averaging 19.5 points in conference play.
She is the only Scarlet Knight to net 20+ points in a game this season and has accomplished the feat 13, including versus 10 Big Ten opponents, to pace all freshmen in the league:
- 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 25 of 30 outings this campaign including in the most recent 17 of 18 games.
With 14 points against Michigan (Feb. 23) Smikle became the third Scarlet Knight in program history to pass the 500-point milestone. She currently stands with 525 total points through 30 games.
The Farmingdale, New York product has also been solid from beyond the arc. Her 51 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 all but two outings this slate.
Smikle has been a threat on defense as well, leading RU with 64 steals to rank third in the Big Ten and first among freshmen. She has secured 3+ takeaways on 12 occasions and 5+ grabs three times. The guard has led Rutgers in the statistic 14 times this slate.
Chyna Cornwell
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
Cornwell leads the Scarlet Knights off the boards, with 8.4 rebounds per game to rank third in the Big Ten.
The junior grabbed a career best 17 off the glass against Northwestern (Feb. 15) which ranks as the fourth highest single game performance in the Big Ten this season. She also secured 16 boards against Cornell (Nov. 27) to own two of the top five Big Ten single game rebounding totals.
In addition, the Conover, North Carolina native ranks second Big Ten with 95 total offensive rebounds. She grabbed a season-high nine off the offensive glass against Northwestern for the highest single game performance in the Big Ten this season.
Next Up
No. 11-seeded Rutgers (11-19, 5-13 B1G) will face the No. 14 seed Northwestern (9-10, 2-16 B1G) in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday, March 1 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The contest will begin 25 minutes after the completion of the first game, which starts at 2 p.m. ET.
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