PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The Rutgers women's basketball team (9-14, 3-8 B1G) will celebrate its annual Play4Kay game on Sunday, Feb. 5 as the team welcomes Wisconsin for a 2 p.m. game.
The contest will be streamed live on B1G+.
On the Call
- Watch on B1G+ (Dom Savino & Dominique Patrick)
- Listen on Fox Sports New Jersey 1450 AM / 93.5 FM (Ralph Bednarczyk & Mark Peterson)
- Listen on WRSU
Last Time Out
Despite leading at the end of the first quarter, the Scarlet Knights fell to No. 6/6 Indiana (20-1, 10-1 B1G) on the road, Sunday afternoon.
Kaylene Smikle paced RU for the 14th time this season, netting 25 points. Kai Carter also reached double digits with 13 points.
The Hoosiers and RU matched each other off the glass with 28 rebounds each. Awa Sidibe led the way for Rutgers with five boards. Sidibe also topped the stas with three assists.
All eight Scarlet Knights recorded at least two rebounds and two points apiece.
Play4Kay
The Rutgers women's basketball team will celebrate its annual PLAY4KAY GAME, presented by RWJBarnabas Healthand Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey on Sunday against the Badgers.
Through Play4Kay, former NC State head coach Kay Yow saw a way to bring communities together and honor cancer warriors in the fight against ALL cancers affecting women. As one woman is diagnosed with cancer every minute, Rutgers and head coach Coquese Washington are united in the fight against all cancers affecting women.
Cancer survivors and those currently battling cancer have the opportunity to claim up to four complimentary tickets to the game as well as a one free t-shirt and an opportunity to come onto the court at halftime for a celebration. Additional tickets can be purchased at a special rate. To claim and/or purchase your tickets to the game, click here.
In addition, the team will recognize Healthcare Heroes during the game.
Rutgers' players will wear special PINK uniforms during the game against the Badgers and all fans are encouraged to wear PINK as well. PINK shakers will also be handed out at the gates of Jersey Mike's Arena.
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 17.5 points per game in addition to averaging 20.8 points in Big Ten play.
Smikle is the only Scarlet Knight to net 20+ points in a game, accomplishing the feat 11 times, including versus eight 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)
The rookie has reached double-digit scoring in 19 of 23 outings this campaign. She has hit double figures in the last 11 games and 20+ points in six of her last eight outings.
The Farmingdale, New York product has also been solid from beyond the arc. Her 42 three-pointers lead the Scarlet Knights while her five three's against South Dakota State rank as the highest performance in a single game this season for RU. She has hit at least one three in 21 of 23 contests this slate and cashed in on two or more in nine of the last 12 games.
B1G Blocks
Rutgers has recorded 103 blocks over 23 games, leading the Big Ten in the statistic as the first team to triple digits.
Antonia Bates paces RU with 25 total blocks, ranking seventh in the Big Ten. Kassondra Brown also sits 11th in the conference with 19 denials. Both Bates and Brown have collected 3+ blocks on three occasions and have led the team in swats five and seven times, respectively.
Doubling Up
The Scarlet Knights have combined for nine double-doubles this season including two in Big Ten play.
Chyna Cornwell leads the team with seven double-doubles, including three in Big Ten play:
- vs. Seton Hall – 10 points, 10 rebounds
- vs. Cornell – 11 points, 16 rebounds
- at Illinois – 10 points, 11 rebounds
- vs. Hampton – 18 points, 14 rebounds
- vs. New Orleans – 15 points, rebounds
- vs. Maryland – 15 points, 13 rebounds
- vs. Penn State – 16 points, 10 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 14 outings this season, including all but two wins. This season, RU has outrebounded its opponents 872-830 (+42).
The team has recorded 30+ rebounds in 19 of 23 outings and 40+ boards in 10 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 8.6 rebounds per game to rank third in the Big Ten. Her 16 rebounds against Cornell also measures up as the second-best single game performance this season.
Cornwell also ranks second in the league with 75 total offensive boards.
The Scarlet Knights Against the Top-25
RU will still meet three teams mentioned between the AP Top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Polls this season:
- No. 6/6 Iowa
- No. 18/19 Michigan
- No. NR/24 Illinois
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)
- vs. Illinois – Feb. 26 – 2 p.m. *Could be flexed to B1G+
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+.
History Against Wisconsin
Rutgers owns the 11-3 all-time edge over Wisconsin. The Badgers won the last meeting on Jan. 16, 2022 (45-49) 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 has dropped five of its last 10 outings, picking up consecutive wins over Minnesota (81-77) and Michigan State (84-80) in the beginning of January in addition to a victory against Valpo (59-44).
The Badgers most recently are on a two-game slide, dropping decisions to Northwestern (67-70) and then-No. 10 Ohio State (67-90).
All five of UW's starters are averaging double-digit scoring in Serah Williams (13.3), Julie Pospisilova (12.3), Avery LaBarbera (11.4), Maty Wilke (11.3) and Brooke Schramek (10.7). Halle Douglass paces the team off the glass averaging 5.6 rebounds per game.
Next Up
Rutgers will stay in New Jersey, welcoming Purdue to Jersey Mike's Arena on Thursday, Feb. 9 for a 7 p.m. contest.
Follow Along
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