PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers women's basketball team (3-0) will end its four-game homestand against Iona (0-2) on Friday, Nov. 15 at 11 a.m. for Recess Day. The contest will be streamed on B1G+ as well as Fox Sports Radio.
The entire 2024-25 Rutgers women's basketball season is presented by Prudential.
Last Time Out
A historic performance from Destiny Adams pushed the Scarlet Knights past NJIT (1-2), 94-84, Sunday afternoon at Jersey Mike's Arena.
Adams recorded a 36-point, 22-rebound double-double, the highest in the Big Ten era for the Scarlet Knights. Kiyomi McMiller also broke through with 25 points against the Highlanders.
Chyna Cornwell helped Adams on the boards, bringing in 15 rebounds, her third consecutive contest with 10+ off the glass.
It was another close one through the first half for RU, featuring six lead changes and five ties. However, Rutgers came alive once again in the second half, outscoring the Highlanders by 19 in the third quarter to solidify the win.
It Is Her Destiny
Senior forward Destiny Adams was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, Nov. 11. The award is the first Big Ten weekly honor of Adams' career. She is the first Scarlet Knight to win the award since Arella Guirantes (Dec. 8 2020) and the first under head coach Coquese Washington.
She was also named a USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week as well as an AP Player of the Week Honorable Mention.
Adams led Rutgers to a 3-0 start during the first week of the 2024-25 season, with wins over Manhattan (85-79), Cornell (72-61) and NJIT (94-84). Between all three outings, she totaled 80 points, 45 rebounds, six blocks, five steals and five assists. In addition, the Manchester, New Jersey native went 25-33 (.758) from the free throw line.
The highlight of the week though, was her career best 36 points and 22-rebound double-double against the Highlanders on Sunday. Besides her 2024 Big Ten Tournament performance (33 points, 24 rebounds), she is the first player in program history with 30+ points and 20+ rebounds in a regular season game in over 12 seasons.
Adams' 36 points ties a Jersey Mike's Arena record that was previously set by Guirantes in 2020. She is also tied for 8th for the most points in a single game in program history, along with Guirantes and Caroline DeRoose (1994).
The massive performance marks her 10th career double-double and second in three games.
She also had 30 points and 15 boards in the game prior versus the Big Red, to make her the first Scarlet Knight since Sue Wicks (1988) to net back-to-back 30+ point games.
Dating back to last season, Adams has reached double digit points in 20 consecutive contests.
Successful Alumni
Rutgers women's basketball celebrated two of its most distinguished alums during the offseason as Kahleah Copper earned a gold medal in the 2024 Olympic Games with Team USA and Benijah Laney-Hamilton was crowned the 2024 WNBA Champion with the New York Liberty
Copper helped Team USA to its eighth straight gold medal and her first, with a 67-66 win over France on August 11. Copper came up huge off the bench in the gold medal game with 12 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter to help secure the victory.
Laney-Hamilton also made history with the Liberty, bringing the first WNBA Championship to New York. She played a huge role in game two of the series, netting 20 points in addition to two rebounds and two assists to give the Liberty its first victory of the series. In addition, she scored at least two points in the other four games.
The Scarlet Knights Against the Top-25
Once again, Rutgers will face a loaded schedule, featuring a tough Big Ten slate. As of Nov. 14, RU has six opponents on its schedule ranked in both the AP and WBCA USA Today poll. IIn addition, four teams are receiving votes between the two polls.
- No. 3/3 USC
- No. 5/6 UCLA
- No. 12/12 Ohio State
- No. 11/14 Maryland
- No. 21/20 Nebraska
- No. 23/24 Illinois
- No. --/RV Indiana
- RV/RV Iowa
- RV/RV Michigan State
- --/RV Michigan
Home Sweet Home
The Scarlet Knights will play 11 home games at Jersey Mike's Arena in the first two months of the regular season.
The team kicks off the 2024-25 campaign with four consecutive home games before going on their first road trip to Virginia Tech Tuesday, Nov. 19.
RU will remain home for the next seven of eight contests, including the Battle of the Banks Tournament, in partnership with J5 Inc., from Friday, Nov. 29-30.
Returning to The Banks
RU returns seven Scarlet Knights to the squad in Destiny Adams, Lisa Thompson, Mya Petticord, Antonia Bates, Awa Sidibe, Kennedy Brandt and Chyna Cornwell.
During the 2023-24 campaign, this group combined for 125 games started, 1,267 points and 721 rebounds.
Welcoming the Newcomers
Head coach Coquese Washington added two transfers, a pair of freshmen and one walk-on in the offseason.
Graduate student JoJo Lacey joined the team from Boston College and sophomore Janae Walker from Kentucky.
As a senior, Lacey averaged 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. She reached 10+ points in nine outings including two games with 20+ and a career-high 23-point performance against North Carolina (Feb. 29).
During her rookie season with the Wildcats, Walker played in 28 games and made one start. She netted a season-high six points and three field goals at No. 18/18 Louisville (Dec. 10), while also grabbing four rebounds three times. Walker led UK in blocks four times during the season.
Rookies Kiyomi McMiller and Zachara Perkins came "On The Banks" over the summer and walk-on junior Deja Young this fall.
A five-star recruit, McMiller was ranked No. 22 in her recruiting class by espnW. She played the last two seasons of her high school career at Life Center Academy in Burlington, New Jersey, averaging 30.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.8 steals per game during her senior campaign.
McMiller leaves high school with an impressive resume over a three-year span, scoring 2,015 points, 437 rebounds, 363 assists and 231 steals in 70 games.
During Perkins' 2022-23 season at Summercreek High School in Houston, Texas, she led her team to both an Area and a Bi-District Championship in addition to the Region 3 Finals. A consistent double-double type player, she averaged 18.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game through her junior season.
Perkins was named to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) All-State and All-Region teams. In addition, she was selected as the Newcomer of the Year and to the All-Academic Team.
Prior to Young arriving "On The Banks" she served as a walk-on for the Hampton women's basketball team from the fall of 2022 to the spring of 2023. During the campaign she helped the Pirates to a total of 12 wins including nine in conference play. At Teaneck high school, she helped guide her team in the first round of the 2021-22 NJSIAA Tournament with a season-high 26 points, five assists and five takeaways. In addition, she also aided her squad in reaching the North Jersey Section 1, Group 3 Quarterfinals.
Staff Additions
In addition to the five newcomers on the court, coach Washington also made some adds on the sideline. Johnetta Hayes was brought on as an assistant coach as well as Will McIntire as the director of Director of Scouting & Technology and Alejandro Ramirez as the interim director of basketball operations.
Hayes spent the last four seasons as the head coach at UMBC. In the 2022-23 season, Hayes led the Retrievers to an 11-win improvement, one of the best in the nation. Hayes also led the team to a 10-6 mark in America East play, their second-best record in program history.
McIntire comes to Piscataway after serving as a student manager and graduate assistant at Iowa over the past four years. Ramirez also served as a student manager with the Scarlet Knights over recent seasons before being promoted to his current role.
Scarlet Knights on the Big Screen
Rutgers will make six appearances on the big screen during the campaign between the Big Ten Network and Fox Sports 1.
- Friday, Nov. 29 vs. Marquette – 2 p.m. (BTN)
- Sunday, Jan. 5 vs. USC – 8 p.m. (BTN)
- Saturday, Jan. 18 at Michigan – 12 p.m. (BTN)
- Thursday, Jan. 23 vs. UCLA – 7 p.m. (FS1)
- Thursday, Feb. 6 at Indiana – 6 p.m. (BTN)
- Monday, Feb. 17 vs. Northwestern – 8 p.m. (BTN)
Scouting the Gaels
Iona dropped its first two outings of the season to UCF (76-44) and Navy (55-53).
Mya Zaccagnini paces the Gaels with 11.0 points per game while Judith Gomez and Zoey Ward top the team, averaging 6.5 rebounds.
Looking Ahead
Rutgers will travel to Virginia Tech for its first road contest of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. The game will be available to stream on ACCNX.
Follow Along
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