PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers women's basketball team (8-7, 0-4 B1G) will travel to Minnesota (15-1, 3-1 B1G), who is recieving votes in the AP poll, on Wednesday, Jan. 8 for an 8 p.m. (ET) contest. The game will be available to stream on B1G+ as well as Fox Sports NJ.
The entire 2024-25 Rutgers women's basketball season is presented by Prudential.
Last Time Out
The Scarlet Knights were defeated by No. 4/5 USC (14-1, 4-0 B1G), 92-42, at Jersey Mike's Arena on Sunday night.
JoJo Lacey led the team with 14 points in addition to four rebounds. Destiny Adams collected a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards while swiping five steals.
It Is Her Destiny
Destiny Adams continues to amaze through as the team gets into Big Ten play.
Following the first week of the season, Adams earned the first Big Ten Player of the Week (Nov. 11) honor of her career in addition to being selected as one of the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week and an AP Player of the Week Honorable Mention.
The start of the season was highlighted by her historic performance over NJIT, (Nov. 10) when she recorded a career best 36 points and 22-rebound double-double. 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 Arella 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).
She also had 30 points and 15 boards in the game prior versus Cornell, to make her the first Scarlet Knight since Sue Wicks (1988) to net back-to-back 30+ point games.
Adams is currently averaging 17.5 points. She has reached double figures in 12 contests and secured six double-doubles so far.
Successful Alumni
Rutgers women's basketball celebrated three of its most distinguished alums during the offseason as Kahleah Copper earned a gold medal in the 2024 Olympic Games with Team USA, Benijah Laney-Hamilton was crowned the 2024 WNBA Champion with the New York Liberty and Cappie Pondexter was named to be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame as a part of the 2025 Class.
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 5-9 guard who played for Rutgers from 2001-06, Pondexter was the fourth Scarlet Knight in women's basketball history to be named a First Team Kodak/WBCA All-American as well as the unanimous choice as the 2006 BIG EAST Player of the Year and the first player in league history to be named to the All-BIG EAST First Team four times during her career. Pondexter is a two-time WNBA champion (Phoenix Mercury '07 & `09), a seven-time WNBA All-Star and a three-time All-WNBA First Team selection.
The Scarlet Knights Against the Top-25
Once again, Rutgers will face a loaded schedule, featuring a tough Big Ten slate. As of Dec. 31, RU has seven opponents on its schedule ranked in either or both the AP and WBCA USA Today poll and three receiving votes.
- No. 1/1 UCLA
- No. 4/5 USC
- No. 8/7 Maryland
- No. 9/10 Ohio State
- No. 20/21 Michigan State
- No. 23/22 Iowa
- No. 25/-- Michigan
- --/RV Nebraska
- --/RV Illinois
- RV/-- Minnesota
- RV/-- Washington
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 Golden Gophers
Minnesota has had a hot start to its season, not dropping a game till Dec. 8, at the hands of then-No. 25/RV Nebraska (84-65). The team is coming off a trio of Big Ten victories against Penn State (90-54), Wisconsin (59-50) and RV/RV Illinois (68-61).
Mara Braun (13.6), Annika Stewart (11.6), Grace Grocholski (10.6) and Tori McKinney (10.3) all pace the Gophers, averaging double-digit points. Mallory Heyer also leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game.
Looking Ahead
Rutgers will come back to Jersey Mike's Arena for Letterwinner & National Girls and Women in Sports Day against Nebraska on Sunday, Jan. 12. The contest, presented by Shoprite, will tip off at 2 p.m.
Follow Along
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