Rutgers women's basketball falls in road Wisconsin rematch
The Rutgers women’s basketball team fell to Wisconsin 88-62 on the road last night. The Scarlet Knights (11-17, 5-11) traveled to Madison, Wisconsin, for a rematch against the Badgers (9-19, 4-12) after they defeated them at home earlier in the month.
The game picked up right from the tip off, with Rutgers scoring inside the paint to get the first basket of the game. Wisconsin tied the game up less than 20 seconds later, though.
Junior guard Erica Lafayette got the Knights back on the board with a three-pointer. Though Rutgers came out strong, the Badgers' defense battled quickly to prevent their opponent from holding that momentum, keeping the Knights scoreless. The next Rutgers basket came with less than 2 minutes in the quarter.
A free throw shot was made by freshman guard Kaylene Smikle, which resulted in the Knights ending the first quarter with 15 points, 9 points behind Wisconsin.
Smikle opened up the second quarter for Rutgers with a successful layup in the first 15 seconds. The Badgers followed up with a 7-point run, widening their lead to 31-17 over the Knights.
Rutgers started to liven up after three-pointers by Smikle and senior guard Kai Carter, which enabled the team to get back in striking distance of Wisconsin.
Despite these shots, the Badgers always knew how to answer as they managed to keep a lead through the entire 10-minute second quarter.
Wisconsin sealed the second quarter with a three-pointer from Maty Wilke, going into the break with an 11-point lead over the Knights with the score at 46-35.
The second half started off with another 2 points for Smikle, who scored in the paint to get the Knights on the board. The third quarter was largely tit-for-tat, with Rutgers and Badgers switching on and off in regards to who would score next. The score would stay within the same margin until the final few minutes of the third quarter.
Wisconsin went on a 6-minute scoring run, keeping its opponent scoreless through that entire time. The Badgers racked up their score to reach 69 points, while the Knights stood at only 46.
The final frame followed much of the same pattern as the third quarter, with Wisconsin running away with more than a 20-point lead the entire time. Rutgers’ fate was decided early in the quarter, seeing as it could not keep up with the Badgers’ pace and ultimately lost by 26 points when the final buzzer sounded.
Wisconsin’s shooting in the contest propelled it to victory, as it shot 56.4 percent from the field and 52.4 from beyond the arc. The Knights, on the other hand, were successful 41.8 percent of the time from the field and 23.1 percent of the time from three.
Smikle led Rutgers with 19 points, while junior forward Chyna Cornwell followed with a 14-point night. On the other side of the ball, the Badgers had all five starters in double-digit points, with Serah Williams leading the pack with a 21-point performance.
The Knights will be back on the court come Thursday night. They will be continuing their Big Ten road trip, landing in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to face Michigan. The Knights will face off with the Wolverines (20-7, 10-6) at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The game will be available on Big Ten Network+ as well as 88.7 WRSU-FM.
For more updates on the Rutgers women's basketball team follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
