No. 11 seed Rutgers women’s basketball (12-19, 6-13 B1G) defeated No. 14 Northwestern (9-10, 2-16 B1G) on Wednesday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament by the final score of 63-59. The Scarlet Knights advance to the second round and will face No. 6 seed Illinois on Thursday night at approximately 8:45 p.m. ET. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network.
Rutgers led Northwestern 51-43 entering the fourth period before the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run to tie the game with just over six minutes remaining. After Awa Sidibe made a jumper to take back the lead, Paige Mott tied it up at 53-53 with 3:48 to play. Rutgers closed out the game on a 10-6 run led by Chyna Cornwell scoring 5 points. RU made 8 of 10 free throw attempts in the final four minutes to seal the victory
Both teams had 20 turnovers in the game and shot under 38% from the floor. Northwestern was able to stay in the game due to making 10 of 24 three-point attempts (41.7%) and outscoring Rutgers 23-12 in points off of turnovers. However, RU dominated inside with a 30-14 advantage with points in the paint and +9 rebounding margin. The Wildcats also shot just 30% from two-point range (9-30).
Second Team All-Big Ten selection Kaylene Smikle scored 21 of her 26 points in the first half and added 5 rebounds and 4 steals before fouling out late in the game. Smikle was 9 of 16 from the floor including 4 of 8 from three-point range. She became the program’s all-time freshman scorer passing Tyler Scaife with 551 points in her rookie season. It was her 14th game of the season in scoring 20+ points.
Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection Chyna Cornwell dominated in the paint with her ninth double-double of the season. She finished with 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting along with 16 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Awa Sidible had 11 points on 4 of 13 shooting along with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks playing a team high 36 minutes. Kai Carter came off the bench to score 11 points on 4 of 9 shooting and added 2 rebounds.
Rutgers just lost to Illinois 75-53 at home on Sunday and also lost 80-62 on the road in December. They will face them again tonight as the Illini are receiving votes in the latest AP Poll. It will be a difficult task for Coquese Washington’s team, but they’ve persevered all season with a short roster.
— Big Ten Women’s Basketball (@B1Gwbball) March 1, 2023
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This team can be hard to watch for a full 40 minutes, but I would submit that they have overachieved this season.
The road most likely comes to an end today, but the foundation is being laid and I think Coach Washington knows what needs to be done going forward and how to go about doing it. Congrats to her, her coaching staff and the players.
pj43
March 2, 2023 at 8:43 pm
This team can be hard to watch for a full 40 minutes, but I would submit that they have overachieved this season.
The road most likely comes to an end today, but the foundation is being laid and I think Coach Washington knows what needs to be done going forward and how to go about doing it. Congrats to her, her coaching staff and the players.