Rutgers women's basketball falls to Boston College in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
The Rutgers women’s basketball team lost to Boston College tonight in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Scarlet Knights (4-5, 0-0) fell in a 75-61 final.
Rutgers came into this game on the heels of a 71-52 win against Cornell on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Eagles (6-3, 0-0) came off a 67-53 loss to Stephen F. Austin in their final game of last weekend’s Puerto Rico Clasico.
The game tipped off at 7 p.m. with Boston College striking first and setting the pace with a three-pointer right off the bat from JoJo Lacey. The Eagles kept their lead with another three from Taina Mair, then a layup to give them an early 8-0 lead against the Knights.
Rutgers eventually got on the board thanks to a jump shot from senior guard Awa Sidibe, but the Knights found themselves in a 13-2 hole after just more than three minutes of play.
Though Rutgers was trailing, it managed to get the score within 2 points toward the end of the first quarter. Even with that effort, Boston College held on to end the first with a 22-20 lead.
The Knights trailed through the rest of the first half, never getting quite close enough to close the gap and take the lead against the Eagles. Boston College expanded its first-quarter lead into a 43-32 lead by the time the game hit halftime.
The Eagles blew the game open in the third quarter, out-scoring Rutgers 17-5 to take a 60-37 lead by the period’s end.
Despite winning the final quarter by 9 points, there would be no comeback for the Knights, as they concluded a game in which they did not lead once.
Despite the team's shortcomings, a few Rutgers players reached double digits in points tonight, with freshman guard Antonia Bates leading the team with a career-high of 12 points.
Senior center Kassondra Brown, freshman guard Kaylene Smikle and graduate student guard Abby Streeter all collected 11 points during the game. Brown also had eight rebounds and four steals, leading the Knights in both categories.
Individual successes aside, Rutgers could not come up with what it needed to beat Boston College. The Knights struggled to score for much of the game, only mustering up some offense toward the end to try and close the gap.
Rutgers will return to Jersey Mike’s Arena on Livingston campus on Sunday to open up its conference schedule against No. 4 Ohio State as part of C. Vivian Stringer Day. The game will tip off at noon and will be broadcasted on the Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
For updates on the Rutgers women's basketball team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
