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Rutgers women's basketball falls to No. 25 Illinois on senior day

Senior guard Awa Sidibe scored 8 points and grabbed six rebounds, but the Rutgers women's basketball team eventually lost to Illinois. – Photo by Rich Graessle / ScarletKnights.com

The Rutgers women’s basketball team lost to Illinois 75-53 in its final regular season game today. The Scarlet Knights (11-19, 5-13) will now head to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to take part in the Big Ten Tournament.

Before the home game commenced, Rutgers celebrated its senior athletes, honoring them for their work and contribution to the program.

The Knights struggled to score early on, and did not even reach 10 points by the end of the first quarter. Rutgers got baskets from senior guard Awa Sidibe and junior forward Chyna Cornwell, along with free throw shots from senior center Kassondra Brown. The Fighting Illini (21-8, 11-7), though, scored with ease and they ended the opening quarter with 21 points.

The second quarter did not get much better for the Knights. Rutgers went scoreless for more than 2 minutes at the start, whereas Illinois was able to dictate the pace of play on both ends of the court and scored far more consistently. Midway through the second quarter, the Knights were able to get some offensive momentum, but they still trailed the Fighting Illini by a score of 37-21 at halftime.

The second half kicked off with a three-pointer from Illinois, getting its score up to 40 points. Rutgers was able to mostly keep up offensively with the Fighting Illini, but the Knights still struggled to prevent Illinois from scoring. By the end of the third quarter, the Fighting Illini increased its lead by 21 points.

The fourth quarter was Rutgers’ most productive of the game. Illinois only won the quarter by 1 point as the Knights scored 17 points in the quarter. Despite Rutgers' offense improving as the game progressed, its defense never seemed to be able to slow down the Fighting Illini. The Knights were never able to launch a comeback attempt, and Illinois ultimately won the game by 22 points.

A big reason for the Fighting Illini's success on offense was the way they passed the ball. Illinois got 16 assists in the game, whereas Rutgers was only able to get six assists in the game compared to its 18 turnovers.

Several of the Knights played well despite the loss. Freshman guard Kaylene Smikle led Rutgers with 18 points. Brown and Cornwell also hit double-digit scoring numbers, with 10 and 11 points, respectively. 

The Knights are set to kick off the postseason as part of the Big Ten tournament. The tournament will start on Wednesday. All Big Ten tournament games will be broadcasted on the Big Ten Network. 


For more updates on the Rutgers women's basketball team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.


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