Rutgers women's basketball ends season with loss to Illinois in 2nd round of Big Ten Tournament
The Rutgers women's basketball team fell to Illinois yesterday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament by a score of 81-55. The No. 11 seeded Scarlet Knights (12-20, 5-13) were dominated in every quarter against the No. 6 seeded Fighting Illini (22-8, 11-7) in what became a 26-point loss that ended their season.
Early in the contest, Illinois took the lead with a three-pointer by Genesis Bryant to make the score 5-2 in its favor. Another Bryant three-pointer approximately 2 minutes later extended the score to 10-4.
Contrary to the first quarter of Rutgers' last game, it struggled in the opening period of play against the Fighting Illini as it only put up 12 points to Illinois' 18. Coming off a 26-point performance, freshman guard Kaylene Smikle was held scoreless in the first quarter.
The Knights got within 2 points of the Fighting Illini after 4 straight points from Smikle. Shortly after, though, Illinois scored 11 unanswered points and led 29-16 at the 5:45 mark of the second quarter.
For the Fighting Illini, the second quarter was dominated by Makira Cook. Just like Smikle, Cook had a goose egg in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Cook hit both of her three-pointers, went 6-7 from the field and scored 14 points.
Illinois led Rutgers 41-27 at halftime. The Fighting Illini were successful 58.6 percent of the time from the field and 50 percent of the time from beyond the arc in the first half.
The third quarter was a points affair for Illinois. Bryant scored 11 points, and Cook scored 10 points as their team scored a total of 27 points, along with a 73.3 percent success rate from the field in the third period alone. By the end of the quarter, the Fighting Illini led the Knights 68-42.
The fourth quarter wasn't much different as Illinois sustained its large lead.
Smikle once again was the leader in points for Rutgers, with 22 on the night. Junior forward Chyna Cornwell scored 14 points and was only able to corral in five rebounds on the night.
Cook and Bryant combined for 45 points on the night for the Fighting Illini, scoring 24 and 21, respectively. Both players also combined for 7 of the team's 9 total three-pointers.
Through all four quarters, Illinois secured a 59.6 percent success rate from the field and a 50 percent success rate from the arc. The Knights were worse in both categories, hitting only 32.1 percent of their shots from the field and 23.1 percent from the three-point line.
In the post-game press conference, head coach Coquese Washington spoke about what she told her players after this season-ending defeat.
"I told them that while this moment in time it's disappointing, in the coming days that we'll be able to reflect on what we accomplished as a program this year and how far we've gone from when we took over the program in late June to now," Washington said. "They'll be able to really reflect and, I think, be proud of the foundation we laid for Rutgers women's basketball moving forward."
Fighting Illini head coach Shauna Green commended Washington for a great season.
"She knows this league. She knows how to win in this league. I have a ton of respect for her and how she runs this program," Green said.
Rutgers finished in double-digits in its wins on the season, including five conference wins and a first-round win in the Big Ten Tournament. It will be important for the team to hold their heads up high and enter the next season on a positive note.
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