Rutgers women's basketball struggles to match Fairfield's fast pace in 78-54 loss
The Rutgers women's basketball team fell to Fairfield 78-54 at Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus. The Scarlet Knights (3-3, 0-0) could not contain the Stags (3-1, 0-0) and their dominant offense.
Fairfield excels early
After approximately 2 minutes of play, Rutgers led Fairfield 9-5. The Stags, though, took over with a 29-5 point run to end the first quarter. Fairfield seemed automatic from the field, hitting 8 of 11 attempts from beyond the arc.
Kendall McGruder hit all three of her long shots in the first quarter, while Nicole Gallagher shot two threes of her own.
By the end of the first half, the Stags led 47-31 as eight of their players scored at least once in the opening two quarters. Six Fairfield players had at least 6 points when both teams headed into the locker room at halftime.
After the game, head coach Coquese Washington highlighted the importance of the Stags' hot start and how making the pass to find open shooters helped them earn the win.
"Them coming out and being able to knock down those shots gave them a lot of confidence and obviously gave them the lead, and they were able to play with the lead for the rest of the game," Washington said.
The Stags pass the ball well
It seemed that throughout the game, Fairfield made quick passes, transitions and shots that helped lead them to the victory.
Janelle Brown was the star of the game for the Stags as she led Fairfield up and down the court on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Brown scored 14 points while adding six rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Kaety L’Amoreaux also kept the ball moving for the Stags as she scored a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
"They did a really good job playing with pace," Washington said of Fairfield’s ball movement throughout the night. "They had a week off since they last played, so they had a good amount of time to, number one, get fresh legs and, number two, have a week to game plan, and I thought they came in with a lot of energy and (put) pressure on us to get up and down the floor."
Rutgers' offense falls flat
On Saturday, the Knights' won 80-51 against Saint Francis in a dominant offensive performance, but today, their offense fell flat with just a 54-point performance.
Not one Rutgers player reached double digits in the game. As a whole, the Knights turned the ball more than 24 times, giving the Stags 29 points off of their forced turnovers.
"Even when they didn’t necessarily get points, we just had way too many mistakes and miscues," Washington said. "They did a really good job of taking advantage of those."
Rutgers will be back on the court when it heads to Las Vegas for the South Point Classic. The Knights will take on Texas Tech and Boise State on Friday and Saturday respectively. Both games will be broadcast on FloHoops.
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