What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas: Rutgers women's basketball falls to Texas Tech, Boise State
The Rutgers women's basketball team traveled to Las Vegas to take on Texas Tech and Boise State in the South Point Classic this weekend.
The Scarlet Knights (3-5, 0-0) lost to the Lady Raiders (7-0, 0-0) by 79-72 on Friday and finished their two-game stretch with another close loss against the Broncos (5-1, 0-0) with a score of 68-65 on Saturday. Rutgers was without sophomore guard Mya Petticord for both games, and her absence was felt on the court.
In the first half of the Knights' game against Texas Tech, sophomore guard Kaylene Smikle had the hot hand and scored 16 points, shooting 7 of 10 from the field. Senior center Chyna Cornwell was a threat in the paint against the Lady Raiders, scoring 8 points and shooting 4 of 5 from the field.
On the other side, Bailey Maupin troubled Rutgers, as she scored 13 points in the first half. Texas Tech also scored a perfect 13-13 from the charity stripe in the first half.
The Knights struggled in the third quarter, going on a 4-minute scoring drought and only scoring 10 points in its duration. Despite the team's struggles, Rutgers led by 2 points heading into the final quarter of the game.
Both teams went back and forth in the final 10 minutes. With less than 2 minutes left and the Lady Raiders holding on to a 1-point lead, Maupin hit a crucial three-pointer to give Texas Tech a 4-point lead. Maupin sealed the 7-point win by sinking five free throws in the final minute of the game.
Jasmine Shavers gave the Lady Raiders the edge with 28 points, while Maupin, who was 4-8 from deep, finished with 23 points.
The Knights outscored Texas Tech 50-22 in the paint, and both teams had 22 points off turnovers. But the game came down to the Lady Raiders making 18 more free throws than Rutgers.
Smikle scored 20 points, but it was not enough for the Knights to get the victory. Rutgers struggled to stay out of foul trouble, as three players picked up five fouls and had to sit on the bench.
The Knights started fast against Boise State in their second game in Sin City. Rutgers got an early 11-5 lead after sophomore guard and forward Antonia Bates drilled a corner three-point shot. But the Broncos fought back, and by the end of the first quarter, they found themselves down by just 2 points.
In the second quarter, Natalie Pasco started to heat up and hit a three-point shot to tie the game 25-25 with approximately 8 minutes remaining. Pasco hit a baseline pull-up and a fast break layup with nearly 3 minutes remaining to give Boise State a 6-point lead. Once heading into halftime, the Broncos ultimately led the contest with 4 points.
The Knights regained the lead with 7:34 left in the third quarter, but Pasco's timely three-pointer approximately 4 minutes later gave Boise State a 1-point lead. The Broncos would have 3-points on Rutgers heading into the final quarter.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Smikle hit a contested layup to cut the lead to 1 point.
Boise State looked to be pulling away with the lead late in the fourth quarter when freshman guard Jillian Huerter caught fire and hit two three-point shots in the span of 30 seconds. This once again cut the Broncos' lead to just 1 point with approximately 3 minutes left in the contest.
Boise State reestablished a 6-point lead, but Huerter came in the clutch again, burying another three-pointer with 59 seconds left to make it a one-possession game.
The Knights needed a stop on defense, and freshman guard Lisa Thompson delivered with a clutch steal, giving the ball to her team, which was down by 3 points, with 18 seconds left in the game.
Rutgers needed a three-point make to send the game to overtime, but Huerter and Smikle's attempts both missed, giving the Broncos the 3-point victory.
Pasco ended the game with 19 points, while Abby Muse finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Smikle was the Knights' top scorer again with 25 points.
Rutgers was effective in the paint, but Boise State's 10 blocks helped secure its win.
The Knights found themselves in foul trouble early on in both games, allowing their opponents to get to the free throw line. Rutgers also struggled to build offensive momentum in the second half of both games.
On the positive side, Smikle continued to look like an effective scorer, and the Knights controlled the paint in both games.
The Knights will return to Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus for a Wednesday morning game against Delaware State. The 11 a.m. tip-off will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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