'A different beast': Rutgers women's basketball to start Big Ten play with home test against Indiana
Head coach Coquese Washington of the Rutgers women's basketball team is focused on one game at a time.
"Every day is that day. Every game is that game," Washington said after the Scarlet Knights (6-5, 0-0) defeated La Salle 98-67 on Tuesday.
In its win over the Explorers (3-5, 0-0), Rutgers had six players reach double-digits and recorded its highest-scoring game since 2020. It was the best offensive performance under Washington in her second year as head coach.
"I'm glad that we played the way we played offensively tonight," Washington said after the victory over La Salle. "There's some things defensively we gotta shore up and we gotta get better at. Saturday's gonna be a different game, a different beast. So, we gotta be ready for that."
That different beast is Indiana. The Hoosiers (7-1, 0-0) are riding on a six-game winning streak before heading into Piscataway for a date with the Knights this weekend.
Through 11 games, Rutgers is averaging 71 points per game (PPG) while holding its opponents to 62.8 PPG. On the flip side, No. 16 Indiana is averaging 78.9 PPG through its first eight games while keeping opponents to 59.4 PPG.
Mackenzie Holmes is the player to watch on the Hoosiers. As of Thursday, Holmes is third in the Big Ten conference, scoring 18.3 PPG. Sara Scalia is another scoring threat for Indiana, averaging 16.5 PPG, the eighth-best mark in the conference.
Sophomore guard Kaylene Smikle and junior guard and forward Destiny Adams will look to go head-to-head with Holmes and Scalia. Smikle averages 16.8 PPG and sits one spot above Scalia in the conference scoring category. Adams is the Knights' second-leading scorer, averaging 13.6 PPG.
In Tuesday's press conference, Washington emphasized that Rutgers has a lot of talent to work with on the court.
"Our challenge and our task so far this year and throughout this season will be how we blend those gifts together, and we're still working it out," Washington said. "But today was a good day where you got to see a little bit of what everyone can bring to the table, and when everybody brings their gifts to the table on game day, we can be pretty tough."
Washington will look to utilize her weapons on Saturday afternoon when the Knights clash with the Hoosiers at home. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network as well as 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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