Rutgers women's basketball defeated by Northwestern after fourth quarter struggles
The Rutgers women’s basketball team fell to Northwestern 77-70 on Saturday in the first of its 17-game stretch of Big Ten matchups. The Scarlet Knights (6-9, 0-2) could not keep up with the Wildcats’ (6-7, 1-1) second-half pace of play at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Fourth quarter struggles
Rutgers led Northwestern 40-38 at halftime.
The Knights made 15 of their 31 field goal attempts in the first half, with freshman guard Lisa Thompson and sophomore guard Mya Petticord leading the way with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
By the end of the third quarter, Rutgers was still in charge with a 62-56 lead over the Wildcats. Northwestern, though, picked it up in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats outscored the Knights 21-8 in the final quarter, and the latter went a cold 3 for 13 from the field. Northwestern shot 7 for 11 in the final 10 minutes.
Rutgers’ depth got thinner as the game went along with Thompson, junior guard and forward Destiny Adams and graduate student center Kassondra Brown all fouling out in the fourth quarter.
The Knights' late lack of rhythm hurt them in their 7-point loss to the Wildcats.
Where was Kaylene Smikle?
One of the biggest head-scratchers for Rutgers on Saturday afternoon was the absence of sophomore guard Kaylene Smikle. Smikle played just 5 minutes in the contest, all of which were in the second quarter.
In her limited minutes, Smikle went 1 for 3 from the field, corralled in two rebounds and dished out one assist.
The cause of Smikle’s short leash is unknown, but her scarce play did not make much sense, considering the sophomore leads the Knights in points per game.
Thompson impresses in her home state
Despite fouling out, Thompson scored a career-high 17 points for Rutgers, tying her with Brown for the team lead. Thompson, who hails from Joliet, Illinois, had a whole section of family and friends who came to watch her compete in her home state.
Thompson scored the Knights' first 8 points of the game and went 7 for 8 from the free-throw line.
Look for Thompson, with her youth and speed, to contribute more for Rutgers down the line.
The schedule will not get any easier for the Knights, as they will face off in a road game against Purdue on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.
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