Rutgers women's basketball dismantled by No. 17 Ohio State in seventh consecutive loss
The Rutgers women’s basketball team was defeated by Ohio State 90-55 on Thursday night at The Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. The Scarlet Knights (6-12, 0-5) have now dropped seven straight games and are still winless in Big Ten play.
So, what went wrong for Rutgers in the loss?
Turnovers
The first quarter set the tone for the Buckeyes (12-3, 3-1) as their penetrating defense forced the Knights to cough up 11 opening-quarter turnovers, three from freshman guard Lisa Thompson. By the end of the first quarter, Rutgers trailed 27-13.
It was not much better for the Knights in the second quarter, as eight more turnovers helped No. 17 Ohio State outscore Rutgers 24-9 in the quarter en route to a comfortable 51-22 lead at halftime. Junior guard and forward Destiny Adams turned the ball over four times in the second quarter.
While the Knights had much better ball control in the second half, 19 first-half turnovers proved to hard to bounce back from as Rutgers was once again outscored in the third and fourth quarters in its 35-point loss.
Lack of scoring
Adams led the Knights with 18 points, but when the seven other players score a combined 37 points, it is hard to get any flow on offense.
Sophomore guard and forward Antonia Bates did not register a point in her 31 minutes of play and only took one shot from the field. Senior center Chyna Cornwell only pitched in 6 points in her 26 minutes.
Thompson and freshman guard Jillian Huerter, who Rutgers has looked to for scoring this season, combined for 13 points in 50 combined minutes.
Lack of depth
Once again, the Knights jogged onto the court with nine active players, with just eight registering at least one minute against the Buckeyes.
The ninth player, walk-on freshman guard Kennedy Brandt, has played just 11 total minutes this season and is not someone that head coach Coquese Washington will turn to for meaningful minutes just yet. Graduate student guard Awa Sidibe has been out indefinitely since the season began.
Sophomore guard Kaylene Smikle has been absent from Rutgers' last three games. Smikle, who leads the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game, has been a crucial part of the Knights' offense in the past, and her lack of playing time over the last few weeks has limited the team's success.
“Smikle is dealing with a medical issue,” Washington said last week. “So she’s day-to-day, game-to-game, and when she’s better, she’ll be back.”
Rutgers will look to get Smikle back and end its seven-game skid when it takes on Penn State this Sunday at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Livingston campus. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m., with the game being broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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