Rutgers women's basketball looks to beat Wisconsin at home in weekend matchup
On Tuesday, the Rutgers women's basketball team was victorious for the first time at Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus this season against a Big Ten opponent, defeating Minnesota 81-73. The Scarlet Knights (8-19, 2-12) will now look to defend their home court once again against Wisconsin on Saturday.
The Badgers (11-12, 4-9) come into Piscataway fresh off a home loss against top-15 Indiana and are 1-3 in their last five games. Wisconsin ranks 11th in the Big Ten, just three spots above bottom-ranked Rutgers.
Although they haven't played as well as they would like this season, the Badgers' defense ranks seventh overall in average points allowed, giving up approximately 68 points per game. Wisconsin's offense tells a different story, as it ranks last in the Big Ten in points per game.
A strong defense could spell trouble for the Knights. Many times this season, their offense has struggled in the first half of the game. In a loss against Michigan last week, Rutgers' offense was held to just 16 points against the Big Ten's No. 1 defense. Meanwhile, on the defensive end of the court, the Knights allowed 45 first-half points against the Wolverines (16-9, 7-6).
On January 27, the Badgers held Rutgers to just 3 first-quarter points and only 22 points in the entire first half. Wisconsin would go on to defeat the Knights 73-62.
After the win against the Golden Gophers (14-10, 4-9) on Tuesday, head coach Coquese Washington spoke on Rutgers' slow starts to the season.
"I hear them in the locker room before the game. Sometimes, they might be too wound up, and they're trying to win the game in the first 5 minutes of the game, and they have to kind of settle down and just play," Washington said.
So far this season, the Knights' offense has seen their struggles, especially without sophomore guard Kaylene Smikle, who has not played since Dec. 30, 2023, against Northwestern. In Smikle's absence, junior guard and forward Destiny Adams has been a leading source of production, averaging 15.2 points per game and giving the Rutgers offense life on multiple occasions.
Another name to look for in the scarlet and black will be sophomore guard Mya Petticord. Petticord had the hot hand against Minnesota, scoring 25 points with four successful three-pointers.
The Badgers will look to Serah Williams to get the offense rolling early at Jersey Mike's Arena this weekend. Williams leads her team in scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game, which puts her at third in the conference in that category.
Coming off an 11-point performance in Wisconsin's previous game, Ronnie Porter looks to continue to be a consistent scorer for the Badgers. Porter and Williams are the only two players who are averaging double figures on the year.
The Knights will need to not get into early holes and limit their turnovers if they want to come away with a victory. Rutgers averages 18.6 turnovers per game and will need to protect the ball to stay in the game.
As for Wisconsin, it will have to score more efficiently from the three-point line. While the Badgers shoot at a 40 percent clip from the field, they have shot less than 30 percent from beyond the arc. The Knights are a team that can quickly capitalize on defensive stops, so Wisconsin will have to have a strong shooting performance in its own bid for a victory.
Rutgers seeks a 2-0 record on the week when it faces off against the Badgers at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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