Kiyomi McMiller returns, drops career-high 33 points in Rutgers women's basketball's loss to Nebraska
Freshman guard Kiyomi McMiller showed the Rutgers women's basketball team exactly what it had been missing on Sunday against Nebraska. Making her first appearance since missing the last two games, the rookie sensation dropped a career-best 33 points as the Scarlet Knights (8-9, 0-6) lost 69-62 to the Cornhuskers (13-4, 4-2), dropping their sixth straight game to remain winless in Big Ten play.
McMiller made an instant impact, scoring 7 points in the first quarter on 3-of-7 shooting, but Rutgers trailed 16-14 after the first 10 minutes.
McMiller continued to lead the Knights in the second quarter with 10 points, including a made three-pointer from the Jersey Mike's Arena logo. With the clock winding down in the second, McMiller dribbled past two Nebraska defenders and put up a contested floater, which hit off the glass and went in as the buzzer sounded. The crowd was on their feet, and Rutgers kept it close with a good Cornhuskers team, down 36-31 at halftime.
The Knights had a strong third quarter and clawed back into the game. Midway through the quarter, senior forward Destiny Adams stole the ball and scored a layup to cut the deficit to 1. Minutes later, McMiller tied the game at 42-42 with a dribble into a mid-range jumper. She spun through multiple Nebraska players before laying in a high-arcing ball to take a 2-point lead. This 6-0 Rutgers resulted in its first lead of the game. But the score was tied at 48 heading into the final quarter, with both teams looking to come away with the win.
The fourth quarter went back-and-forth, but a Cornhuskers 9-0 run gave them a 64-57 lead, which proved to be enough for their third straight win. Nebraska, who outrebounded the Knights 49-32 for 17 second-chance points, immensely impacted the result.
McMiller's career-best 33 points came on 14-of-28 shooting and 5-of-14 from three-point range. She also had two rebounds and two assists. Adams finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. It seems like McMiller is back with the team after missing the last two games for what was deemed a decision by head coach Coquese Washington.
"She's back with our team, we're happy to have her back," Washington said. "She's back on our team and back at practice."
Rutgers will remain at home on Wednesday, and it will be looking for its first Big Ten win this season against Michigan State. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
"I thought we did a lot of good things defensively," Washington said. "We were disruptive and then sometimes the second and third shots that (Nebraska) got was just a problem. Conversely, for us, we didn't get enough second shots. We didn't get enough offensive rebounds and (Nebraska)'s size had something to do with that."
