Torched by Trojans: Rutgers women's basketball blown out by No. 4 USC without Kiyomi McMiller
A matchup that was meant to be memorable turned into one that fans would like to quickly forget, as the Rutgers women’s basketball team fell to USC 92-42. The Scarlet Knights (8-7, 0-4) have now lost three games in a row, all by double digits and have yet to collect a win in conference play.
With the way JuJu Watkins and freshman guard Kiyomi McMiller have played to start the season, many fans had this matchup circled on their calendars. Unfortunately, hours before the game, McMiller took to social media to announce that she would not be playing in the contest, which was said to be a decision made by head coach Coquese Washington.
“The thing with Kiyomi is, we are going to keep it internal,” Washington said.
This comes after McMiller played just 24 minutes and did not play for most of the second half against Maryland. The Silver Spring, Maryland, native’s homecoming game was less than ideal, with 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting and a team-high seven turnovers.
Despite not seeing the marquee matchup everyone was looking for, the Trojans (14-1, 4-0) still put on a show for fans. In just the second meeting between the two programs, No. 4 USC dominated in every aspect of the game.
On offense, the Trojans converted on more than double the amount of field goals that Rutgers did and, at one point, had more field goals made than the Knights did points. On the defensive end of the ball, USC doubled Rutgers on the glass with 56 rebounds, 26 coming via offensive rebounds.
Watkins led the scoring with 23 points and 14 rebounds, followed by Kennedy Smith with 19 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the field. The more impressive aspect of USC’s performance was its defense, which held the Knights to 14 points in the first half and just 24 points in the first three quarters of the game.
It was a bad performance offensively for Rutgers, only managing 42 points, which is the least amount of points scored in a loss in coach Washington’s tenure. Despite the team’s performance, senior forward Destiny Adams and graduate student forward JoJo Lacey stepped up in the absence of McMiller, scoring a combined 24 points.
The turnover bug plagued the Knights once again, committing 27 giveaways, leading to 38 points for the Trojans. On the other end, Rutgers did force 17 turnovers but could not capitalize, managing just 6 points from the takeaways.
“Going forward, a number of things has to change,” Washington said. “We got to take care of the ball better. I think we have to have better execution in all phases, whether that's screening, cutting, and then making shots… On all fronts, we have to execute better on the offensive end of the floor.”
The Knights have a lot to work out on the floor. Most importantly, the offense has to improve at scoring in the first half of games and eliminating quarters where they can only muster single-digit point totals. Three games in a row, Rutgers has had such quarters and in each of the last three games, the Knights could not come out on top.
Rutgers has a quick turnaround as it hits the road to take on another stout opponent in Minnesota. Wednesday’s tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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