Trampled by Terrapins: Rutgers women's basketball loses 2nd straight game against No. 10 Maryland
The Rutgers women’s basketball team fell to Maryland, 78-61, in a blowout loss at the Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland. Game two of the Scarlet Knights (8-6, 0-3) gauntlet to start conference play saw several issues that have been present in many losses this season. Losing the rebounding battle, early foul trouble and a lack of offensive flow all played a part in Rutgers’ loss to the Terrapins (13-0, 3-0).
The Knights opened up the scoring with graduate student forward JoJo Lacey converting on a layup. It was not long before No. 8 Maryland answered quickly with a familiar face, Kaylene Smikle, knocking down a triple for the early lead. From there, it was all Terripans, holding the lead for the remainder of the game.
Here are three takeaways from Rutgers’ second straight loss against a top-10 opponent:
Finding the line between ferocity and foul trouble
The Knights are a team known for their aggressive nature on defense, especially with players like senior forward Destiny Adams, graduate student guard Awa Sibide and Lacey. Many times, it is the defense that is the difference in close games, especially in stacked Big Ten.
Rutgers has struggled this season to toe the line between being an aggressive team and being a team that is in a hole early due to fouls. Lacey and Adams found themselves with three fouls heading into the halftime break, changing the Knights' game plan going out for the second half.
Ultimately, Rutgers would be without two of its better players for most of the fourth quarter, with Lacey fouling out approximately 30 seconds into the final frame, with Adams doing the same a few minutes later. The Knights currently have a rotation of eight players who see significant time and losing even one player can shake up the continuity on both sides of the ball.
“We got some tough calls I thought, but we got to be a little bit smarter,” said head coach Coquese Washington. “We have to be tighter in our rotations defensively, and if we can do that, then some of those call I think we don’t get.”
Scoring early and often
Rutgers has struggled in the past two games when it comes to scoring in the first half, with just 25 points scored last time out against Ohio State and 22 against Maryland. It has been the second quarter, in particular, that has given the Knights problems lately.
For the second game in a row, Rutgers has failed to tally double-digit points in the second quarter, tallying only 9 points in the second quarter of each of the past two games. Freshman guard Kiyomi McMiller led the Knights with 5 points in the second quarter without much help from the supporting cast. If not for the struggles in the second quarter, the past two games would have been much tighter as far as the final score goes.
“We had a lot of turnovers that quarter and the turnovers led to transition points for (Maryland),” Washington said. “When you’re not getting shots and you’re getting turnovers, that's a recipe for not scoring so I thought the turnovers were a big deal in the second quarter.”
Keeping composure is key
It is no secret that Rutgers plays in one of the best conferences in all of women’s basketball at the moment. On top of that, the Knights have to play some of the top teams in the conference to open up the season and it seems that adversity is inevitable. Rutgers needs to stay composed on the court to help their odds in tough matchups.
The Knights turned the ball over 24 times today, surrendering 33 points off those turnovers, many of which came from forced passes or simple mental mistakes. It was evident both in the play style and body language of Rutgers that it was rattled at times today. It might not seem like much in the moment, but this lack of composure can be the difference between a big win or a tough loss over time.
Things do not get any easier for the Knights as they travel back to the Banks to take on another top-10 team, USC. Sunday’s tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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