Women's Basketball Travels to Michigan State on Sunday

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Rutgers women's basketball team (8-12, 2-6 B1G) will travel to face Michigan State (10-9, 2-6 B1G) on Sunday, Jan. 22 at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed on B1G+. On the Call Watch on B1G+ Listen on WRSU Last Time Out The Scarlet Knights fell short against No. 14/16 Michigan (16-3, 6-2 B1G), 81-58, on Thursday night at Jersey Mike's Arena. Kai Carter led the way for the Scarlet Knights, scoring 17 points, marking her season-high.

She added four rebounds in addition to two assists and a pair of steals. Kaylene Smikle also joined her in double-digit scoring with 12 points. Rutgers earned 13 steals, their second most in a game this season. Awa Sidibe contributed four grabs, while Smikle also adding three of her own. The Scarlet Knights also added seven blocks, with Antonia Bates and Kassondra Brown tying their career-highs with three each.

The Scarlet Knights are leading the Big Ten in the category this season, collecting 98 team blocks through 20 games. Making History Thursday's victory marked the 1,000th program win for Rutgers. The six-point win also marked head coach Coquese Washington's 100th Big Ten win. The Scarlet Knights are the 22nd Division I program to reach 1,000 wins and the fourth this season.

RU is also the third current Big Ten program to reach the milestone along with Maryland and Ohio State. First Year Phenom Freshman Kaylene Smikle continues to impress as she paces the team with 16.9 points per game in addition to averaging 20.4 points in Big Ten play. Smikle is the only Scarlet Knight to net 20+ points in a game, accomplishing the feat nine times, including five times off the bench. 22 points vs.

South Dakota State (Nov. 20) 23 points vs. Cornell (Nov. 27) 21 points vs. Ohio State (Dec. 4) 22 points at Illinois (Dec. 7) 26 points vs. Princeton (Dec. 15) 29 points vs. Maryland (Jan. 2) 20 points vs. Nebraska (Jan. 7) 20 points vs. Minnesota (Jan. 12) 21 points vs. Maryland (Jan. 15) The freshman has reached double-digit scoring in 16 of 20 outings this campaign.

She has hit double figures in the last eight games and 20+ points in three of her last four outings. The Farmingdale, New York product has also been solid from beyond the arc. Her 36 three-pointers lead the Scarlet Knights while her five three's against South Dakota State rank as the highest performance in a single game this season for RU.

She has hit at least one three in 18 of 20 contests this slate and cashed in on two or more in seven of the last nine games. B1G Blocks Rutgers has recorded 98 blocks over 20 games, leading the Big Ten in the statistic. The team leads the runner-up Northwestern by 14 stops. Antonia Bates paces RU with 24 total blocks, ranking sixth in the Big Ten.

Kassondra Brown also sits in the conference's top-10 with 19 denials. Both Bates and Brown have collected 3+ blocks on three occasions and have led the team in swats five and seven times, respectively. Doubling Up The Scarlet Knights have combined for eight double-doubles this season including two in Big Ten play. Chyna Cornwell leads the team with six double-doubles, tied for second in the big Ten, including back-to-back outings against Illinois (Dec.

7) and Hampton (Dec. 10): vs. Seton Hall – 10 points, 10 rebounds vs. Cornell – 11 points, 16 rebounds at Illinois – 10 points, 11 rebounds vs. Hampton – 18 points, 14 rebounds vs. New Orleans – 15 points, rebounds vs. Maryland – 15 points, 13 rebounds In addition, Awa Sidibe (11 pts, 10 reb) recorded a double-double against Seton Hall (Nov.

11) while Kassondra Brown (10 pts, 10 reb) also hit the accomplishment Minnesota (Jan. 12). Strong Off the Boards Rutgers has secured more or the same rebounds as the opposition in 12 outings this season, including all but two wins. This season, RU has outrebounded its opponents 767-721 (+46). The team has recorded 30+ rebounds in 18 of 20 outings and 40+ boards in nine games.

The Scarlet Knights grabbed a season-high 53 off the glass against Cornell (Nov. 27) for its highest rebounding margin (+23). Chyna Cornwell leads the Scarlet Knights off the boards, with 8.9 rebounds per game to rank third in the Big Ten. Her 16 rebounds against Cornell also measures up as the second-best single game performance this season. Cornwell also paces the league with 68 total offensive boards. The Scarlet Knights Against the Top-25 RU will meet six teams mentioned between the AP Top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Polls: No.

2/2 Ohio State No. 6/6 Indiana No. 10/9 Iowa No. 17/20 Michigan No. 11/11 Maryland No. 21/23 Illinois Washington Returns to the Big Ten The Washington era at Rutgers signals the head coach's return to the Big Ten, after serving as the head coach at Penn State for 12 seasons. From 2012-14, the Lady Lions claimed three consecutive Big Ten regular-season titles, becoming one of four programs in conference history to win three or more regular-season crowns in a row.

She guided Penn State to two Sweet 16 appearances in 2012 and 2014 while developing 17 players to All-Big Ten status on 32 separate occasions. Washington earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors three times (2012-14), WBCA Regional Coach of the Year twice (2012, 2013), and was named a finalist for WBCA National Coach of the Year two times (2012, 2013).

She was also selected as the 2011 and 2014 Black Coaches Association (BCA) Female Coach of the Year. Successful Staff Washington won't be the only new face on the sidelines this season as she named Tasha Pointer, Nikki McCray-Penson and John Hampton assistant coaches during the offseason. Pointer returns "On The Banks," bringing 18 total years of coaching experience, including eight seasons on the sidelines with the Scarlet Knights from 2007-15.

As a player from 1997-2001, Pointer led Rutgers to the 2000 Final Four, the hallmark of a 128-game career that produced program-record totals of 839 assists and 292 steals while scoring 1,456 points. Pointer was inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008, which was also her first year on the coaching staff that guided the Scarlet Knights to an NCAA Elite Eight, a Sweet 16, and a WNIT Championship during seven overall trips to the postseason. McCray-Penson comes to Piscataway, New Jersey with 15 years of college coaching experience, most recently as a head coach at Mississippi State and Old Dominion, which followed a standout college playing career at Tennessee, nine seasons in the WNBA and two gold-medal winning performances with Team USA at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. Hampton, the former head coach at Clarkson University, has spent the last seven seasons at St.

Joseph's, including the last three as the Hawks' assistant head coach. At St. Joe's, Hampton helped lead the Hawks to the postseason twice, an Atlantic 10 Tournament title game, a Hawk Classic crown, and a WNIT victory. Hampton graduated from Mansfield University in 2008, where he joined the men's basketball program as a walk-on and went on to earn the team's MVP twice in 2007 and 2008.

He was selected as a PSAC All-Conference honoree as a senior. Scarlet Knights on the Big Screen The Scarlet Knights are set for eight appearances between the Big Ten Network and Fox Sports 1. vs. Ohio State – Dec. 4 – 12 p.m. (BTN) vs. New Orleans – Dec. 18 – 2 p.m. (BTN) vs. Maryland – Jan.

2 – 2 p.m. (BTN) vs. Nebraska – Jan. 7 – 2 p.m. (BTN) at Minnesota – Jan. 12 – 8:30 p.m. (BTN) vs. Michigan – Jan. 19 – 8:30 p.m. (BTN) at Iowa – Feb. 12 – 3 p.m. (FS1) at Wisconsin – Feb. 20 – 8 p.m. (BTN) vs. Illinois – Feb. 26 – 2 p.m. *Could be flexed to B1G+ The entire Big Ten Tournament run will also be broadcast nationally. The remaining 11 home games on the schedule not set to air on TV will be streamed on Big Ten+. History Against Michigan State Rutgers owns the slight 7-6 edge over Michigan State in the all-time series.

The Scarlet Knights have come out on top in the last two contests with their last dropped decision coming on Feb. 13, 2020 (53-57). Scouting the Spartans After going on a four-game winning streak, featuring a win over No. 4/3 Indiana (83-76), Michigan State has dropped its last four contests. Three of the losses came to ranked opponents, including an overtime decision to No.

10/9 Iowa (81-84). Kamaria McDaniel (14.8) and Matilda Ekh (12.9) pace the team with double-digit point averages. Gabby Elliott leads the team off the glass with 5.5 rebounds per game. Next Up Rutgers will travel to East Lansing, Michigan to take on Michigan State on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. The Scarlet Knights then return to Jersey Mike's Arena on Thursday, January 26 to face Penn State at 7 p.m. Follow Along Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@RutgersWBB) for all of the latest news and updates.

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