Rutgers women's basketball falls at Northwestern to close out 2023 slate
Rutgers women's basketball opened up its chunk Big Ten slate, and closed out the 2023 calendar year, falling 77-70 to Northwestern on Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Scarlet Knights (6-9, 0-2) had the lead for a large part of the game but the Wildcats (6-7, 1-1) were able to pull away thanks to a dominant 4th quarter effort. Rutgers was led by a breakout performance from true freshman Lisa Thompson, who tied for the team lead with 17 points in her return to her home state of Illinois. Northwestern center Caileigh Walsh led all scorers with 22 points.
The Scarlet Knights controlled the tempo to open up the game, especially with their guard play. Thompson scored 10 in the opening period while Mya Petticord, back after an eight-game injury absence, put up 8 points and grabbed three rebounds, helping the team close the quarter with a 23-15 lead. Walsh, a native of Sparta, New Jersey, had nine of her own in the first to lead the Wildcats.
Northwestern was able to get back into the game in the second quarter, as they started to utilize a more diverse scoring attack to generate points. Walsh scored another 7 points, while guard Melannie Daley added 6, finishing second in the game with 20 points. The Scarlet Knights still kept the lead, shooting 54% from the floor and staying out of foul trouble. Kassondra Brown, who scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting, hit a midrange jumper with 21 seconds before the half to give the Scarlet Knights a 40-38 lead at the break.
Rutgers once again came out of the locker room and controlled the pace in the third quarter, eventually opening up an eight-point lead thanks to Destiny Adams' seven points, as well as forcing five Wildcat turnovers. The Scarlet Knights entered the final period up by six.
The fourth quarter was a disastrous one for Rutgers, as they failed to hold onto the lead and was outscored 21-8. They shot just 3-for-13 from the floor and failed to get to the free throw line with the same regularity and effectiveness as earlier in the game. Northwestern's defensive energy seemed to come alive when the fourth quarter arrived, and the Scarlet Knights could not adjust and put points on the board.
On the defensive end, Daley once again had her way, scoring 8 points and drawing key fouls, including a three-point play on a deep midrange jumper that fouled out Thompson. Walsh hit three of her nine free throws in the period to help ice the game.
Much of the reason for Rutgers' offensive struggles down the stretch could be attributed to perimeter ineffectiveness, as the Scarlet Knights shot just 3-for-17 from three-point range in the game, including 1-for-10 in the second half.
Surprisingly, leading scorer Kaylene Smikle played just five minutes in the contest, making a basket in the second quarter. The sophomore guard likely would have helped the shooting numbers had she gotten more minutes.
One area where the Scarlet Knights did well was rebounding the ball. Despite similar shooting numbers as Northwestern, Rutgers grabbed nine more rebounds. The difference came in offensive rebounding, as the Scarlet Knights grabbed 17 offensive boards to the Wildcats' 8, leading to 14 second-chance points. However, they were outscored in points in the paint 38-30, much thanks to the efforts of Walsh and forward Paige Mott.
Rutgers was plagued yet again by the turnover bug, as they gave the ball away 19 times while also forcing 15 Northwestern turnovers, leading to 24 Wildcat points and 16 for the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers is back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Mackey Arena to face off against Purdue at 7 pm.
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