Rutgers women's basketball falls to Texas Tech in wild 79-72 game
Rutgers women's basketball fell to Texas Tech 79-72 in their first matchup of the Las Vegas Thanksgiving Classic at the South Point Arena. The Scarlet Knights fell to 3-4 on the season while the Red Raiders continued their undefeated streak to start the year, moving to 6-0.
It was a wild affair for both teams, in a game where each combined for nearly 50 personal fouls and 40 turnovers. Three Rutgers players and one Texas Tech player had fouled out by the end of the game.
Freshman Lisa Thompson entered the starting lineup for the first time in her career, as Mya Petticord, the usual starting point guard, did not play. She and Antonia Bates split time bringing the ball up, navigating around the Red Raiders' heavy press all game long.
The Scarlet Knights started out hot, keeping an arm's length lead over Texas Tech while never truly pulling away. Kaylene Smikle, who led the way for Rutgers with 20 points, scored six in the first frame but could not put away the Red Raiders, as they finished the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 17-15 lead.
The second quarter was once again back-and-forth but the Scarlet Knights were able to once again keep an arm's length away, outscoring Texas Tech 27-22 to go into halftime with a three-point lead. Smikle took over in the second, putting up 10 points to go into the locker room leading all scorers with 16.
On the Red Raider side, they were led the entire way by guards Bailey Maupin and Jasmine Shavers. They also finished the half in double-digit scoring with 14 and 13, respectively. The next highest scorer in the opening half was guard Saga Ukkonen, who subbed in and made three-pointers on consecutive possessions.
The story of the first half - and the entire game, at that - was foul trouble. Every single Scarlet Knight that entered the game had picked up a foul by halftime, including three apiece for Thompson and Bates. Thompson was limited to just seven first-half minutes after picking up her first two early on.
After a high-scoring second quarter, the third ground the scoring to a halt, with the two teams combining for only 21 points. Shavers led the way with six points in the period, while Destiny Adams led the way with five. Lisa Thompson got on the board with a buzzer-beating floater off an offensive rebound to give the Scarlet Knights a 52-50 lead.
The fourth quarter became the Maupin and Shavers show once again, as the two combined for 19 of the Red Raiders' 29 points in the final frame. Maupin also led the way with five assists in the game, including a key dump-off pass with the shot clock running out to give them a lead they would not relinquish.
On one of the biggest plays of the game, Texas Tech point guard Ashley Chevalier grabbed an offensive rebound off a rare Maupin miss at the free throw line with a minute left to give the Red Raiders another opportunity to salt the game away. While the Scarlet Knights kept close, they couldn't get the go-ahead bucket and stop they needed.
By the final buzzer, three Scarlet Knights had fouled out - including Adams on a controversial double technical foul with Red Raider center Jazmaine Lewis - and Smikle was one away from joining Adams, Bates, and Jillian Huerter in the foul-out train. Guard Kennedy Brandt was the only available player remaining on the bench past the five on the court.
Turnovers once again plagued the team, giving the ball away 20 times. It was mostly washed out by 19 Texas Tech turnovers, as each team scored 22 points off the giveaways. Rutgers also missed key opportunities at the foul line, only converting on 8 of their 14 attempts.
On the positive side, the Scarlet Knights bullied the Red Raiders on the block, putting up 50 points in the paint compared to Texas Tech's 22. Rutgers also had their second-most assists in a game this season, sharing the ball 19 times on 30 made field goals.
Rutgers is back in action on Saturday night, as they close out the Las Vegas Thanksgiving Classic with a matchup against Boise State. The Broncos fell to Santa Clara 62-52 in the tournament's opening game.
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