The gauntlet of the Big Ten schedule year in and year out was apparent even before the conference expanded to 18 teams, including two top-10 teams in Los Angeles.
Rutgers Women's Basketball is facing the brunt of it, and then some right now.
The Scarlet Knights (8-6, 0-3) lost their third straight conference matchup, this time on the road to No. 8 Maryland 78-61 in a game where they committed 24 turnovers and shot 35% from the floor.
Destiny Adams led the Scarlet Knights with 15 points and nine rebounds before fouling out in 25 minutes. She was one of two Rutgers players to foul out, joining JoJo Lacey, who picked up all five fouls in just 14 minutes.
Terrapins (13-0, 3-0) star guard Shayanne Sellers finished with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds, as three Maryland players finished in double figures.
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The game had several storylines coming into this game, including a homecoming for freshman Kiyomi McMiller, a native of Silver Spring, but Maryland did not give the five-star a very warm welcome home.
McMiller struggled throughout the game to create, finishing as the only other Scarlet Knight in double-figures with 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting, including 3-for-9 from the three-point line. She also had a team-high seven turnovers, with Maryland's high-pressure on-ball defense giving McMiller a lot of trouble. She checked out of the game at the 5:13 mark of the third quarter and did not re-enter.
The other big storyline of the game was former Rutgers guard Kaylene Smikle playing her first game against the Scarlet Knights, after missing the final 17 games of her sophomore season and subsequently entering the transfer portal.
Smikle did not have her most consistent night, but still finished with 13 points on 4-for-12 shooting from the floor, along with five steals on the defensive end.
"I don't really think it was any different from any other game," she said after the game. "Basketball is basketball, it doesn't matter the team. I'm still going to come out and play the same against every team. I don't think me playing Rutgers changed the way I came into the game or the mindset that I had."
Rutgers was able to stay close to start the game, trailing by six after the first quarter with McMiller's 9 points carrying much of the scoring load. Her buzzer-beater brought the Scarlet Knights within two possessions, but the floodgates quickly opened in the second quarter.
Rutgers got outscored 21-9 and committed 10 turnovers in the second quarter alone, scoring 12 points off those turnovers.
The Terrapins' defense put relentless pressure on McMiller and the Scarlet Knights' main ballhandlers, and poked the ball free while getting into passing lanes constantly.
Rutgers fought back in the second half, managing to outscore Maryland 39-38, but the second-quarter deficit was too large to overcome, especially with the Scarlet Knights' top three players struggling with turnovers and foul trouble. The latter was noticeable in the box score, as the Terrapins shot 27-for-32 from the free throw line, compared to 10-for-13 for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights got whistled for 25 fouls while Maryland committed 13.
The conference slate only gets more difficult from here, as they host No. 4 USC and superstar JuJu Watkins on Sunday night. Of the Big Ten's seven ranked teams currently, the Scarlet Knights face six of them to start the full conference slate.
RHOOPS PLAY OF THE DAY
Kiyomi McMiller ends the first quarter in style with a logo buzzer beater.
UP NEXT?
The Scarlet Knights will continue their Big Ten gauntlet on Sunday, when they host star JuJu Watkins and No. 4 USC at Jersey Mike's Arena. The game will tip off at 8 pm EST and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
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