Despite the 77-63 loss to the No. 10 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes(13-0, 2-0 Big Ten) at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Women’s Basketball Team (8-5, 0-2 Big Ten)) displayed a valiant effort, inspiring all with their resilience and determination, even after the end of their three-game winning streak.
Rutgers was coming off an incredible 72-65 comeback victory over Lafayette on Saturday, December 21st, at Jersey Mike’s Arena, where they trailed by 15 points. Kiyomi McMiller poured in a career-high 31 points and five three-pointers. Awa Sidibe made her long-awaited return after 660 days. Chyna Cornwell and JoJo Lacey each contributed 12 points apiece.
The Scarlet Knights trailed 23-16 at the end of the first quarter but were energized by Destiny Adams’s play. Adams totaled 12 points and was unstoppable, scoring in the paint and low post. On the defensive end, Adams exerted her aggressiveness by drawing three charges.
“We do practice taking charges and talk about help with rotation and being aggressive in that space,” Rutgers Head Coach Coquese Washington explained. “She’s (Destiny) Adams is really good at it and sacrificing her body for the good of the team.”
In the second quarter, Ohio State managed to boost the lead to double digits with less than seven minutes remaining. The Buckeyes trio of Taylor Thierry, Ajae Petty, and Cotie McMahon provided balanced scoring with ten points apiece, leading to a commanding 46-25 lead at halftime.
The Buckeyes’ relentless full-court offensive press resulted in a decisive advantage in points off turnovers, 20-2, nine steals, and 15-6 in fast-break points.
“Ohio State makes it tough to get into an offensive rhythm and flow on the offense end and because they’re pressing and trapping and being very disruptive defensively,” Coquese Washington described.
“The length they play at and duration they’re going to press, and some turnovers are inevitable.” “We did a good job at handling the backcourt pressure and had a lot of opportunities and we could have converted on the back end of the press and didn’t make the conversions and had done that might have been differently.”
In the third quarter, the Scarlet Knights came out with some much-needed mojo by erupting on a 9-0 run. Ohio State shut out until a free throw with less than seven minutes remaining ended the drought.
“I thought we responded great, we talked about needing to do things differently on the defensive end and attacking their press,” Coquese Washington noted. “We had a lot more ball security and Kiyomi(McMiller) and Destiny made some big plays down the stretch and we got into a little continuity on the offensive end of the floor.”
Ohio State answered back in resounding fashion with a 9-1 spurt, and the lead swelled to 58-37 at the two-and-a-half-minute mark. By the time the quarter ended, the Buckeyes were in firm control, 62-45.
In the fourth quarter, Rutgers refused to go away quietly behind the stellar play of Destiny Adams, who netted a double-double and continuously got to the foul lane and out on the fast-break. Kiyomi McMiller played a pivotal role as well, supplying seven points as the Scarlet Knights closed the gap to 71-62 at the two-minute mark.
“The third and fourth quarter we were able to get into a flow offensively and get the ball to Destiny in her spots and Kiyomi got some good looks at the basket and allow us to chip back away,” Head Coach Coquese Washington stated. “It started with our defense being aggressive and getting turnovers that allowed us to get going in transition.”
However, Ohio State weathered the storm and, despite shooting a meager 33 percent from the floor in the final frame, knocked down five out of six free throws to cruise to the win.
“They got a great blend of post-play to go along with guard play, they got speed, defense and got a lot of shooting and weapons and you see it on display,” Coquese Washington expressed. “Ohio State is a really good team and why they’re undefeated for a reason.”
“One of the things we try to do is be in the moment and not to look far ahead and definitely not look behind especially when you get into conference play and we got 16 games left to play,” Head Coach Coquese Washington remarked. “You have to take the lessons from this game and some things we did really well and things we want to improve on.”
Destiny Williams tallied a game-high 31 points and 17 rebounds, while Kiyomi McMiller added 14 points.
“Destiny Adams is an incredible player, her toughness is something she brings to the table every day,” Coquese Washington mentioned. “Her competitiveness is off the charts and rubs off the rest of the team.” “She brings confidence and level of fight that’s needed and we’re going to try to take that growing forward.”
“We have competitiveness on our roster, and they want to win and compete and go toe-to-toe with some of the players they played in high school and have that fight and tenacity and on the defensive end because of the highly competitive individuals they are.”
With their sights set on the future, Rutgers is gearing up to face the No. 8 Maryland Terrapins(12-0, 2-0 Big Ten) at the XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland on Thursday, January 2nd. The team is ready to bring their A-game, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
“We go play the No. 8 team in the country and then the No. 4 team and that’s playing in the Big Ten and you have to take the lessons that come with what your strengths are and things we bring to the table and trying to get better every day.” “We get back and watch film and it comes down to competitiveness and every team has strengths and weaknesses and things they’re doing well and areas they’re not great in.”
This the toughest year in the terms of competing in the conference that I have ever been around and been associated with.” “It’s always been good an on another level this year and we talked about the teams coming into the conference this year and there’s no night off whether teams ranked or not and going to be hard and that’s why you love playing in the conference and playing against the best competition.” “As a competitor challenge yourself against the best and why the Big Ten Basketball in my opinion is the best in the country.