On Friday night, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights defeated Lafayette, 69-48. In the opening minutes of the game, the Scarlet Knights were out of rhythm and got off to a slow start. Nonetheless, sophomore guard Antonia Bates's intensity on defense never waivered and resulted in two early steals in the backcourt. Although both of these plays didn’t result in points, they helped pick up the morale and energy of the Scarlet Knights. Bates also played a pivotal factor in facilitating on the opposite end of the floor as she recorded 10 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals.
"We talked to Antonia before the season even started about her being a defensive stalwart for us,” said Rutgers head coach Coquese Washington. “She is embracing that. She just does so many things that don't necessarily show up on the stat sheet, but what she brings to the team in terms of helping us operate is huge and can't be talked about enough."
Although the score isn’t as high as many would've liked, this was one of the most dominant wins for the Scarlet Knights all season. As a team the Scarlet Knights grabbed 48 rebounds, eclipsing Lafayette (4-4) by nearly 20 more rebounds in the contest. This game was extremely special because it was the first game this season where everyone on the roster managed to get on the scoreboard. Specifically, freshman Kennedy Brandt scored her first collegiate points with 54 seconds remaining in the contest.
“I think our connection and chemistry needs to continue growing,” Washington continues. “I think we had too many turnovers, however a lot of those turnovers were us attempting to share the ball. We can clean that up, but I think our chemistry is growing and something we can build upon.”
Determining Factors Moving Forward
The Scarlet Knights (5-5) find success when they create turnovers and get the ball in transition. Often, when the Knights are in offensive sets they rely on their physicality and tend to feed the ball to their forwards and centers (Kassandra Brown, Chyna Cornwell, and Destiny Adams). The dominant rebounding allowed a lot of opportunities for putbacks and second chance opportunities. All of the Knights bigs finished in double digits with Brown recording her first double-double of the season.
“Destiny [Adams] and K.B. [Kassandra Brown] are great additions to the team and they help me out so much,” Cornwell emphasizes the importance of her supporting cast. “They're dominant players as well, just continuing to go at each other in practice we’re really good together.”
A TOUGH 🪣
📺 @BigTenPlus
📊 https://t.co/7m7Yqxekqe #GoRU | #RUWBB pic.twitter.com/JpcImm6zKT— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) December 2, 2023
What’s Next for the Scarlet Knights?
The Scarlet Knights are set to face La Salle at Jersey Mike's Arena on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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