On Monday evening, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-0) defended their home court against the Monmouth Hawks (0-1) 56-51 in a hard-fought battle. Last season, the Knights overachieved with limited resources and first-year head coach, Coquese Washington. Despite being knocked out of the Big Ten tournament last season by Illinois, the upset victory against Purdue may have been the momentum builder they needed leading into the following season. For example, the two transfers Washington was able to secure, Destiny Adams and Mya Petticord, both had exceptional nights in their debuts.
“Mya owes me Starbucks because she missed some free throws down the stretch,” Washington stated. “... They’ve been great additions, I thought tonight this was the first time this team has had all the pieces, so getting out here today and working out the kinks will take some games for us to do that.”
“However, we have great leadership from Mya and Destiny is such a matchup nightmare because of her versatility. I just love the energy they bring, as we continue to form a tight nucleus and bond it’ll prove to be good for us this year.”
The Knights began the game off slower than expected and struggled offensively. It appeared during offensive sets the Knights struggled to find points consistently. Occasionally, they found a key matchup that they looked to exploit. However, the majority of their offense was run through their centers and shifty guards managing to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line. Ultimately, the Knights were led by Petticord and her consistent scoring throughout the game. She managed to record 17 points, connecting on six of her 11 shots.
“I feel like I did start off slow, however in the second half we definitely pushed the tempo,” Petticord said. “I feel like everything was opening up because everyone was playing harder and it kind of helped open up my shots.”
Rutgers Transfers Take Over the Game
This offseason, two of Rutgers's biggest acquisitions were Adams and Petticord. Monday night, both proved how important each will be moving forward in the season. Adams managed to record a double-double (13 points and 17 rebounds) in her debut, ultimately sending a message to everyone. This season appears to be personal for her and she’s off to a phenomenal start proving others wrong, but more importantly herself right.
telling you this year is personal 🙂 https://t.co/jPWycJBzC0
— Destiny Adams (@destinyyadamss) November 7, 2023
“I really have to give thanks to my teammates, rebounding with Chyna [Cornwell] and KB [Kassandra Brown] naturally helps you become a better rebounder,” Adams expressed.
Petticord played a tremendous role in settling in on the offensive end, due to their lack of scoring. Offensively the Knights struggled, however the way she was able to dictate the game on the floor and find her own rhythm when the team desperately needed offense was a component that the Knights missed last season.
“It’s really fun playing with my team, we’ve been really talking about what we wanted our identity to be,” Petticord continued. “We’ve been working on our chemistry on and off the court and it’s really been a good process.”
Room for Improvement
Although the Knights managed to prevail at home, there were tons of room for improvement. The Knights didn’t shoot efficiently or effectively from the three-point line. Yet, this team was effective in aspects of the game that allowed them to survive the final moments of the game. Despite the consistent turnovers the defense created, some of the missed opportunities in transition
“I don’t think this was the identity, we didn’t play nearly as fast enough as we want to play. Also, we didn’t shoot the ball as well as we’re capable of,” Washington continued. “Certainly, we want to score a lot more points, anything in the 50s is way too low.”
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