Rutgers showed that they are closing the gap with the elite teams of the Big Ten in Saturday’s 66-56 loss to No. 16 Indiana. The matchup was the Big Ten opener for Rutgers and also marked their first game of the season against a ranked opponent.
Rutgers kept the game close in the first quarter, but Indiana put the game away as the night continued. Mackenzie Holmes set the tone offensively for the Hoosiers with a team-high 25 points. Sydney Parish also had a big night with 14 points of her own.
That’s back-to-back layups from Smikle and Adams!
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📊 https://t.co/0z3EtxpR0s #GoRU | #RUWBB pic.twitter.com/BoLSm6M6PU— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) December 9, 2023
While the Hoosiers’ offense proved to be too much for Rutgers, there were a few bright spots. Kaylene Smikle was a scoring machine, adding 19 points to her resume. She got some help from Antonia Bates, who finished with 11 points.
Although Bates and Smikle kept Rutgers in the game, the Scarlet Knights never got closer than five points in the fourth quarter. Against one of the top 25 teams in the country Rutgers could not get a stop as time winded down.
Following the loss, the Scarlet Knights are now 6-6 this season. They will have a shot at getting back in the win column on Wednesday when they take on Princeton. The Tigers will be a challenging matchup as they are off to a 6-3 start.