MINNEAPOLIS — The No. 11 seeded Rutgers women’s basketball team (12-19, 6-13 B1G) couldn’t pull out the victory over No. 6 (RV) Illinois (21-8, 11-7), falling 55-81 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night.
Kaylene Smikle led scoring for Rutgers for the 20th time this season with 22 points. She also added five rebounds and one steal in addition to 13 free throws.
Chyna Cornwell also reached double-digit scoring with 14 points along five boards.
How it Happened
- Cornwell got the game started with a jumper at the top of the key on Rutgers’ second possession. Illinois quickly followed up with two buckets to take over the 4-2 lead. With just over seven minutes to play, Erica Lafayette found Cornwell in the post for a layup, but the team still trailed, 7-4.
What a pass from Lafayette 👀
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- At the period’s halfway point, Cornwell added another layup in response to an Illinois three-pointer to keep things close.
- The two teams then went onto trade baskets as the Fighting Illini owned the six-point edge, 16-10, at the 2:19 media timeout.
- Out of the break, the Illini cashed in on a big three-point play to extend their lead, but Carter hit another big jumper to end the opening quarter and keep the difference at six points, 18-12.
Don’t let her get hot 🔥
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- Smikle started off the second quarter with four consecutive points, thanks to a layup and two shots from the foul line, making it a two-point game, 18-16.
- Illinois followed up with seven consecutive points to widen the gap, 25-16, and force a Scarlet Knights’ timeout with 6:42 to go in the second period.
- The Fighting Illini continued their run out of the break with five more points to keep the 29-16 edge. Brown added a bucket to end a lengthy drought for RU but the opposition persisted, securing another layup to keep the 13-2 run going. Smikle hit two free throws to make the…
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