Rutgers women's basketball blown out by Iowa
The Rutgers women’s basketball team was blown out by Iowa earlier today. The Scarlet Knights (10-16, 4-10) lost to an impressive No. 5 Hawkeyes (20-5, 12-1) team by a score of 111-57.
Iowa started off the first quarter on a 7-0 run. Rutgers fought back and cut the deficit to 2 points with approximately 5 minutes left in the first quarter, thanks to freshman guard Kaylene Smikle scoring 10 straight points for the Knights.
The Hawkeyes would quickly respond, scoring 17 points in the final 5 minutes of the quarter and taking an 11-point lead into the first quarter break. Rutgers' defense struggled to stop the high-tempo Iowa offense, a trend that would continue throughout the game.
In the second quarter, the Hawkeyes started to run away with the game. The Knights were held to only 10 points with Iowa scoring 31 points in the quarter. At halftime, Rutgers trailed by 32 points.
The last two periods would not get better for the Knights as the Hawkeyes scored 37 points in the third quarter to Rutgers' 14 points. Iowa continued to showcase why it averages the most points scored in the Big Ten.
With the game already out of hand, the pace of play slowed down in the fourth and final quarter. The Knights ultimately suffered a 54-point loss, Rutgers' biggest loss of the season.
Despite the team's loss, Smikle had an impressive night on the court. The freshman scored 28 points shooting 9-14 from the field. She also had five steals and five rebounds. It was Smikle’s 20th double-digit outing of the season and her 12th game with more than 20 points.
Junior guard Erica Lafayette also had a solid game, scoring 6 points and corralling four rebounds.
Another bright spot for the Knights was their defense against Caitlin Clark. Rutgers held Clark, who is in contention for women’s national player of the year, to a season-low 15 points in the game. Davis Molly led the Hawkeyes with 17 points.
The Knights will be back in action on Wednesday in front of their own fans at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Livingston campus hosting Northwestern. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. with coverage on Big Ten Network+ and on 88.7 WRSU-FM.
For more updates on the Rutgers women's basketball team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
