Rutgers women's basketball continues losing skid at home against Michigan State
The Rutgers women's basketball team fell to Michigan State 82-64 on Tuesday night at Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus. The Scarlet Knights (6-17, 0-10) have now lost 12 consecutive games.
The Spartans (16-5, 6-4) quickly got on the board with a three-pointer from Moira Joiner. Michigan State continued its momentum and went on a 10-0 run after approximately 3 minutes of play to open up a comfortable lead.
Junior guard and forward Destiny Adams scored Rutgers' first points of the night with a layup at the 7:02 mark.
Despite the aggressive start for the Spartans, the Knights were able to gain some ground in the first quarter, taking their only lead of the night with two made free throws from Adams.
Michigan State quickly retook the lead through DeeDee Hagemann and led 19-18 at the end of the first quarter.
The Spartans showed their strength from beyond the arc in the second quarter. Abbey Kimball knocked down both of her three-point attempts to keep Michigan State ahead. Rutgers kept its foot on the gas pedal with points from Adams, freshman guard Jillian Huerter and senior center Chyna Cornwell but was unable to retake the lead.
The Spartans owned a 42-35 lead at halftime.
Michigan State came out of the locker room and added to its lead. The Spartans went on a 14-3 scoring run to lead 56-38 at the 4:26 mark in the third quarter.
The Knights scored just 11 points in the third quarter and trailed by 21 points heading into the final quarter.
Michigan State sealed the deal in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 23 points.
Rutgers kept it close in the first half but could not get a spark in the second half, leading to the defeat.
The Knights were without sophomore guards Kaylene Smikle and Mya Petticord due to injury and had to look to their short-handed lineup.
Adams recorded a double-double, scoring 28 points and bringing down 10 rebounds.
Julia Ayrault led the Spartans with 19 points and shot 8-14 from the floor.
Rutgers will look to snap its losing streak and earn its first Big Ten win of the season against Nebraska on Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. The game will tip off at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
"We had a lot of missed opportunities," said head coach Coquese Washington. "We missed some opportunities that could have made the difference, especially in the second half."
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