By John "Woods" Armwood III
Sunday night, Rutgers suffered the most embarrassing loss in school history to the Trojans at home. Initially, the energy surrounding this game was seething with excitement, however hours before tip-off star freshman guard Kiyomi McMiller announced via Instagram that she wouldn’t be suiting up for this contest. Despite now appearing on the bench, McMiller's talents were surely missed as several players attempted to replicate her efforts, resulting in a season-high 27 turnovers. Naturally, it shocked many, but more importantly disappointed many as well. Therefore, the highly anticipated matchup was stripped away, but the morale remained high as many were still excited to see star player JuJu Watkins perform. That said, the Scarlet Knights (8-7) suffered an embarrassing loss to the hands of the Trojans (14-1), 92-42.
“We’re going to keep it internal,” Rutgers head coach Coquese Washington stated, “I see my role as a coach being more than X’s and O’s, but how am I impacting these young women in my cars, so that will always be first and foremost.”
“It’s about defining character and growing young people, so as we deal with different circumstances and situations, for me it’s always how are we impacting these young people,” Washington continued.
From the tip-off, the Scarlet Knights seemed to be out of rhythm as they struggled to find their offensive weapons. Despite recording a double-double, Rutgers star forward Destiny Adams (10 points & 10 rebounds) struggled to create for herself and others. Naturally, being doubled at a consistent rate, forced her to rely on others, however the shooting wasn’t effective (28%) enough to allow her to be effective in the paint. At times, the offense appeared stagnant and lacked ball movement, ultimately leading only to one assist heading into halftime.
“It’s tough, we tried to play point guard by the committee tonight,” Washington continued. “We had a variety of different people, get the ball and get our offense going, as you can see that was a bit of a struggle for us. So, we’ll just keep working on that, but yeah it was a struggle without our full complement of guard play out there.”
@CoqueseWashing @Sh3gotgame1 @RutgersWBB
— John “Woods” Armwood III (@J_Armwood908) January 6, 2025
“It’s tough, we tried to play point guard by the committee tonight,” Washington continued. “We had a variety of different people, get the ball and get our offense going, as you can see that was a bit of a struggle for us." pic.twitter.com/F9pb3Ggf24
Positives to Build on for Rutgers
While it may appear bleak for the Scarlet Knights, there were some positives to build off. The transfer JoJo Lacey has stepped up big this season to relieve the Scarlet Knights of their shooting struggles. Despite fouling out, Lacey recorded 14 points and four rebounds, however it appeared her confidence grew to the next level. As the game progressed, the Scarlet Knights offensive struggles only worsened, therefore forcing Lacey to take matters into her own hands. Lacey proceeded to prove she was capable of being a three-level scorer if given the opportunity.
This can be a building point for Rutgers as they wish to build the nucleus around McMiller and the company. Before Lacey began getting aggressive and showing her versatility within the offense, Rutgers appeared to be inadequate offensively. That said, this only speaks volumes of defense for the Trojans, ultimately causing 27 turnovers that will be hard to overcome for any opposing team.
“I mean whatever I could do to help the team like coach said Kennedy [Smith] is a big part of our defensive energy and to be able to add to that and get rebounds when I can,” Trojans star guard JuJu Watkins stated. “I’m just ready to help out that’s always something I’m going to be willing to do.”
“I mean whatever I could do to help the team like coach said Ken [Smith] is a big part of our defensive energy and to be able to add to that and get rebounds when I can,” @USCWBB star guard @Jujubballin Watkins stated.@RutgersWBB @Sh3gotgame1
— John “Woods” Armwood III (@J_Armwood908) January 6, 2025
Article: https://t.co/dLsbwiQJqd pic.twitter.com/jtNQw0Kki9
What’s Next for Rutgers?
The Scarlet Knights visit Minnesota on Wednesday evening.