It was a historic night for Rutgers women’s basketball. Not only did the Scarlet Knights storm back to beat Big Ten rival Minnesota 65-59, but the victory marked the 1,000 victory in program history and was the 100th career win for head coach Coquese Washington.
Milestones on milestones.
— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) January 13, 2023
Congrats on 100 wins in the Big Ten, Coach @CoqueseWashing β₯οΈ#GoRU | #RUWBB pic.twitter.com/ujSxkmRKki
After trailing for much of the evening, Rutgers stormed back late in the third quarter — thanks to an 8-0 run that cut the Minnesota lead down to a single point 40-39. About a minute later Kaylene Smikle knotted the game up at 41 with a jumper with 1:15 to go in the third quarter.
After a steal by Awa Sidibe, Smikle put Rutgers in front connecting on another jump shot, this one with 43 seconds left in the period.
A back-and-fourth quarter saw Rutgers finally regain control late, when Sidibe put the Scarlet Knights back in front with a layup.
Kai Carter added two shots from the line while the Gophers went 1-for-2 to keep the RU up, 58-57. Out of Rutgers’s third timeout, Smikle added a layup to extend the team’s lead to three, 60-57.
After Minnesota called its third timeout, the opposition hit a free throw to cut the difference back to two points. Sidibe and Carter combined for three points at the line to make it a two-possession game, 63-58.
