Rutgers Women’s Basketball Dominates At The Rim, Takes Down Northeastern 79-56

After Rutgers women’s basketball held off Siena 67-61 on Monday to improve to 5-2, the Scarlet Knights defeated the now 3-5 Northeastern Huskies 79-56 on Friday evening. Rutgers got out to a quick 9-2 lead, with Imani Lester scoring the first four points. Nene Ndiaye followed up with an early triple before Janae Walker scored a basket in the paint to push the lead to seven.

Northeastern responded quickly, with a three-pointer from Camryn Collins cutting their deficit to four points, but Lester continued her quick start with a mid-range jumper from the right baseline. Collins proceeded to score from inside the arc, cutting the lead to 11-7 with slightly under five minutes to play in the opening quarter.

Despite strong defensive play from the Huskies, Lester continued to attack the basket while the Knights forced long possessions on the other side of the floor as well as a couple of turnovers. Faith Blackstone continued to impress in her second game, forcing and recovering a loose ball and completing a three-point play. Zachara Perkins hit a three from the right corner to push the lead to 21-10 after the first quarter horn sounded.

Rutgers continued to play sound defense to open the second quarter, with Nene Ndiaye injecting energy into the building with a right wing triple, before Imani Lester cleaned up a miss on the glass to push the lead back to a dozen early in the second quarter.

Northeastern’s Yirsy Queliz hit a right corner three-pointer to cut the lead to nine briefly, but Antonia Bates responded with an open three-pointer of her own before Nene Ndiaye drew contact on a fastbreak, with the and-one opportunity being completed to push the lead to 32-17. The infusion of Faith Blackstone provided instant offense, with the Scarlet Knights leading 35-17 at the midpoint of the second quarter.

The Huskies went on a 5-0 run on a couple of quick transition baskets, prompting Coquese Washington to call a timeout with 3:24 in the first half. Nene Ndiaye continued to attack the rim while the Knights’ defense continued to force turnovers, resulting in Rutgers building a 41-25 lead at the half.

An unusual occurrence happened early in the third quarter, with Nene Ndiaye’s shoe coming off during Northeastern’s first offensive possession. She spent much of the shot clock tying her shoelaces in the backcourt on Rutgers’ ensuing possession, but scored through contact at the rim upon getting the ball on the offensive end, although she missed the free throw. Imani Lester’s low-post shot pushed Rutgers’ lead to 18, as the Knights’ size on the interior posed matchup problems for Northeastern all game.

PreciousGem Wheeler saw action in the third quarter, scoring a bucket in the paint, before Blackstone muscled her way inside for a three-point play to give Rutgers more separation. Yacine Ndiaye scored four points as well upon checking into the game. Zachara Perkins had a 5-0 run by herself, with a drive and a three-pointer, before Antonia Bates hit a triple from the right wing to balloon the Rutgers lead to 65-41 after three quarters.

Northeastern scored some early baskets to start the fourth period, but the Scarlet Knights did not let up, pushing past the 67-point mark and into the 70s with less than four minutes having passed in the quarter on a pair of Lester free throws. With the Huskies in the bonus at the 5:29 mark, Rutgers shot free throws the rest of the way.

With the Scarlet Knights up 74-52 at the four-minute mark, reserve guards Kennedy Brandt and Deja Young were subbed into the game and played the final few minutes. Rutgers continued to attack Northeastern’s smaller lineup, with Perkins drawing an and-one but missing the free throw. Deja Young forced a couple of turnovers but was unable to score, but Makylah Moore scored upon being subbed in, also missing the free throw despite finishing through contact.

Rutgers won the game by a final margin of 79-56, dominating on the glass with a rebounding margin of 43-28 while converting on 20 of 26 free throws, while the Huskies were just four for ten from the line. The Scarlet Knights also stole the ball 13 times to the Huskies’ three, and scored 22 points off turnovers to Northeastern’s six.

Although the shooting percentages and attempts were similar for both teams from the field and from beyond the arc, the Scarlet Knights’ domination on the glass allowed them to cruise to a Friday evening victory to improve to 6-2 on the season.

Nene Ndiaye followed up her career-high 26 points against Siena with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Imani Lester had 16 points and nine boards. Despite a tough shooting night, Zachara Perkins finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while Kaylah Ivey led the Knights with five assists.

Rutgers women’s basketball will be back at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Sunday at 3 PM when they host the Saint Peter’s Peacocks. The game will be available to stream on Big Ten Plus, with radio broadcasts on Fox Sports Radio and WRSU-FM.

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