Rutgers women's basketball defeated La Salle 75-62 to improve to 2-0 in a game where they showed some growing pains and struggled to pull away from their mid-major opponent. While outscoring the Explorers in every quarter, the Scarlet Knights only scored one more basket than their opponent in three out of four quarters, leading to a closer-than-expected win.
The best quarter defensively for the Knights was the first quarter, as they only surrendered six points. However, their own offense started slowly, as the Knights headed into the second quarter with a 12-6 lead. Both teams would start to heat up offensively in the second quarter, with Rutgers scoring one more point than La Sallee in the second to take a 29-22 lead into the half. The final two quarters would be near carbon copies of one another, with Rutgers outscoring La Sallee 23-20 in both to finish with a 13-point win
Mia Pauldo led the way in scoring and assists for the Knights, as she amassed 22 total points and six assists. Jaylah Lampley and Zennia Thomas contributed 11 and 10 points as well. Zachara Perkins and Tara Daye both led the team with 11 total rebounds.
The Explorer's Joanie Quinn gave the Knights' defense problems throughout the game, as she totaled 20 points, 10 of which came from free throws, as she shot a perfect 10 for 10 at the line.
In total, Rutgers hit 29 out of 67 total shots for a shooting percentage of 43%. The Knights hit five out of 17 shots from beyond the arc and hit 12 out of 20 shots at the free-throw line.
The two biggest issues for Rutgers in this game were their turnovers and fouls. In total, the Knights were called for 28 fouls and committed 18 turnovers. Mya Pauldo would end up fouling out after scoring just three points, while three others were just one penalty away from fouling out. In addition, better ball control is a necessity for the Knights going forward, as they had two players commit four turnovers and three others commit at least two.
One positive from this game is the fact that Rutgers had 10 more second-chance points than their opponent, showcasing their ability to attack the offensive glass. Another positive is that despite the sloppy performance, Rutgers had enough talent and skill to pull off a 13-point win against a solid mid-major opponent who went 19-14 last year. Many of the issues the Knights had tonight can be cleaned up the more the team plays together in game settings and against D1 competition. The talent is there; that part is clear. It just needs to fire on all cylinders as a team.
Rutgers women's basketball will be back in action on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. as they are set to take on the Indiana State Sycamores.
