Preview: Nebraska Women’s Basketball vs. Rutgers with Breakdown

Rutgers Scout

Head Coach

• Coquese Washington | 4th season at Rutgers; 16th as HC
• 42-83 (.336) at Rutgers; 251-252 (.499) Career Record
• 4x NCAA Tournament Apps., 2x Sweet 16
• 3x B1G regular season titles
• 1x B1G Coach Coach OTY
• Previous head coach at Penn State
• Previous assistant at Notre Dame and Oklahoma

2024-2025 Record & Awards

• Record: 13-20 (3-15 B1G, 15th)
• Finish: L, 71-64 to Buffalo in WNIT Great 8
• All-B1G: 1x Second Team, 1x Honorable Mention

All-Time Series

• Rutgers leads 8-7
• March 5, 2025, at Big Ten Tournament last matchup, 84-60 NU

Key Returners

• Zachara Perkins | G/F | Soph. | After starting as a true freshman, the Houston native has grown to average over 10 points and nearly five rebounds per game as a sophomore starter.
• Antonia Bates | G/F | Sr. | Played in just five games last season before suffering a season-ending injury; has returned to be a part-time starter to average two points and five rebounds per game.
• Janae Walker | F | Jr. | After seeing 28 games of action off the bench last year as a true freshman, Walker has earned 15 starts in the 27 games this year.

Key Departures

• Kiyomi McMiller | G | Transfer | After a prolific freshman season that saw the Maryland native lead Rutgers with 18.7 points per game, McMiller transferred to Penn State in one of the biggest moves of the women's college basketball offseason.
• Destiny Adams | G/F | Graduated | Named to the All-Big Ten Second Team after nearly averaging a double-double in her final college season by pouring in 17.9 points per game and 9.9 rebounds.
• JoJo Lacey | F | Graduated | Veteran forward who rounded out the trio of Scarlet Knight double-digit scorers with over 10 points and five rebounds per contest.
• Awa Sidibe | G | Graduated | Played in only 20 of the 33 games last season, but scored 7.5 points and grabbed 3.5 rebounds as a starter in those contests.
• Mya Petticord | G | Transfer | Playing primarily as a reserve, the former Texas A&M transfer chipped in 6.7 points per game off the bench before departing to spend her last college season at Auburn.
• Chyna Cornwell | C | Graduated | The 6-foot-3 Scarlet Knights center came off the bench to score over six points and collect a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game in her final college campaign.
• Lisa Thompson | G | Transfer | A depth piece that started in 13 of her 27 appearances last season, the Illinois native moved closer to home by transferring to Missouri, where she's putting up similar numbers.

Impact Transfers/Newcomers

• Nene Ndiaye | F | Jr. | After averaging just 4.4 points last year at Boston College, the forward from Senegal leads the program in scoring (15 PPG) and steals (35) as part of a breakout junior campaign.
• Imani Lester | F | Sr. | Another forward transfer that saw limited action at her previous school (Kansas State), Lester has tallied a team-high 29 blocks and 5.5 RPG while ranking second on the Scarlet Knights with 11.2 points per game.
• Faith Blackstone | G | Gr. | Named a Southland First-Team All-Conference pick last season while helping Stephen F. Austin to the NCAA Tournament; puts up 9.8 points per game for the Scarlet Knights.
• Lauryn Swann | G | Soph. | After making the Big 12 All-Freshman team last season at Arizona, the Queens, New York native transferred closer to home, where she's adding over eight points per game as a key reserve.
• Kaylah Ivey | G | Gr. | Transferred to Rutgers to spend her last college campaign after five total seasons at Boston College.

Outlook

Things continue to go downhill for head coach Coquese Washington and the Rutgers women's basketball program. Despite a WNIT Great 8 finish to save what was otherwise a dismal 2024-2025 season, the Scarlet Knights continue to sink lower in the Big Ten basement in Washington's fourth season as head coach.

What's unfortunate for Rutgers is the program's inability to take advantage of having two stars in freshman sensation Kiyomi McMiller and Destiny Adams. McMiller was one of the top freshmen in the country by pouring in 18.7 points per game, while All-Big Ten Second Team pick Adams nearly averaged a double-double per game with 17.9 points and 9.9 rebounds. Both departed over the offseason, with McMiller heading over to Washington's old stomping grounds at Penn State while Adams exhausted her eligibility. Five others moved on after the season, including double-digit scorer JoJo Lacey (10.1 PPG) and veteran guard Awa Sidibe (7.5 PPG).

That made room for five impact newcomers who joined the program over the offseason. That group has been led by Boston College transfer Nene Ndiaye with a team-leading 15 points per game and 5.2 rebounds as part of a breakout junior season. After seeing limited action at Kansas State, Imani Lester joins Ndiaye as another player taking advantage of extended playing time at Rutgers, adding over 11 points and five rebounds per contest. Plus, former All-Southland First-Team pick Faith Blackstone (9.8 PPG), Big 12 All-Freshman team member Lauryn Swann (8.2), and Boston College transfer Kaylah Ivey (7.9) contribute big minutes in the Scarlet Knights' rotation. Returning sophomore Zachara Perkins was the only impact returner for Rutgers, and she's improved to score 10.9 points per game.

While Washington and her staff have been able to pick through power conference bench pieces and turn them into productive starters, the talent level isn't where it needs to be to compete in the Big Ten. Following program legend, Charlaine Vivian Stringer was always going to be tough, but she even had the Scarlet Knights finishing in the top five of the Big Ten in three of her final five years. There doesn't appear to be any momentum behind Washington right now, and a serious discussion for the future of the program will likely happen over the offseason. As far as Saturday goes, anything but a Nebraska blowout win would be a disappointment.