Rutgers Women's Basketball Tops FDU for Second Straight Win

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights Women's Basketball Team (4-1) concluded a five-game homestand to kick off the 2025-26 season with a hard-fought 59-49 victory over the FDU Knights (2-3) at Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Rutgers had just come off a 68-63 win against Rhode Island on Thursday, where junior forward Nene Ndiaye scored a career-high 24 points.

Four players from Rutgers reached double figures in scoring, led by sophomore guard/forward Zachara Perkins, who netted a game-high 17 points. Senior guard/forward Antonia Bates contributed significantly by grabbing a team-high ten rebounds.

"Most of my teammates were finding me, and I just had that aggressive mindset regardless of what was happening on the defensive end," said Zachara Perkins. "It's about how we bounced back, getting a stop, and then coming back to score."

Rutgers led 27-26 at halftime and then initiated a 7-0 run to pull ahead 36-29 in the third quarter. The Scarlet Knights' defense excelled, shutting out FDU for over four minutes. The Knights managed to break their scoring drought with just two minutes remaining in the quarter.

Heading into the fourth quarter, FDU narrowed the lead to 39-35 and then went on a 6-0 run, fueled by back-to-back three-pointers from Ava Renninger.

Rutgers reclaimed a slight 46-43 lead with a three-pointer by graduate guard Kaylah Ivey. However, the Knights responded swiftly as Renninger connected on her fourth three-pointer of the game, tying the score with four minutes left.

Nene Ndiaye then made two free throws to put Rutgers back on top. Kaylah Ivey continued to shine offensively, hitting two consecutive jump shots to extend the lead to 52-46 with less than three minutes remaining, scoring seven of her ten points during that stretch.

"She has a lot of confidence right now, and she responds well in pressure moments," commented Rutgers Head Coach Coquese Washington.

Rutgers capped off a solid performance with an 11-0 run, increasing their lead to 57-46 with a minute and a half left. The Scarlet Knights' defense held FDU scoreless for almost four minutes to secure the gritty win.

"We were able to pressure them a little more, and that made the difference," Coach Washington noted. "We did some good things, but we are a work in progress. We're continuing to gel and figure out who we are and how we play, especially on game day. I'm very pleased to be 4-1, but we recognize we have work to do."

The Scarlet Knights will briefly hit the road before returning home for another long stretch of four consecutive home games. They will face the Auburn Tigers (5-0) on Thursday, November 2, at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. CST.

Photo Credit: Rutgers Athletics