The Rutgers women’s basketball team is set to host two home games over Thanksgiving weekend at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway. The Scarlet Knights, currently holding a 5-2 record, will face Northeastern on Friday, November 28 at 7 p.m. for Casino/Raffle Night and Saint Peter’s on Sunday, November 30 at 3 p.m. for Sneakerhead Day.
Friday’s matchup against Northeastern will be streamed on B1G+, while Sunday’s contest will air on the Big Ten Network. Both games can also be heard on Fox Sports Radio.
The 2025-26 season for Rutgers women’s basketball is presented by Prudential.
In their most recent outing, Rutgers secured a win over Siena with Nene Ndiaye scoring a career-high 26 points. Zachara Perkins matched her career best with 17 points, and Imani Lester contributed 10 points. Lester also tied her career high with nine rebounds, while Ndiaye and Perkins collected eight and seven rebounds respectively. The game saw six ties before Rutgers pulled ahead in the fourth quarter to win.
Rutgers’ schedule this season includes seven opponents ranked in the top 25 across the AP poll and WBCA USA Today poll. Notable ranked teams include UCLA, Michigan, Maryland, Iowa, USC, Michigan State, and Washington.
The Scarlet Knights will play ten home games within the first two months of the season. After opening with five home contests, they travel to Auburn before returning for four more games in New Jersey. Last season, Rutgers posted an 8-3 record during this stretch.
Head coach Coquese Washington made several additions to her staff during the offseason. Shannon LeBeauf joins as Senior Associate Head Coach after fourteen seasons at UCLA where she helped secure multiple top-ranked recruiting classes and led the Bruins to nine NCAA Tournament appearances including a Final Four run last year. Sean LeBeauf comes from UC Riverside following four seasons as an assistant coach; Danielle Edwards arrives from SMU where she was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator; James Spinelli joins after serving as an assistant coach at Northeastern.
Jeanine Wasielewski continues into her third season as an assistant coach and takes on duties as Offensive Coordinator.
Other staff changes include Nneka Enemkpali moving into the role of Chief of Staff after two years as an assistant coach. Alejandro Ramirez has been promoted to Director of Basketball Operations after serving in an interim capacity last season.
Returning players for Rutgers include Antonia Bates, Deja Young, Zachara Perkins, Kennedy Brandt, and Janae Walker. Six transfers have joined the program: Lauryn Swann (Arizona), Kaylah Ivey (Boston College), Nene Ndiaye (Boston College), Faith Blackstone (Stephen F. Austin), Imani Lester (Kansas State), and Yacine Ndiaye (UNCG). The team also added freshmen Precious Gem Wheeler from Franklin High School and Makylah Moore from Nazareth High School.
Rutgers will make six televised appearances this season across Big Ten Network and Fox Sports 1.
Northeastern enters Friday’s game having won its last two contests after dropping three straight earlier in the season. Key players include Yirsy Quéliz and Camryn Collins who both average double figures in scoring; Taylor Holohan leads in rebounding.
Saint Peter’s recently earned its first win of the season against Lehman College behind De’Naya Rippey’s averages of 13.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.
Looking ahead, Rutgers opens Big Ten play against Iowa on December 6 on Fox Sports 1.
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