Rutgers WBB players speak during the teams media day.
The players on the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team hosted a press conference during the team’s 2025 media day to preview the upcoming season. The press conference was divided into two segments, with Deja Young, Nene Ndiaye, Zachara Perkins, Janae Walker, Maklah Moore, and Antonia Bates speaking during the first segment, and Imani Lester, Kaylah Ivey, Lauryn Swann, Kennedy Brandt, PreciousGem Wheeler, Yacine Ndiaye, and Faith Blackstone answering questions during the second segment.
The first question they were asked largely mirrored the first question Head Coach Coquese Washington was asked during her press conference, as they were asked what the off-season was like from their point of view, given the numerous additions to the team and coaching staff, and how it felt to bring the team together. The team echoed a lot of the same points across the board and talked about putting in the work they need to put in during the off-season to bond, get better, and elevate the team’s culture. Bates discussed how much of her off-season was spent properly rehabbing from a surgery she had earlier in the year and getting back on the court. Perkins mentioned that despite all the new faces on the team, they bonded together really fast and have used that bond to create a good team culture.
Ndiaye was asked about her time in the transfer portal and how she ended up with the Scarlet Knights. She mentioned that her bond with the head coach was really important to her during her search for a new school. She said that when she took her visit to Rutgers that it was pretty easy to commit because of the relationship she had with Coach Washington. She was also asked if seeing her former Boston College teammates, Jojo Lacey and Ivey, transfer to Rutgers encouraged her to do the same thing. Again, Ndiaye reiterated the importance of having a preexisting bond and how that helped sway her to join the Knights.
Ivey and Swann were asked about what brought them to Rutgers despite the team having poor point guard play the last couple of years. Swann’s response was “I feel like I just wanted to go somewhere where I’m going to learn and where I’m going to win, and this checked both of the boxes.”
To view the press conference, click here.
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Category: General Sports
