2017-18 Rider University Women's Basketball
GAME 19: Thursday, January 18, 2018
Rider Broncs (7-11, 4-3 MAAC) at Marist Red Foxes (8-10, 4-2 MAAC)
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY – McCann Arena (3,200)
Tip: 2:00 pm
Live Video: ESPN3
Live Stats: SideArmStats
Twitter: @RiderWBB & @RiderAthletics
Listen: 107.7 The Bronc
Notes: Marist

What You Need to Know
- Rider hits the road for the first of two games in the Empire State on Sunday, January 21, traveling to Poughkeepsie to square off with Marist. On the road this season the Broncs are 4-6 and the team has won three of its last four outside of Lawrenceville. 

- Marist enters the weekend with an 8-10 overall record and a 4-2 mark in conference play after suffering a 58-53 setback at Siena on Thursday. The Red Foxes have dropped two of their last three MAAC games after opening conference play 3-0 and Marist is 5-2 inside McCann Arena this season. The balanced Marist offensive attack sees three players averaging in double figures and four of their five starters pouring in more than nine points per game. Offensively, the team is led by reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year Rebekah Hand. Hand ranks third in the league in points per game (15.6) and fifth in field-goal percentage (46.7%). The other Red Foxes averaging in double figures are Alana Gilmer and Maura Fitzpatrick. Gilmer is scoring 14.5 points per game and is third in the MAAC in field-goal percentage (47.1%), while Fitzpatrick is netting over 10 points per contest. Freshman Allie Best is shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc and Grace Vander Weide is pulling down a team-best 6.6 rebounds per tilt. As a team, Marist ranks in the top-two in the conference in three different statistical categories. The Red Foxes lead the league in field-goal percentage (42.3%) and field-goal percentage defense (38.2%), while ranking second in the MAAC in scoring offense (67.1).

- Marist leads the all-time series, 41-15. Last season, Rider swept the season series. The win in Poughkeepsie in mid-January of 2017 snapped a 27-game losing streak to the Red Foxes.

- In the MAAC opener for both teams, Marist scored an 80-69 victory in Lawrenceville on December 28. The Red Foxes opened the game on a 10-0 run and held a 29-8 edge after the opening 10 minutes. The Broncs outscored Marist, 60-51, over the final 30 minutes, but the early deficit was too much to overcome. Stella Johnson scored 26 points for Rider, while Lea Favre poured in 14 on 7-of-9 shooting.  

- Last time out, Rider won its second straight conference home game, topping Niagara, 65-58. After a back-and-forth first quarter, Rider closed the first half on a 10-2 run over the final 3:27 of the second quarter to take a 30-21 edge into halftime. During the spurt, the Broncs held Niagara without a made field goal and forced a pair of turnovers. Niagara made it one possession game at 51-48 with six and a half minutes left to play before Stella Johnson scored on a drive and then got a steal and a bucket on the next possession to stretch the lead back to seven at 55-48. The two teams would trade points down the stretch and Rider was able to hold on thanks to hitting 5-of-6 at the foul line down the stretch.  

- This season, Rider is 6-0 when holding opponents to under 60 points. The Broncs are also 7-1 (4-0 in MAAC play) in 2017-18 when they shoot a higher percentage than their opponents. Rider has forced 18 or more turnovers in three of its last six games. The Broncs have forced at least 17 turnovers in a game 11 times this season. Rider has a +1.1 turnover ratio this year which ranks third in the MAAC. 

- Versus Niagara, both senior Kamila Hoskova and junior point guard Lexi Posset played all 40 minutes. Hoskova has played 40 or more minutes in a game seven times this year, including three straight games. On December 30 versus Siena, Hoskova played a career-high 42 minutes in an overtime setback. This year, she is playing over 35 minutes per game. Posset has played 40 or more minutes in a game three times, including a career-best 45 minutes against Siena. 

- Versus Niagara, Rider shot a season-best 93.8% (15-of-16) from the free-throw line. It marked the second time this year that the Broncs hit more than 90 percent of their free throws after hitting 20-of-22 (90.9%) at NJIT on December 16.The tilt versus the Highlanders marked the third time this season that the Broncs had hit 20 or more free throws in a game. Against Quinnipiac on January 15, the team shot over 84 percent (11-of-13) at the line. Rider is 4-3 in 2017-18 when hitting better than 77 percent of their free-throw attempts in a game. On the year, the team has hit 73.7 percent (247-335) of their free throws, which ranks second in the MAAC.

- Junior Lexi Posset scored 24 points to lead Rider past Niagara on January 18. She was 5-of-13 from the field, including an impressive 3-of-6 from three-point range. She played all 40 minutes and grabbed four rebounds to go along with two steals. She scored 20 or more points in a game for the second time this season and the third time in her career. Posset also set a new career-best by going 11-of-12 from the free-throw line.