2017-18 Rider University Women's Basketball
GAME 26: Friday, February 16, 2018
Rider Broncs (11-14, 8-6 MAAC) at Niagara Purple Eagles (9-16, 6-8 MAAC)
Location: Niagara University, NY – Tapps Gallagher Center (2,400)
Tip: 7:00 pm
Live Video: Niagara Sports Network
Live Stats: SideArm Stats
Twitter: @RiderWBB & @RiderAthletics
Listen: 107.7 The Bronc
Notes: Niagara

What You Need to Know
- Rider travels to western New York for a two-game road trip against Niagara and Canisius on February 16-18. The Broncs open up versus the Purple Eagles on Friday evening. Rider is looking for the regular-season sweep of NU after topping Niagara at home by seven in mid-January. Outside of Lawrenceville this season the team is 5-8 overall and 3-3 in MAAC play. The Broncs have dropped three of their last four road conference games after their first two of the season.

- Last time out, sophomore guard Stella Johnson stuffed the stat sheet to lead Rider past visiting Iona, 80-53, on Sunday afternoon. Johnson recorded her fourth double-double of the season thanks to a 17-point, 10-assist performance. She also added seven rebounds, six steals and one block, while shooting 8-of-10 from the field to the lead offensive attack for the Broncs.  Rider came out of the gates charging for the second game in a row, opening the tilt on a 10-0 run over the first 6:06 of play. In the opening frame, the Broncs shot over 57 percent (8-of-14) from the field and forced seven Gael turnovers to build a 19-9 edge after 10 minutes. The hosts never trailed in the game en route to their eighth MAAC win of the year.

- The Purple Eagles enter Friday evening's tilt with a 9-16 overall record and a 6-8 mark in MAAC play after falling on the road to Monmouth, 65-63, on Saturday, February 10. Niagara has dropped back-to-back league contests and NU has lost two of their last three conference home games. It is a balanced offensive attack for the Purple Eagles with three players averaging in double figures and four of their five starters pouring in over seven points per game. Niagara is led offensively by redshirt senior Victoria Rampado. Rampado leads the MAAC in scoring with over 20 points per game and she is second in the league in rebounding thanks to pulling down nearly 10 boards per tilt. Rampado is shooting over 45 percent from the field this season and she ranks third in the MAAC in free-throw percentage, hitting 82.5% of her attempts from the charity stripe. Kaylee Stromple and Jai Moore are the other Purple Eagles averaging in double figures, while Jamie Sherburne is second in the MAAC in assists with over four dimes per game. In the first meeting between the two teams, Moore registered a double-double thanks to a 14-point, 10-rebound performance. As a team, Niagara ranks in the top-three in the MAAC in several different statistical categories. The Purple Eagles lead the conference in free-throw percentage (77.0%) and rank second in field-goal percentage (41.1%). Niagara is also third in both scoring offense (65.7 PPG) and steals per game (8.40).

- Junior point guard Lexi Posset scored a game-high 24 points thanks to hitting 11-of-12 at the free-throw line to lead the Broncs past the Purple Eagles, 65-58, on January 18 inside Alumni Gymnasium. 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. The Purple Eagles cut the deficit to just three at 51-48 in the fourth quarter, but the Broncs would hit their free throws down the stretch to hold on.

- Rider has built double-digit, first-quarter leads in each of their last two games. Rider opened the game on a 10-0 run against Iona, holding the Gaels scoreless for the first six minutes of play. In their last two games, the team has outscored the opposition, 35-15, during the first quarter. In that stretch, the team has shot a combined 51.7 percent (15-of-29) from the field and forced 16 turnovers.

- As a team, Rider had 17 assists in their 27-point win over Iona on Sunday. It marked the seventh game this year and the second in a row in which the Broncs had 15 or more assists. Stella Johnson had a career-high 10 assists versus the Gaels, while Lexi Posset had four dimes. Stella has had five or more assists in three of her last four games. On the year, Posset has dished out four or more assists in a game 12 times.    

- Rider hit 11-of-16 attempts (68.8%) from three-point range in the win over Iona on Sunday. It marked the third time in the last four games that the Broncs have hit seven or more treys and shot over 38 percent from beyond the arc. Rider is shooting 33.4 percent as a team from three-point range, which ranks second in the MAAC. Stella Johnson is hitting a team-best 39 percent (28-of-71) from deep, while Lexi Stover has jarred a team-high 38 shots from three-point range this season.