LAWRENCEVILLE?Junior Tammy Meyers (Willingboro) scored 23 points, 14 in the first half, and added eight rebounds and five assists to lead Rider to a 76-63 victory over Penn Tuesday evening. The win was Rider's second in a row. “We've been working hard and believing in our system and that belief is starting to pay off,” Meyers said. “Everyone is feeling confident. Shooting the ball is contagious and so is our effort on the defensive end. We were feeding off each other and we worked well as a team.”
Meyers has led Rider in scoring for the third game in a row.
“This was our third game in five days and to come up with the effort that we had is great,” said head coach Lynn Milligan. “We set the tone with a solid defensive effort in the first half. Tammy really stepped up for us on both ends of the floor and her defensive effort putting Penn out of its rhythm keyed our offensive effort in transition.”
Holding a 50-44 lead, Rider (4-12) out-scored Penn 11-4, seven points by sophomore Cintella Spotwood (Trenton/Trenton Central), to take a 61-48 lead with 6:00 left to play. Spotwood finished with a career-high 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
“Cintella is healthy and you are starting to see the results of that,” said Milligan. “She spent the whole summer in the gym refining her shot and suffered a couple of injuries at the start of the year. Now that she is 100 percent, you are going to see that she is capable of this type of performance each time out.”
“We played strong defense and the offense ran smoothly,” Spotwood said. “We've been practicing hard the last few weeks and that is starting to pay off. I'm finally healthy and the extra work that coach Pam Durkin has done with me is really starting to show in the last four games.”
Rider made 10 of 12 foul shots in the final 2:37 to preserve the victory.
Penn (3-11) out-scored Rider 12-4 to start the second half, four points by Anca Popovici, to cut the lead to 36-30 with 15:15 remaining.
“On Sunday we almost gave up a 16-point lead,” Milligan said. “Having gone through that, we stayed more composed tonight. Penn made some good shots but we didn't panic. We ran the offense and hit some clutch shots of our own.”
Rider led 19-15 before out-scoring Penn 13-3 over the final 4:30 of the first half, six points by Meyers and four points by Spotwood, to take a 32-18 lead at intermission.
Holding a 7-6 lead, Rider went on a 12-5 run, four points by junior Stephanie Wisniewski (Levittown, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie), to take a 19-11 lead with 6:15 left in the first half. Wisniewski finished with six points. “We are starting to get a nice combination with our fives,” Milligan said. “Between Stephanie Wisniewski, Sarah Homan and junior Ashley Anderson (East Orange), we can throw some different looks at our opponents and we are starting to see the benefits of that.”
Rider junior Amanda Sepulveda (Perth Amboy/Hun) added 14 points and four assists, while freshman Sarah Homan (Upper Darby, Pa./Delco Christian) compiled six points, a career-high eight rebounds and blocked a career-high four shots. “Sarah is doing a great job,” Meyers said. “When you are out on the perimeter, it is great to know that you have the support you need to help you in the paint.”
“Sarah is our last line of defense in most cases,” Milligan said. “She has a big wing span and she probably deterred about five or six more shots besides the blocks. We are pleased to have a longer body down in the paint. It allows our guards to be a little more aggressive.”
Rider blocked a season-high seven shots in the game.
“It's nice to have a lot of scoring options,” Milligan said about having three players with 14 or more points. “We've made progression and the team is working hard. The players are becoming more confident in their shots and making better decisions.”
For the Quakers, Carrie Biemer, the leading scorer in the Ivy League, scored 14 of Penn's first 18 points and finished with a game-high 32 points.
Penn defeated Rider 66-58 last season. The last and only other time Rider defeated Penn was during the 1982-83 season. Penn had won the last six meetings.
Rider hosts Loyola in a MAAC contest Friday evening.
“Tonight continues the steps that we have taken,” Milligan said. “We've really honed in on staying in the moment. We rewarded ourselves for the hard work the last two days of practice. That is going to help us continue our progression. It's big for us to put two wins together. It is a tangible thing that reinforces that if you work hard, things will go your way. You have to work hard and make your own breaks and we will continue to do that Friday night.”
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