Women's College Basketball
Canisius College 78, Rider University 48
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Game
LAWRENCEVILLE--Freshman Caitlin Bopp (Baltimore, Md./Inst. of Notre Dame) continued her dominating play with 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Rider University women's basketball team lost to Canisius College 78-48 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game Saturday afternoon.
Bopp, a three-time MAAC Rookie of the Week honoree, notched her fifth career 'double-double' and third this month. Bopp shot six for 13 from the field.
"We gave up too many points today," head coach Lynn Milligan said. "Canisius shot the ball very well and came in ready to play. Caitlin gave another great effort today. She got hit in the face and was cut but came right back in and did what she needed to do. She was solid, as she has been all season. It's going to take a lot more than an elbow to the face to knock her out of a game."
Leading 29-24 with 5:34 left in the opening half, the Golden Griffins went on a 13-2 run, six points by Tasia Lee as Canisius (7-9, 2-3 MAAC) opened up a 42-26 lead with two minutes left. Lee finished with a game-high 16 points and also had five steals.
Holding a 15 point lead, the Golden Griffins scored the last five of the half to go up 47-27 at intermission.
Canisius extended its lead to 24 with a 6-0 run to start the second half and eventually led by 35 with just under six minutes to play.
The Golden Griffins opened play with a 7-0 run before Rider (2-14, 0-5 MAAC) scored seven of the next 10, three points by senior Amanda Sepulveda (Perth Amboy/Hun) to get within 10-7 with 13:49 left in the first half. The Golden Griffins made four of their first five shots to open the game.
Sepulveda, who is second in the MAAC in minutes played and had made her 74th start in a row, injured her foot six minutes into the game and did not return. Sepulveda, who now has 977 career points, is expected to be lost for at least the next three weeks.
"Obviously losing your leading scorer and senior point guard didn't help us," Milligan said. "I thought Dior Brown did a good job stepping in and handling the defensive pressure by Canisius. She did a fantastic job."
Freshman Dior Brown's (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) layup got the Broncs to within one (14-13) with 12 minutes remaining before the Golden Griffins responded with a 9-0 run, taking a 23-13 lead halfway through the first half. D. Brown had four points, three rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes of play.
Also for the Broncs, freshman Carleigh Brown (Philadelphia, Pa. (Nazareth Academy) had seven points and four rebounds with senior Stephanie Wisniewski (Levittown, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) adding four points and eight rebounds (six offensive) in 15 minutes off the bench.
The Broncs held a 46-38 advantage on the boards (19-5 on the offensive glass) but shot only 25 percent compared to 51 percent for Canisius.
"They have some shooters on their team," Milligan said. "They came out firing and we did execute our offense but we missed some quality shots and Canisius didn't. This is the best that they have played all season." Canisius had lost seven straight before defeating Manhattan in double overtime on January 11.
The Golden Griffins shot seven for 14 from three-point range and extended their NCAA record streak for three-pointers made to 470 consecutive games.
This is the seventh time that Rider has been held under 50 points this season.
"We were pretty young on the floor today and it caught up to us," Milligan added. "Experience is the best teacher for the younger players but it is tough getting thrown into the fire. We lost our leader today and that's a tough thing to overcome. We didn't respond awful to what happened but we didn't respond well either. We didn't defend the way we are capable of defending."
The Golden Griffins held a 10-0 advantage on fast breaks and a 30-20 advantage in the paint.
Canisius has won 18 of the last 19 in the series including 10 in a row in Lawrenceville. The teams split the two MAAC games last season with Rider winning on a buzzer beater in Buffalo. Overall, the Golden Griffins have won 22 of the 28 games in the series. The teams meet again in Buffalo, New York on February 8 at 7pm.
Canisius has won two in a row and Rider has lost seven straight and 12 of 13.
Rider hosts Niagara (4-12, 1-4 MAAC) in a conference game Monday night at 7pm. The Purple Eagles defeated Fairfield 52-49 on Saturday in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Today's game was alumni day in Alumni Gymnasium with the Broncs welcoming back almost 500 fans including over 20 Rider grads. The group played a pickup game and enjoyed lunch on campus prior to the game. The team hosted a reception for the alumnus and their families after the game.
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