Women's College Basketball
Rider University 54, Manhattan College 46
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Game
LAWRENCEVILLE--The Rider University women's basketball team broke an 11-game losing streak with a win over Manhattan College on Sunday afternoon in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game.
"We executed the defensive game play for all 40 minutes," said head coach Lynn Milligan. "We did a solid job recognizing when Manhattan was in a 1-3-1 and handled the pressure that they threw at us very well. We focused on not being indecisive and not hesitating in our decision making. We will continue to work hard and when we get knocked down, we will get back up."
Speaking of getting up (and getting up early), after being torched for a season-high 85 points against Iona Friday night, that defensive game plan was put into place less than 12 hours later at a 9am practice Saturday morning. The result? Rider scored six less points but gave up 39 less on Sunday. Early bird gets the win may be the new saying in the locker room.
For Rider (3-18, 1-9 MAAC), freshman Caitlin Bopp (Baltimore, Md./Inst. of Notre Dame) had her seventh 'double-double' with 11 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass.
"I feel that so much weight is off our shoulders," Bopp said about the first win in January on the last day of the month. "We have to keep up what we did today going into the next game. This is a huge pick up for everyone. Remembering how it feels to win, we want to keep that going."
Leading 30-28 with 18:59 left in the game, the Broncs went on a 10-0 run, four points by Bopp and took a 40-30 lead with 10:00 left. Manhattan (10-11, 5-5 MAAC) was held without a field goal for the first 9:25 of the second half.
Bopp, a four-time MAAC Rookie of the Week honoree, played only 23 minutes due to a continuing back injury.
"When you see Caitlin working hard every day and not wanting to come out of a game, that is definitely an infectious attitude," Milligan said. "Having players who work that hard, even when hurt is what we need to build the program."
Trailing 49-36, the Jaspers went on a 10-2 run, cutting the Bronc lead to five (51-46) with 1:01 left but that was a close as Manhattan would get.
Tied at five, six minutes into the contest, Rider scored six of the next eight points on consecutive three-pointers by senior Amanda Sepulveda (Perth Amboy/Hun) giving the Broncs an 11-7 lead at the 13:30 mark. Sepulveda, who was honored prior to the game for hitting the 1,000 point plateau, finished with eight points and three assists in 38 minutes of play and tied a career-high with four steals.
"Amanda is a tough kid," Milligan said. "She has stuck with us for four years and has worked hard at every step and that is the kind of player you really want to get the reward of some wins for."
"The pregame ceremony was a nice moment," Sepulveda said about becoming only the 18th Bronc in the 71-year history of the program to hit 1,000 points. "We focused on our defensive effort today and took pride in not allowing them to score on us."
Junior Cintella Spotwood (Trenton/Trenton Central) hit a three-pointer as part of a 5-0 Rider run, giving the Broncs a seven-point lead (20-13) 7:20 before halftime. Spotwood led all scorers with 17 points on six for 12 shooting, including five for eight from beyond the arc. Spotwood also pulled down five rebounds.
"C did a good job of allowing her teammates to put her into a successful shot opportunity situation," Milligan said. "When Cintella sets her feet, she is as good of a shooter as you will see. Today's effort is something we expect her to do every day."
The Jaspers responded with a 5-0 run, cutting Rider's lead to 20-18. Trailing 27-22, the Jaspers again used a 5-0 run to tie the score at 27 heading into intermission, the third and final tie of the game.
Also for Rider, freshman Carleigh Brown (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy) had five points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
"Carleigh was a huge, HUGE key for us today," Milligan said. "She played the middle of our press offense and did a fantastic job. She really keyed most of the offense today and really set up Cintella for some quality looks."
Sophomore Sarah Homan (Upper Darby, Pa./Delco Christian) added seven rebounds and two blocks with freshman Dior Brown (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) tying a career-high with four steals and added two assists and two rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
"It was easier keeping Caitlin fresh because Sarah and Steph (senior Stephanie Wisniewski) (Levittown, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) gave us quality minutes," said Milligan. "Steph was a calming influence and Sarah is getting tougher and tougher on the glass. Everyone did a little bit today; it was a solid team oriented defensive effort and when you aren't scoring 70 or 80 points a game, that's what you need to win in this conference."
Rider's bench out-scored the Jasper subs 12-5.
Each team shot 33 percent from the field and Rider had 15 assists on 19 made baskets. The Broncs made 10 two-pointers and a season-high nine from beyond the arc.
"We've worked hard on when you put someone in a successful situation, you need to finish the play and we did that today," said Milligan. "Our assist numbers are a little down this year because we have struggled to finish and make the shot."
The Broncs won the rebounding battle 50-43.
"Something you won't see on the stat sheet is Ali Heller taking those three charges," Milligan added. "That kind of play isn't on the stat sheet but it stopped three of Manhattan's scoring opportunities and swung the momentum back in our favor. That kind of effort is big when the team is struggling." Heller, a sophomore from Boca Raton, Fla. (St. Andrews) finished with five points, three rebounds and an assist in 18 minutes off the bench.
This is only the second time this season that Rider has held an opponent in the 40s (41 vs. Monmouth on November 19) and the Broncs are undefeated (2-0) in those games.
This was the 30th all-time meeting between Rider and Manhattan with the Jaspers winning 22 times. Manhattan won in Riverdale, New York 56-44 on January 3. The teams split the two MAAC games last season with each team winning on the road.
Rider travels to Western, New York to face Niagara in a MAAC game on February 6 at 2:00pm before a game at Canisius February 8 at 7:00pm. The Purple Eagles defeated the Broncs 63-54 on January 18 in Alumni Gymnasium and are 7-13 (4-5 MAAC) after defeating MAAC champion Marist 69-59 on Sunday afternoon.
"Niagara (and Canisius) both beat us at home this year," Milligan said. "We are going up there with the mentality to do what we did last year and that's win both. They are two good ball clubs that we will have to be ready for, especially with Niagara beating Marist today."
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