Women's College Basketball
La Salle University 78, Rider University 58
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—The Philadelphia Eagles managed a 21-point rally but the Rider University women's basketball team could not as the Broncs lost to La Salle University on Sunday in a non-conference game at Tom Gola Arena.
For Rider (0-9), sophomore Shereen Lightbourne (Elmsford, N.Y./Alexander Hamilton) had 11 points and four rebounds.
“Defensively, we bailed out La Salle a lot in the second half,” said head coach Lynn Milligan who saw the Broncs commit 22 fouls. “We've been playing better in the last few games but did not show the effort we needed in the second half. That's disappointing.”
La Salle (4-5) opened the contest on a 7-0 run and with Rider trailing 10-2, junior Ali Heller (Boca Raton, Fla./St. Andrews) hit back to back three-pointers to get the Broncs within 10-8 with 15:12 left in the opening half.
Heller, who entered the game ranked in the top 30 nationally in three-point field goal percentage, finished with nine points, shooting three for six beyond the arc before missing the final 10:38 of the game with a possible concussion.
The Explorers used a 9-0 run to open up a 19-8 lead with 11:19 left in the opening period.
Trailing 25-14, the Broncs went on a 12-5 run, three points each by Heller, sophomore Dior Brown (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) and Lightbourne to cut the La Salle lead to four at 30-26 with 4:45 left in the half. D. Brown finished with nine points and a career-high five steals in 28 minutes of play.
“Dior gets offensive opportunities with her strong play on the defensive end,” Milligan added about D. Brown compiling a career-high in steals.
Leading 32-28, La Salle scored five of the last seven points of the half, all from the free throw line and the Explorers led 37-30 at intermission. La Salle went 23 of 29 from the charity stripe with Rider attempting 14 and hitting just five.
Ahead 41-33, La Salle scored nine of the next 11 points, opening up a 50-35 gap over the Broncs with 13:50 left in the game.
Rider cut the Explorer lead to 11 on a Lightbourne three-pointer at the 9:03 mark before La Salle used a 13-0 run to ice the game, opening up a 66-42 lead with 6:30 remaining. Lightbourne was three for seven beyond the arc.
“I'm very disappointed and extremely frustrated,” Milligan said. “Defensively, we did not show up in the second half and we had some lack of discipline on the offensive end as well.” Rider committed 18 turnovers, 12 in the second half.
La Salle held a 40-39 advantage on the boards with the Broncs out-rebounding the Explorers 16-9 on the offensive glass. Junior Sarah Homan (Upper Darby, Pa./Delco Christian) had a game-high 11 rebounds, five on the offensive end for Rider.
Freshman MyNeshia McKenzie (Springfield, Pa. (Springfield (Delco)) had a strong first half shooting three for five from the field (six points) before missing the second half with a possible broken nose.
Rider did get some good news on the injury front as preseason Third Team All-MAAC selection sophomore Caitlin Bopp (Baltimore, Md./Inst. of Notre Dame) returned after missing the last two games with a high ankle sprain. Playing 20 minutes off the bench, Bopp had five points and five rebounds.
La Salle has won all nine games in the series against Rider. The Explorers won 55-54 in Alumni Gym last season (December 20, 2009) and defeated the Broncs at Tom Gola Arena 63-47 on December 21, 2008.
The Broncs have lost nine straight and 13 in a row dating back to last season.
Rider travels to Bethlehem, Pa. for Lehigh's Christmas Classic Tournament, taking on the host Mountain Hawks on December 29 at 7:30pm.
“Lehigh is a really solid team,” said Milligan. “They have an excellent squad and they give you different defensive looks every time down the floor. We're going to have to work hard over the next 10 days to prepare for them.”
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