Women's College Basketball
Marist College 84, Rider University 39
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Game
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.--If you corner any animal, it will come out fighting. Especially a Fox, or in the case of Marist on Friday night, a Red Fox. Having won 87 of their last 92 MAAC games through January 30, the Red Foxes had lost two of three and had only beaten Rider in its last meeting by 10, breaking open a one-point game in the final three minutes one month ago. So you kind of saw this coming.
The Rider University women's basketball team lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at defending conference champion Marist Friday night by 45.
"We ran into a hot team that had something to prove," said head coach Lynn Milligan. "Marist has won four championships in a row (and five of six) for a reason."
The Red Foxes were coming off a loss at Fairfield on Tuesday, their second conference loss in the last 10 days after opening the season 9-0 in the MAAC.
Marist (19-6, 11-2 MAAC) jumped out to a 9-0 lead before freshman Dior Brown (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) got Rider (3-21, 1-12 MAAC) on the board three minutes in. D. Brown finished with six points.
Trailing 11-2, freshman Caitlin Bopp (Baltimore, Md./Inst. of Notre Dame) had three points in a 5-0 Bronc run, getting Rider to within 11-7 with 15:23 left in the half. Bopp, who played for the first time after missing the last two games with a back injury, had five points and five rebounds in 19 minutes.
Marist responded with a 13-0 run and led 24-7, 9:13 left before the half.
"We over rotated a few times and when you do that against Marist, they are going to burn you and they did," Milligan said. "They are a terrific shooting basketball team and all of their players can hit a three."
Marist attempted 24 field goals from three-point range and hit nine of them. "We had to be smarter on our rotations and when to come over and help and we weren't tonight," Milligan added.
Bopp and senior Amanda Sepulveda (Perth Amboy/Hun) each hit a lay up to bring the Broncs within 13 (24-11) before the Red Foxes ended the half on a 19-5 run and Marist led 43-16 at the break. Sepulveda finished with team-high 12 points.
"We played for pride in the second half," Milligan added. "I know the score didn't indicate the effort but I challenged the team at the half and for the most part, we responded and that's a positive that we can take out of the game."
Leading 59-32, Marist ended the game on a 25-7 run, holding Rider without a field goal for the final 6:38.
Also for Rider, senior Stephanie Wisniewski (Levittown, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) had seven rebounds.
Marist shot 40 percent and held Rider to 23 percent from the field including 14 percent from three-point range.
The Red Foxes out-rebounded Rider 49-37 and attempted 33 free throws, making 27.
This was the 42nd meeting between Marist and Rider, former Northeast Conference rivals, and the Red Foxes have won 29 times including 14 in a row.
Marist escaped with a 72-62 win when the teams met in Lawrenceville on January 11.
Rider has lost three straight.
The Broncs host Loyola University Maryland in a MAAC game on Sunday at 2pm in Alumni Gymnasium on the Lawrenceville campus. The game will be Rider's annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration as well as its participation in the NCAA Pack the House Challenge.
Loyola last played Monday night (61-56 loss to Niagara) and had their game against Iona postponed until February 17 due to the record snow fall in the Baltimore area.
"It is a tough turn around (48 hours) but it will be good to get back out there and get this taste out of our mouths on Sunday," Milligan said.
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