Women's College Basketball
Rider University 60, New Jersey Inst. of Technology 50
NEWARK-Sophomore MyNeshia McKenzie (Springfield, Pa./Springfield (Delco)) had her third 'double-double' in a row, scoring 14 points and adding 10 rebounds as the Rider University women's basketball team won at the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Sunday afternoon at the Fleisher Athletic Center.
"MyNeshia gave us a solid workman like effort," said head coach Lynn Milligan. "She was a little banged up but gutted it out and gave us a solid performance both on the offense and defensive ends of the floor."
"I tried to give us a spark in the second half," said McKenzie who had 11 of her points in the final 20 minutes. "I started off really slow and wanted to come out and get it going. My teammates had confidence and kept getting me the basketball."
McKenzie scored eight of Rider's first 10 points of the second half as the Broncs opened up a 21-point lead (46-25) with 15:50 left in the game before Rider put the reserves in for the final 10 minutes. McKenzie added three steals, two blocks and an assist in 29 minutes and now has 10 'double-doubles' in her career including five this season.
Junior Carleigh Brown (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy) added 10 points and seven rebounds, going four for four from the free throw line for Rider (5-3) while freshman Emily Fazzini (Wayne, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) chipped in with nine points while pulling down four rebounds to go along with two assists in 26 minutes.
"Carleigh gives us everything she has every minute she is on the floor," said Milligan. "Everyone feeds off her effort. With the injuries that we've had, Carleigh was ready to start when her number was called because of her preparation and how hard she works."
Since cracking the starting lineup four games ago, C. Brown is averaging 9.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while playing almost 26 minutes a contest.
Rider held the Highlanders without a point for almost three minutes at the start of the game and the Broncs opened the contest on an 11-2 run in the first 6:22, four points by Fazzini.
Senior Ali Heller (Boca Raton, Fla./St. Andrews) hit a three-pointer with 10:23 left in the opening half to give the Broncs an 18-9 lead. Heller, one of the top three-point shooters in the nation, finished with eight points, including two three-pointers and is now shooting 41 percent (19 for 46) for the season from long range.
NJIT (4-4) responded with a 5-0 run, cutting the Rider lead to 18-14 with 9:03 left in the first half.
The Broncs rallied with a 9-0 run including a three-pointer by McKenzie and layups by C. Brown and senior Alyssa Parsons (Ivyland, Pa./Archbishop Wood) putting Rider ahead 25-14 with 5:41 left in the opening period. Parsons finished with two points and three assists.
Rider led 36-23 at intermission.
Also for Rider, junior Sironda Chambers (Newark, Del./Harcum College) had eight points and nine rebounds, (three on the offensive glass) to go along with two steals in 25 minutes with senior Sarah Homan (Upper Darby, Pa./Delco Christian) adding seven points and three rebounds. Homan now has 494 career rebounds, good for 14th on Rider's all-time rebounding list.
Six different players scored at least seven points for Rider.
"It was important for our bench to see minutes today," Milligan said. "We are a little banged up and also when we get into conference play, we are going to need depth. I thought our bench played really solid and balance is going to be huge for us. For the entire team to be involved in the win is really big at this point of the season."
"No one person is going to drop 20 points on a team every night," said McKenzie who was a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Rookie team last season. "Everyone is going to have to play their part for us to be successful. I love the fact that anyone can come off the bench and contribute."
Rider out-rebounded the Highlanders 47-36, 16-9 on the offensive glass.
Rider held the Highlanders to 35 percent from the field and Rider shot 37 percent for the game.
The Broncs only had 12 turnovers in the contest, one off a season-low, set in their last game against Stony Brook.
"When our turnovers are low, it helps in many ways," said Milligan. "That gives us more shots and opportunities to score. We also don't give up easy baskets in transition and our opponents have to work harder to score."
NJIT had 11 blocks in the game, five each by Uju Nwankwo and Nicole Maticka. Nwankwo led the Highlanders with 12 points.
"I thought NJIT did a great job defending us on the perimeter," Milligan added. "They obviously have some great shot blockers."
This was the first meeting between Rider and NJIT in women's basketball.
Rider has won two straight and three of four games. The Broncs won five times all of last season and have already equaled that win total, eight games into the year. This is the first time since the 2002-03 season that the Broncs have opened 5-3.
"I'm happy for the players," Milligan said. "With that said, we don't want to get too high or too low. We are going to enjoy the win but we are also getting right back to work to get ready for the game on Saturday. Five wins is really a small step in where we want to go."
"It feels great having five wins on December 11 instead of in March," McKenzie said about the difference from last season to this one. "I was thinking before the game that we have a chance to put five wins away right now and not be zero and whatever (0-14) that we were to start the 2010-11 season. This feels really good and I'm happy for my teammates and our coaches. We now know what it takes to get things done."
Rider travels to Binghamton on December 17 for a 2pm non-conference game with three of Rider's next four games away from Alumni Gymnasium.
"Winning on the road today was important because of the upcoming schedule," Milligan added. "Any win away from home is important. We feel that we are becoming 'road tested' and that today was another step in the development of the team."
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