Women's College Basketball
Maryland Baltimore County 67, Rider University 58
Perkins All-Tournament

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—The Rider University women's basketball team lost the consolation game of the Hawk Classic, falling to Maryland Baltimore County 67-58 on Tuesday afternoon on Hawk Hill in Philadelphia at Saint Joseph's University.

Junior Robin Perkins (Willingboro/Trenton Catholic) had 20 points to lead the Broncs.  For Perkins it was her second 20+ point effort in a row, fourth of the season and sixth of her career and her 20.5 points per game average in the past two games landed her a spot on the all-tournament team.

“Robin has been playing great,” said head coach Lynn Milligan.  “She started off hot again today but we need to find other scoring options.”

Trailing 9-5, Rider (3-8) went on a 5-0 run, two points each by Perkins and junior Julia Duggan (Marmora/Ocean City) as the Broncs went into the lead 10-9 with 3:35 left in the first quarter.

Duggan finished with nine points and eight rebounds and added two blocks, two assists and two steals in 32 minutes of play after recording 10 points and 10 rebounds against Central Michigan on Monday.

Trailing 13-10, the Broncs went on a 7-0 run, all seven points by Perkins and Rider went back into the lead 17-13 with 31 seconds left in the opening period, the fourth and final lead change of the quarter.

UMBC (9-4) scored on a three-point field goal at the end of the first quarter and the Retrievers scored the first five points of quarter two (8-0 run) to go back into the lead 20-17 with 8:16 left before the half.

After Perkins hit a three-pointer to tie the game 20-20, UMBC scored four straight to lead 24-20 with 6:16 left before the break.

A three-pointer from sophomore C'quoya Haughton (Albany, N.Y./Stoneleigh Burnham Prep) got the Broncs to within 25-24 before four straight points from the Retrievers gave UMBC its largest lead of the half, 29-24 with 32 seconds left.

Haughton scored again on a jumper with 16 seconds left in the second quarter and the Broncs went into intermission trailing 29-26.

Making her first start of the season, Haughton finished with eight points and seven rebounds in 35 minutes of play.

“We changed the lineup today to try and get us a little more of a spark in the beginning of the game,” Milligan said.

Five straight points by sophomore Kamila Hoskova (Czech Republic) got Rider to within 39-36 with 2:31 left in the third quarter and the Broncs trailed 42-37 at the end of three periods.

Hoskova finished one off a career-high with 14 points in 21 minutes of play, going two for two from long distance as part of a three for four effort from the field and a six for seven effort from the free throw line.

UMBC opened the fourth quarter, scoring nine of the first 10 points, pushing the Retriever lead to 51-38 with 6:28 left in the game.

Back to back three-pointers by Hoskova got Rider to within 61-55 with 48.3 seconds remaining but that was as close as the Broncs could get as UMBC made 10 of 12 free throws in the final 1:02 of the game.

UMBC shot 20-23 (87 percent) from the charity stripe with Rider converting 24 of 35 free throws (69 percent).

Rider was out-shot 38 percent (22-58) to 31 percent (15-48).

“We need to get a little more consistent and a little more confident in our shots,” Milligan added.

The Retrievers held a 42-33 rebounding advantage including 10-6 on the offensive glass.

Former rivals from the East Coast Conference, UMBC leads the all-time series 8-4.  The teams met earlier this season on November 21 when the Retrievers overcame a 14-point deficit late in the third quarter to defeat Rider 58-53 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Rider has lost three straight and UMBC has won seven of its last eight games.

Rider continues a six-game road trip with a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference contest at Marist College on Sunday at 2pm.

-RU-