Women's College Basketball
Rider University 70, Siena College 58
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Game

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ— Nine Days That Changed the World is a documentary about Pope John Paul II creating a revolution of conscience during his tour of Poland, which helped the Pope become a Saint.

Something changed in the last nine days in the world of the Rider women's basketball team, which helped the Broncs defeat the Saints of Siena.

Nine days ago Siena defeated Rider by 21 points. On Sunday afternoon, the Broncs gave the first place Saints their first conference loss.

Sophomore C'quoya Haughton scored a career-high 16 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Rider over Siena, 70-58 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game Sunday afternoon.

“We made some really key adjustments on both ends of the floor,” said head coach Lynn Milligan about reversing what was a 21-point loss in Loudonville nine days ago.  “The defensive effort was great (causing 25 Siena turnovers) and the players really bought into what we were trying to do.”

“Everyone gave it their all,” said Haughton who led four players in double-digits.  “We left it all out on the court today.”

Holding a 62-56 lead, Rider out-scored Siena 8-2 over the final two minutes of the game, four points by junior center Julia Duggan.  Duggan had her fourth 'double-double' of the season and eighth of her career with 13 points and 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass.

Rider out-scored Siena 14-13 in the third quarter to maintain its double-digit lead, as the Broncs entered the final 10 minutes holding a 55-43 lead.

Haughton scored all eight points in an 8-2 run that gave the Broncs a 34-25 lead with 2:35 left in the second quarter, and Rider led 41-30 at halftime.

The 41 first-half points was more than Rider scored in the entire last game (39).

“We regrouped and had probably the two best practices of the year,” Milligan said about recovering from the Fairfield loss Thursday night.

The Broncs used a 10-0 run, three points each by sophomore Kamila Hoskova and senior guard Manon Pellet, to take 26-16 lead with 6:49 left in the first half. Hoskova finished with 12 points and four steals. Pellet finished with five points and four assists.

Rider never trailed in the game and held a 16-13 advantage after the opening 10 minutes.

The first five minutes of the game belonged to Haughton. Rider jumped out to a 10-4 lead, six points coming from Haughton.

“Getting off to a good start really gave us confidence,” Haughton added.  “There was good energy on the court.”

These two teams were meeting for the second time in nine days.

Rider defeated Siena five times in a row before the Saints won the previous two meetings, including a 66-45 decision in Loudonville on January 8.

The win snapped Rider's eight-game losing streak, while the loss snapped Siena's six-game winning streak.

Junior Taylor Wentzel hit a three-pointer to give Rider a 60-48 lead with 6:53 left in the game and she finished with 11 points after coming into the game averaging 3.7 points per contest.

For Siena  (10-8, 7-1 MAAC), the young backcourt of sophomores Kollyns Scarbrough and freshman Joella Gibson combined for 30 points, with Scarbrough leading all scorers with 19 points.

Siena played in the WNIT Title Game last year, losing to Louisiana.

Rider returns to Alumni Gym Thursday to host Monmouth at 11am for the Kids Day Out game.

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