LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Robin Perkins (Willingboro, NJ/Trenton Catholic [Saint Francis (Pa.)] scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 from long range as the Rider University women's basketball team soundly defeated Lafayette, 76-58, Monday night at Alumni Gym. With the win, the Broncs improve to 2-0 for the second-straight season, handing the Leopards (1-1) their first loss of the year.

Kamila Hoskova (Brno, Czech Republic/Sportovni Gynmazium Ludvika Danka) and Lexi Posset (Pittsburgh, PA/Beaver Area) scored 10 points apiece, while Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic), Taylor Wentzel (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) and Julia Duggan (Marmora, NJ/Ocean City) each added nine points. Johnson swiped eight of Rider's 17 steals on the night, establishing a new program single-game record. 

Anna Ptasinski led Lafayette with 12 points, while Sammy Stipa contributed 11 points and six assists.   

“We're happy with the end result of the game,” said Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan. “We're happy that we were able to protect our home floor in our home opener. It's a big deal for our seniors to make sure that we play well at home. I was happy with the first three and a half quarters with our pace and defensive intensity. Tonight, we had some negatives as far as fouling and giving up too many offensive rebounds, particularly in the first half. I thought we corrected that a little bit in the second half. But it was a good next step for us.”

The Broncs quickly jumped out to a lead as Perkins buried a left-wing three and a pair of Johnson steals and fast-break buckets pushed Rider to a 15-5 lead by the first-quarter under-five media timeout. The lead swelled to as many as 13 on a Hoskova three-pointer at the 4:01 mark, before the Broncs settled for a three-point cushion, 22-12, after one quarter. Rider outshot Lafayette, 53.3 percent (8-15) to 18.8 percent (3-16) in the first quarter.

Lafayette scored the first four points of the second quarter to whittle the Broncs' lead down to six points. But an 8-0 run, including the first four from Wentzel and a tough Hoskova drive pushed the Broncs' lead back up to 14, 30-16, with 6:48 left in the half. A pair of Perkins trifectas sandwiched around a Tracey Goodman (Lansdale, PA/Phil-Mont Christian Academy) putback accounted for another 8-0 run and the Broncs' largest lead of the half, 20 points at 42-22. Lafayette cut the deficit to 18, 44-26, just prior to the halftime horn. 

Perkins led the Broncs with 16 first-half points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-5 from long range. Hoskova and Johnson added seven points apiece in the initial stanza as the Broncs shot 51.7 percent (15-29) in the first half, while holding Lafayette to just 26.7 percent (8-30) from the floor. Included in Rider's hot shooting was 8-of-12 from long range. Alexis Santarelli led Lafayette with six points off the bench in the first half.

The Rider lead only increased in the second half, with the Broncs extending to a 30-point advantage on Goodman's three at the 8:14 mark of the fourth quarter. Lafayette gradually cut into the deficit, but got no closer than to within 14 points the rest of the way. 

“This team is special,” said Perkins. “I feel like this is different than any other Rider team than I've been on.”

For the game, Rider outshot Lafayette, 47.5 percent (28-59) to 34.0 percent (18-53) from the floor and 52.2 percent (12-23) to 38.5 percent (5-13) from long range. Rider took an 18-0 advantage in fast-break points and a 31-16 edge in points off turnovers. 

The Broncs return to action Thursday when they play host to La Salle. Tipoff from Alumni Gym is slated for 7 p.m.