New Rochelle, NY – Sophomore guard Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) finished one rebound shy of a double-double thanks to a 16-point, nine-rebound performance to lead the Rider University women's basketball team past Iona, 62-49, on Thursday evening at the Hynes Athletic Center.

The Broncs (8-12, 5-4 MAAC) bounced back from a setback last time out to earn their third road league win of the year, while the Gaels (0-20, 0-9 MAAC) suffered their third straight double-digit conference loss.

In the first quarter, Rider knocked down just 3-of-15 shots from the field and committed five turnovers as Iona held a 10-point advantage at 18-8 after 10 minutes of play. senior Kamila Hoskova (Brno, Czech Republic/Sportovni Gymnazium Ludvika Danka) was a factor early for the Broncs scoring five points on 2-of-5 shooting.

The Broncs rallied in the second quarter, holding Iona to just six points and forcing eight Gael turnovers to take a 28-24 edge into the half. During the frame, Stella Johnson had eight points and registered two steals as Rider ended the half on a 15-3 run over the final 6:15. Johnson's lay-up with 2:43 left in the opening half gave the guests their first lead of the game and they would not surrender it.

The stout defensive effort continued again in the third quarter as the Broncs held Iona to 3-of-11 shooting and forced eight Gael turnovers. Coming out of the half, Rider outscored Iona, 23-7, to stretch their lead to 20 at 51-31 heading into the fourth.

Joining Stella in double figures were Hoskova and freshman Jaiden Morris (Richmond, VA/Monacan). Both Hoskova and Morris poured in 13 points apiece.   

NOTES & QUOTES
"I think we started slow, but we did a much better job defensively and spread the ball around well in the second and third quarters. We lost a really tough game against Marist last time out and we gave them 25 points on the free-throw line. Tonight Iona only had one. We tried to focus on not letting Iona get in the bonus during any of the four quarters." – Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan

"Any road game is the MAAC is dangerous. MAAC road games are so hard and important to get no matter who you are playing. We're happy we were able to come here and get the win." – Milligan    

- In the second and third quarters, Rider outscored Iona, 43-13.
- Rider is now 8-3 overall and 5-1 in MAAC play when leading at the half
- The Broncs are a perfect 7-0 this year when holding opponents to under 50 points.
- Rider has won three straight games against Iona after sweeping the regular-season series last year.
-  Both teams committed 17 turnovers.
- Rider shot 83.3% (15-of-18) from the free-throw line.
- The Broncs shot over 42 percent (22-of-52) from the field.
- Rider is now 5-3 in 2017-18 when hitting over 77 percent of their free throws.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Stella Johnson was 7-of-14 from the field. She also added three steals, one block and a game-high five assists. It was her 11th game this season with three or more steals. Stella also had just one turnover on the day, which was good for a 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Aubre Johnson scored a career-high nine points on 2-of-3 shooting. Johnson also grabbed eight rebounds and had one steal.
- Hoskova was 5-of-9 from the field. She had four rebounds, three assists and four steals.
- Off the bench, Morris shot 5-of-9 in 19 minutes of action.
- Lea Favre scored nine points for the Broncs on 3-of-4 shooting. She also pulled down five rebounds.

UP NEXT
Rider returns to action at home on Saturday, January 27, with a home conference contest against Fairfield that is slated to get underway at 2:00 pm inside Alumni Gymnasium. The Broncs are looking for the regular-season sweep in the series between the two after topping the Stags earlier this month in Connecticut. Saturday's tilt will feature live stats as well as audio and video feeds. For the links visit the women's basketball schedule page on GoBroncs.com.