LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Junior guard Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) recorded the second triple-double in Rider University women's basketball history to lead the Broncs past visiting Mount St. Mary's, 85-67, on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action inside Alumni Gymnasium.

Stella scored a career-high 35 points on an efficient 14-of-19 shooting from the field to go along with 12 rebounds, 10 assists and six steals. The third-year guard knocked down 6-of-8 attempts from three-point range and also blocked one shot for Rider as she continued to stuff that stat sheet. She is the first player in program history to record a triple-double with points, rebounds and assists. 

The Broncs (1-3) picked up their first victory of the season, while the Mountaineers (1-3) dropped their third contest in a row.

Rider got off to a quick start, shooting over 78 percent from the field (11-of-14) from the field in the first quarter to build an eight-point advantage at 23-15. The momentum carried over into the second quarter as the Broncs outscored MSM, 16-11, over the 10 minutes to take a 39-26 edge into the break.

Stella erupted in the second half, scoring 23 points to help Rider pull away. Late in the contest, the Bronc lead ballooned to as many as 25.   

Junior Amari Johnson (Red Lion, PA/Dallastown) had her best game for the Broncs, as she was the other Rider player in double figured. Amari poured in 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Johnson and Johnson combined for 63 points and shot 24-of-35 from the field, including 10-of-16 from beyond the arc.

NOTES & QUOTES
"That's who Stella is. That doesn't surprise me. That what she does for her team. She does a great job of putting her teammates in successful situations. She knows when she needs to score and she knows when to give it up. She trusts her teammates and it's a credit to her all-around game and what she does for our program." – Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan on Stella Johnson

"Having a secondary scorer was something that we were missing the first few games. It was only a matter of time before Amari had a game like this. She had a great week of practice. She got in the gym, put the extra work in and it paid off for her." – Milligan on Amari Johnson

"I didn't wake up that confident. After shoot around this morning I texted my mom and she told me to be confident in my shot. I listened to her and my coaches and it paid off." – Stella Johnson


- Rider led for the first time at halftime this season.
- The Broncs scored a season-high 26 points in the third quarter. In the frame, Rider hit 10-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from three-point range.
- Rider avenged a setback to Mount St. Mary's last December with the win.
- The victory snapped an 11-game losing streak in the month of November. The win was the first in November for Rider since November of 2016.
- Rider shot a season-best 60.7 percent (34-of-56) from the field. The Broncs also hit a season-high 10 three-pointers and dished out a season-high 18 assists.
- Rider had 10 steals in the game.
- The triple-double was the first for the Broncs since Jessica Beck had 19 points, 18 rebounds and 12 blocks against St. Francis (Pa.) in February of 1995.   

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Stella Johnson has now scored over 20 points in her last six games. Her 35 points were two shy of a single-game program record shared by MyNeshia McKenzie and Nancy Carrol. She is the fifth player this season in Division I to record a triple-double. Her 10 assists tied a career-high. It was her second career game with 10 or more assists. 
- On Monday, Stella was named both the MAAC Player of the Week and the College Sports Madness Player of the Week.
- Amari Johnson set new career-highs in points (28), made field goals (10), made three-pointers (4) and made free throws (4).
- In her first career start, freshman Amanda Mobley scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and she dished out three assists.
- Junior forwards Lea Favre and Aubre Johnson combined for 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.    

UP NEXT
Rider returns to action next weekend, November 24-25, taking part in the two-day Saint Joseph's Thanksgiving Tournament in Philadelphia. The Broncs open up action on Saturday at noon against the host Hawks. Boston College and Loyola Maryland are also taking part in the tourney.