PHILADELPHIA, PA – Junior Amari Johnson (Red Lion, PA/Dallastown) scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Rider University women's basketball team past host Saint Joseph's, 56-54, on Saturday afternoon at Hagan Arena in the opening game of the 25th Annual Hawks Classic.

The Broncs (2-3) picked up their first road victory of the season and their second straight overall, while the Hawks (1-4) have now dropped four of their first five contests this season.

Amari scored in double figures for the second consecutive contest as she knocked down 5-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-7 from three-point range. She also grabbed seven rebounds for the Broncs.

Rider erased a two-point halftime deficit with a 6-0 run to open the third quarter courtesy of three-pointers from Amari and classmate Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic). The guests trailed by as many as 10 in the contest, but answered in the second half.  

The Broncs took a two-point edge at 41-39 into the fourth quarter thanks to holding Saint Joseph's to 23 percent (4-of-17) shooting in the third frame.

Down the stretch, Rider held the Hawks without a made field goal for the final 3:56. With the Broncs clinging to a 54-52 lead with under a minute remaining, Stella drove to the basket and scored on a reverse lay-up. It proved to the final points of the day for the Broncs and the game-winning basket. On the ensuing possession, the Hawks hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead back to two.

Neither team would score over the final 37 seconds of action.  

Stella Johnson and junior forward Lea Favre (Vevey, Switzerland/Lycee Jeanne d'Arc) were the other Broncs in double figures. Johnson had 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Favre had 10 points to go along with a game-high eight rebounds.

NOTES & QUOTES
"These are the steps we've been seeing over the last two weeks. We've been telling our team we need to get better. Even in wins we need to learn lessons and we are starting to see some of that stick. It wasn't pretty and we knew it wasn't going to be. St. Joe's plays hard all the time and so do we." – Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan

"I thought the defensive intensity was good today. We made some mistakes, but when we needed a stop we got it and when we needed to grab a big rebound we got it. Our players bought into the scout and bought into how we wanted to do things today. I think our effort was just terrific today." – Milligan

- Rider won when trailing at the half for the first time this season.
- It was the first-ever win for the Broncs against Saint Joseph's.
- Today marked the first meeting between the two teams since the 1985-86 season.
- Rider had fewer turnovers than their opponent for the first time this year.
- The Broncs shot over 40 percent from the field for the third time this season.
- Rider was just 9-of-19 at the foul line.   

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- On Monday, Stella Johnson was named the MAAC Player of the Week, the College Sports Madness MAAC Player of the Week and the College Sports Madness Mid-Major Player of the Week.
- Stella had four assists, three steals and two rebounds for Rider. This season, she is shooting over 52 percent from the field.
- Amari had grabbed seven or more rebounds in her last four games.
- Playing in her hometown, graduate transfer Mia Farmer scored her first points as a Bronc with a jumper in the third quarter.
- Sophomore Daija Moses had six points, four rebounds and a career-high three steals for Rider. She was also making her third straight start.    

UP NEXT
Rider closes out the 25th Annual Hawks Classic on Sunday, November 25, as they take on either Boston College or Loyola Maryland at noon inside Michael J. Hagan'85 Arena. The Broncs will battle the Eagles or the Greyhounds in the Championship Game tomorrow afternoon.