LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University women's basketball team opened the season with an 89-65 setback to Princeton on Tuesday evening in non-conference action inside Alumni Gymnasium.

The Tigers (1-0), who are ranked seventh in the Mid-Major Top-25, avenged a season-opening 70-62 loss to the Broncs (0-1) two years ago.  

Princeton shot an impressive 7-of-13 from three-point range to take a 52-27 lead into the half. After Rider senior point guard Lexi Posset (Pittsburgh, PA/Beaver Area) hit a driving lay-up to give the Broncs a 4-3 edge early in the contest, the guests responded with a 15-0 run to build a double-digit they would not surrender. The Tigers capped the opening 20 minutes of action with a buzzer-beating trey from near half court by Neenah Young.

The Broncs came out strong in the second half, outscoring the Tigers, 18-15 in the third quarter. The halftime deficit was too much for Rider to overcome as Princeton scored the season-opening triumph.

Offensively, junior guard Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) led the charge for Rider. She scored 21 points to go along with a game-high six assists and five rebounds. Posset and freshman guard Amanda Mobley (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) were the other Broncs in double figures. Posset had 11 points, while Mobley poured in 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

NOTES & QUOTES
"Obviously it's not the start of the season that we envisioned or wanted, but all the credit to Princeton who came in here with a really strong game plan in how they wanted to attack us. They threw the first punch and got after us early and we were a little shell shocked. We responded in the second half the way I anticipated, but the damage was already done."  – Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan

- Rider won the second half, 38-37.
- Princeton had 52 points in the paint, while the Broncs had 28.
- The Broncs were 8-of-22 from beyond the arc.
- The Tigers lead the all-time series, 25-9. The two teams have split the last two meetings.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Stella Johnson has now scored over 20 points in her last three games. She also added two steals and one blocked shot. Stella connected on 3-of-7 attempts from three-point range.
- Amanda Mobley also had one assist, one block and one steal in 12 minutes.
- Amari Johnson, Amanda Mobley, Mia Farmer and Teresa Wolak all made their debuts for the Broncs on Tuesday evening.

UP NEXT
Rider hits the road for a non-conference showdown against Vermont on Friday, November 9, with opening tip scheduled for 7:00 pm. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ as the Broncs are looking for their second straight win versus the Catamounts.