LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University women's basketball team closed out the calendar year and their non-conference slate with a 79-49 setback to Georgetown on Friday evening inside Alumni Gymnasium.

The Hoyas (6-5) snapped a two-game skid with the win, while the Broncs (4-7) dropped their second straight home contest.

Georgetown broke open up a 12-12 tie after the first quarter by outscoring Rider by 14 in the second frame. After trailing by two points early, the Hoyas would lead the rest of the game. The guests would cap the scoring in the first half with a pair of free throws to take a 35-21 advantage into the break. In the second quarter, Georgetown held Rider to 25 percent shooting (4-fo-16) and forced five Bronc turnovers.

The Hoyas opened the second half on a 10-0 run, holding Rider scoreless for the first 4:33 of the third before junior Lea Favre (Vevey, Switzerland/Lycee Jeanne D'Arc) scored in the post for the hosts. The Broncs would answer the Hoyas spurt with a run of their own in the third. Rider would close the frame on a 9-2 run to trail, 50-32, heading into the fourth.

Georgetown would pull away in the fourth to earn their sixth straight win against the Broncs.

Favre and junior guard Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) paced the Rider attack with 13 points apiece.  

NOTES & QUOTES
"Obviously that was not close to the result that we wanted. I know when you look at that score you assume it was a bad game, but I don't think it was. We did a lot of really good things, we just didn't make any shots particularly in the second quarter. We were defending well and taking them out of rhythm. We got good shots, we just didn't make them." – Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan

"Our turnovers helped Georgetown. We had 19 turnovers tonight which is abnormal for us. They took advantage of our mistakes and shot the ball really well against our zone." – Milligan

"Our philosophy is to give up the shot you can make for the shot that we can't miss. We're very unselfish, sometimes a little bit too much. Tonight it was simple. The ball didn't go in the basket for us and Georgetown scored off our turnovers, which extended their lead. I like our fight tonight and that we stuck with out gameplan. Our intensity was good tonight even when things weren't going our way." – Milligan

- Georgetown has now won all six meetings between the two teams.
- The Broncs took 16 free-throw attempts in the game. Entering the fourth quarter they were 2-of-4 at the line. The team hit 7-of-12 from the charity stripe over the final 10 minutes.
- Rider had 13 assists on 17 made field goals. It marked the eighth time this year that the Broncs had 12 or more dimes in a game.
- The Broncs had nine steals in the games. Six of which came from Stella Johnson (4) and Lexi Posset (2).

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Stella had 13 points to go along with four steals, six rebounds and one block. She recorded three or more steals in a game for the sixth time this season. She currently leads the MAAC with 39 steals (3.6 SPG).
- Favre scored in double figures for the second straight game and the fourth time in her last five appearances. She knocked down 5-of-10 from the field to go along with six rebounds, one block and two steals. Favre has shot 50 percent (12-of-24) from the field in her last two games.
- Taylour Jones, Tracey Goodman and Amanda Mobley all added five points apiece for the hosts off the bench. Jones and Goodman combined to go 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point range, while Mobley added three assists and one steal.
- Senior point guard Lexi Posset tied her season-high with four assists in the game.

UP NEXT
Friday evening's tilt was the final non-conference contest for the Broncs during the regular season. It was also Rider's final game of the 2018 calendar year. Rider returns to action and opens Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action on Sunday, January 6 against Fairfield. The game with Stags gets underway at 2:00 pm inside Alumni Gym.