VESTAL, NY – Junior guard Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) became the 23rd player in Rider women's basketball history to record 1,000 career points as the Broncs defeated host Binghamton, 62-57, in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center on the Bearcats campus.

Just over 90 seconds into the fourth quarter, Johnson drove to the basket and scored through contact to earn her 1,000th career point. The bucket and the free throw she hit after gave Rider a five-point advantage at 52-47.

The Broncs (4-5) used a 14-0 run from the end of the third quarter through the start of the fourth frame to avenge a loss to Binghamton (5-5) last season.

Rider's rally started late in the third quarter as the Broncs scored the final seven points in the period, capped by a half-court, buzzer-beating heave from senior Lexi Posset (Pittsburgh, PA/Beaver Area). The shot gave Rider a 48-47 edge and the guests would never trail again in the contest.

The Broncs would also score the first seven points of the fourth to stretch their lead to as many as eight at 55-47 following a driving lay-up from Posset. The Rider defense held Binghamton without a made field goal for nearly eight minutes of game action in the second half, including the first 6:12 of the fourth quarter.

Down the stretch, Rider hit their free throws and the Johnson capped the Broncs victory with her ninth steal of the game as time expired. The nine steals by Stella were a new single-game program record. She previously had the mark with eight thefts against Lafayette during her freshman campaign.

It was a two-headed attack for Rider as both Stella Johnson and Lexi Posset scored in double figures. Johnson had a game-high 21 points to go along with nine steals, four assists and two rebounds, while Posset poured in a season-high 19 points thanks to hitting 3-of-5 shots from three-point range.

NOTES & QUOTES
"I'm super proud of our young ladies and the effort they put forth today. We just locked in defensively in the second half. We played with more discipline coming out of halftime and we really focused." – Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan

"Stella had another great game today. I'm not really sure what else I can say about Stella. She does so much for us to help our team. She had that look on her face today that she wasn't going to let us lose. Stella is the one of the most competitive players I've ever coached, she hates to lose. She comes in and works hard everyday." – Milligan

- Rider shot over 75 percent at the foul line for the second game in a row. The Broncs hit 12-of-16 attempts from the charity stripe.
- The Broncs are now 2-2 on the road this season.
- Rider forced a season-high 28 turnovers in the win. It marked the second time in the last three games that the team has forced over 25 turnovers.
- The 28 turnovers were the most forced by Rider since also forcing 28 in the season-opener against Bucknell last season.
- Rider had a season-high 18 steals in the game. It was their third straight game with over 10 steals.  

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Stella became the fourth player in the last three seasons to record 1,000 career points. She is the first junior to accomplish feat since MyNeshia McKenzie during the 2012-13.
- It was Stella's fifth game this season with three or more steals.
- Posset hit 6-of-11 shots from the field and she knocked down all four of her free-throw attempts. She also set a career-high with five steals.   

UP NEXT
Rider ends a two-game road trip next Saturday, December 15, with a non-conference clash against regional foe Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The game is slated to begin at 2:00 pm as the Broncs look to avenge a setback to the Bison at home to open last season.