2017-18 Rider University Women's Basketball
GAME 24: Friday, February 9, 2018
Rider Broncs (9-14, 6-6 MAAC) vs. Saint Peter's Peacocks (4-20, 1-12 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Alumni Gymnasium (1,650)
Tip: 7:00 pm
Live Video: BroncVision
Live Stats: SideArm Stats
Twitter: @RiderWBB & @RiderAthletics
Tickets: GoBroncsTix.com
Listen: 107.7 The Bronc
Notes: Saint Peter's

What You Need to Know
- Rider returns home for a two-game home stand this week, beginning with a tilt against hOURglass rival Saint Peter's on Friday evening. The Broncs are looking for the season sweep of the Peacocks. At home, Rider is 4-6 this season and the Broncs have won three of their last four MAAC games at Alumni Gym after dropping the first two to open the year.

- Powered by a double-double from Stella Johnson, Rider handed Saint Peter's a 57-52 loss in Jersey City in early January. Johnson scored a career-high 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to pace the Rider attack. Lexi Posset and Stella Johnson scored all 12 of Rider's points in the first quarter. The duo was 5-of-9 from the field. In total, the pair combined for 28 of the team's first 31 points. Defensively, Rider forced 18 turnovers and registered eight steals in the win. 

- The Peacocks enter Friday evening's contest with a 4-20 overall record and a 1-12 mark in MAAC play after falling at Canisius on Monday evening. Saint Peter's has dropped four straight conference games after scoring a 20-point win at home against Monmouth. On the road this year SPU is 1-12 with 10 straight losses. The balanced Saint Peter's offensive attacks sees four players average over seven points per game, led by senior wing Talah Hughes with over 10 points per tilt. Hughes is the lone Peacock averaging in double figures. She is also shooting a team-best 42 percent from the field in 2017-18. Senior forward Sajanna Bethea is scoring over seven a game and pulling down a team-best six rebounds per contest. Sophomore Zoe Pero and senior Alyssa Velles are pouring in nine and eight points per contest, respectively. Velles currently ranks fifth in the MAAC with 1.9 three-pointers made per game. As a team, Saint Peter's is second in the MAAC with 37.5 rebounds per game. The Peacocks also rank third in the league with 3.6 blocked shots per game. Conversely, SPU is second-to-last in the conference in both turnover margin (-5.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.6).

- Saint Peter's leads the all-time series, 44-20. The Broncs have had the edge of late, sweeping the regular-season series in each of the last two seasons. Rider has won five straight against the Peacocks dating back to the 2014-15 campaign. Under Head Coach Lynn Milligan, the Broncs are 14-11 versus SPU. Her 14 wins are the most against any MAAC opponent during her tenure.

- This season, Rider is 8-0 when holding opponents to under 60 points. Rider has held their opponents under 60 points in all six of their conference wins this season. The Broncs are also 9-2 (6-1 in MAAC play) in 2017-18 when they shoot a higher percentage than their opponents. The Broncs have forced at least 17 turnovers in a game 14 times this season, including last time out against the Hawks. Rider has a +1.4 turnover ratio this year which ranks third in the MAAC. When opponents score over 60 points in MAAC play, the Broncs are 0-6.