WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Three players scored in double figures as the Rider University women's basketball team defeated Monmouth, 55-43, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action on Thursday at the OceanFirst Bank Center.

The Broncs (6-7, 2-0 MAAC) won their second straight league game, while the Hawks (5-8, 1-1 MAAC) have dropped back-to-back home contests.

Junior guard Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) led the charge with 15 points, while classmate Amari Johnson (Red Lion, PA/Dallastown) poured in 13 points for the guests. Graduate student Mia Farmer (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) chipped in a career-high 11 points off the bench.

Rider trailed throughout most of the opening half before ending the second quarter on a 7-2 spurt to enter halftime tied at 23. The Broncs held Monmouth without a made field goal over the last 4:51 of the second quarter.

In the third quarter, the Broncs held Monmouth to just nine points to take a five-point edge into the fourth. The Rider lead would balloon to as many as 12 at 44-32 midway through the final stanza following a trey from Farmer.

Down the stretch, the Broncs hit their free throws to escape with the hard-fought MAAC win. In the fourth quarter, Rider was 11-of-14 at the foul line.

NOTES & QUOTES
"We really paid attention to the scout today. Our defensive intensity was very good. We did a good forcing them to take some shots they weren't comfortable with. On the road in the MAAC you have to play defense and we did a really good job of that today. This win is big because January in the MAAC is a time when you have three or four games in a 10-day span so you need to make sure you maintain your defensive principles." – Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan

- Rider has now won four of the last five meetings between the two teams.
- The Broncs avenged a seven-point setback to the Hawks in West Long Branch a year ago with the victory.
- Monmouth was 2-of-18 from three-point range and missed their first 12 attempts from distance.
- The Broncs committed 15 turnovers and forced 20 Monmouth turnovers. Rider is a perfect 5-0 this season when they commit fewer turnovers than their opponents.
- Rider was 19-of-26 from the free-throw line. It marked the fifth time this season that the Broncs hit over 70 percent of their shots from the charity stripe. The 19 makes and 26 attempts were both season-highs for Rider.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Farmer scored in double figures for the first time as a Bronc. She shot 3-of-4 from the field and hit 3-of-4 attempts from the foul line. Farmer tied a career-best by connecting on two shots from three-point range. She also added two steals and two rebounds.
- Stella was one rebound short of a double-double as she pulled down nine boards. She hit 7-of-10 from the foul line to go along with four assists and two steals.
- In the post, Lea Favre was 2-of-5 shooting for four points. She also set a new career-high with four dimes.

UP NEXT
Rider returns to action on Sunday, January 13, with a road conference clash in the Empire State against Siena. Opening tip is slated for 2:00 pm as the Broncs are looking to avenge an overtime setback to the Saints in Lawrenceville last season.