Women's Basketball
MAAC OPENER
Sunday, January 6, 2019
Rider Broncs (4-7, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Fairfield Stags (3-9, 0-1 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Alumni Gym (1,650)
Tip: 2:00 pm
Live Stats: SideArmStats
Live Video: ESPN3
How To Access ESPN3: How to Video
Tickets: GoBroncsTix.com
Twitter: @RiderWBB
Complete Game Notes: Fairfield

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- All regular-season home games in 2018-19 will be carried on either ESPN3 or ESPN+. Road games only will be carried on 107.7 The Bronc. No radio broadcasts for home games will be provided.

- Rider begins MAAC play on Sunday. The Broncs were picked to finish fourth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Rider earned 85 points to land behind Quinnipiac, Marist and Siena in the poll that is voted on by the league's Head Coaches. Rider has split its last two MAAC openers and the team has lost six straight conference home openers dating back to a 60-53 win over Niagara in January 2012.

- Rider and Fairfield are playing for the 49 time in the series history. Fairfield leads, 39-9, but the Broncs have had the edge of late winning three of the last four meetings between the two. The Broncs have eliminated the Stags from the MAAC Tournament in each of the last two seasons. Fairfield has had success in Lawrenceville, winning five straight games in Alumni Gym. Rider's last win at home against the Stags came in January of 2013.

- Rider game against Fairfield will mark the first competitive action for the Broncs in over two weeks as the team will start conference play with fresh legs. The contest against the Stags begins a tough two-week stretch for Rider as the Broncs will play six games from January 6th through January 20th.

- The Stags enters Sunday's tilt with a 3-9 overall record and an 0-1 mark in MAAC play after dropping their conference opener at Quinnipiac on Thursday. The Stags currently lead the MAAC in free-throw percentage at over 73 percent (73.8%). It is a balanced offensive attack for Fairfield with three players averaging in double figures, led by senior forward Khadidiatou Diouf with 12.8 PPG. Katie Armstrong is pouring in over 10 points per game and in three starts freshman forward Lou Senechal-Lopez is averaging 11 points and over five rebounds per contest. The Stags rank fourth in the MAAC in field-goal percentage thanks to hitting 37.7% of their shots from the field. Fairfield is also second in the league in assists, dishing out over 13 dime per tilt.

- Junior Lea Favre has been a force in the paint for the Broncs of late. She has scored in double figures in back-to-back games and in four of her last five appearances. Over the last five games, Favre is shooting over 52 percent (27-of-51) from the field to go along with over 13 points per game and nearly six boards per contest. She is also averaging one block and one steal per game during that stretch. On the season, she is hitting over 51 percent of her shots from the field which ranks first in the MAAC.

- This season, Rider is a perfect 3-0 when they total more assists than turnovers. The Broncs are also 3-0 in 2018-19 when they commit fewer turnovers than their opponents. Entering MAAC play, the Broncs are third in the conference with 12.7 assists per game. Rider also ranks third in turnover margin in the MAAC at +1.82. The Broncs are one of three teams in the league averaging under 15 turnovers per tilt.

- As a team, the Broncs rank in the top-three in the MAAC in six different statistical categories. Rider leads the MAAC with 3.8 blocked shots per game and the squad is also second in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 0.9. The Broncs rank third in the league in scoring offense (61.3), field-goal percentage (.379), assists per game (12.7) and turnover margin (+1.82).

- Junior guard Stella Johnson leads the MAAC in three different statistical categories. She ranks first in the conference in points per game (18.8), assists per game (4.3) and steals per game (3.5). Entering league play, she ranks 12th in the country in steals per game, 17 in total steals (39) and 46th in all of Division I in points per game. Johnson is also one of 11 players in Division I this season to record a triple-double.