LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Senior guard Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) scored a season-high 27 points to lead the Rider University women's basketball team past visiting Xavier, 64-57, on Saturday afternoon inside Alumni Gymnasium.
 
The Broncs (2-1) scored their second straight win, while the Musketeers (1-2) suffered their second road loss in a row.
 
Rider opened the game on an 11-0 run over the first four minutes of action. Xavier battled back to tie the game at 13 before Bronc senior Lea Favre (Vevey, Switzerland/Lycee Jeanne d'Arc) knocked down a jumper to give the hosts a 15-13 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
Midway through the second, Xavier took their only lead of the game at 21-19, but on the ensuing possession Stella knocked down at three to give the Broncs a lead they would not relinquish.
 
The Rider lead would swell to as many as 11 midway through the third frame following an old-fashioned three-point play from Stella. With under a minute remaining in regulation, the Musketeers cut the Bronc deficit to just four. Rider would answer by knocking down its free throws.
 
On the final play of the game, Stella stole an inbounds pass to seal the Rider win. In the third quarter, Stella became the program's all-time leader in steals with 255 in her career.
 
Amari Johnson (Red Lion, PA/Dallastown) was the other Bronc in double figures with 12 points.
 
NOTES & QUOTES
"Our execution down the stretch was great. I'm more proud of our defensive effort for the whole game. We had a few breakdowns, but our defensive intensity and the way we stuck together during their runs was important. Xavier is a really good team. For us to be able to defend them the way we did says something about the character of this team." – Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan
 
- The meeting was the first-ever between the two teams.
- Rider won its home opener for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
- The Broncs outrebounded an opponent for the first time this year, winning the battle of the boards, 42-32.
- During the fourth quarter, Rider hit 9-of-12 free-throw attempts.
- On Monday, Stella Johnson was named the MAAC Player of the Week and the College Sports Madness MAAC Player of the Week.
 
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Stella Johnson hit 9-of-17 shots from the field and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. She also added three assists, two steals and three rebounds. On Saturday, she moved into fourth-place on the program's all-time scoring list. She currently has 1,496 points. She also ranks seventh all-time at Rider with 323 assists. She is seven assists away from moving into sixth-place in program history.
- Amari Johnson had 12 points and seven rebounds for Rider. She is averaging a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game this year.
- Amanda Mobley had another solid game running the offense. She had seven points to go along with five rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block.
- Freshman Lauren Saa scored her first collegiate points with a three-pointer late in the second quarter.
 
UP NEXT
Rider returns to action next Friday, November 22, traveling to Florida to compete in the MAAC/ASUN Challenge. The Broncs face Lipscomb on Friday at 2:30 pm at the HP Fieldhouse in Orlando.