Women's Basketball
Game 22
Thursday, February 13, 2020 at 7:00 pm
Rider Broncs (17-4, 10-2 MAAC) at Siena Saints (8-13, 6-6 MAAC)
Location: Loudonville, NY (Alumni Recreation Center)
Tip: 7:00 pm
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com
Live Video: ESPN3
How To Access ESPN3: Click here
Twitter: @RiderWBB
Game Notes: Game 21
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- All remaining Rider basketball games in 2019-20 will air on ESPN+ or ESPN3.
 
- The Saints enter Thursday evening's game with a 8-13 overall record and a 6-6 mark in MAAC play after defeating defending conference champion Quinnipiac, 68-60, on the road last Saturday. Siena enters the contest with a MAAC-best five-game winning streak. The Saints have won three straight home contests. As a team, Siena ranks second in the MAAC in blocks per game (3.86) and third in steals per contest (8.86). Offensively, Sabrina Piper and Rayshel Brown are averaging in double figures. Piper is scoring a team-high 14 points per game and Brown is shooting over 44 percent from the field. In the first meeting between the two teams, Piper had 22 points and eight rebounds, while Brown chipped in 17 points, three rebounds and three assists.
 
- Siena leads the all-time series, 33-15. However, the Broncs have had the edge of late thanks to winning five of the last six meetings between the two squads dating back to the start of the 2016-17 campaign. Six of the last seven games in the series history have been decided by four points or fewer.
 
- Last time out, a fourth-quarter comeback fell just short for Rider University in a 63-58 loss to visiting Marist on Tuesday. The Broncs shot over 56 percent from the field in the second half, but it was not enough as the Red Foxes scored their fourth win in a row. Rider trimmed a 19-point second-half deficit to just two with 90 seconds remaining, but Marist hit its free throws down the stretch.
 
- Rider is 17-4 for the first time joining Division I prior to the 1982-83 season. The previous-best 21-game start to a season for the Broncs was in 2016-17 when the squad started 15-6.
 
- Rider has started MAAC play 10-2 for second time in program history and the second season in a row. The Broncs have now won 10 or more conference games for the fourth season in a row. It is the first time the team has strung together four seasons of at least 10 MAAC wins.  
 
- Following the 64-57 win over Xavier in mid-November, Rider moved into CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Broncs are currently ranked 10th in the poll. The Broncs have been inside the top-10 for three weeks in a row.
 
- On Monday, Stella Johnson was named one of 10 candidates for the 2020 Nancy Lieberman Award as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Stella is the only mid-major player on this list that includes players from the BIG 12, AAC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Pac 12 and SEC.
 
- Rider had a season-high 12 steals against Canisius on January 23. Last time out against Marist, the Broncs had 11 steals. It was the team's fifth game this year with 11 or more steals.
 
- On November 26, Stella Johnson was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's National Player of the Week. It marked the first time in program history that a Bronc was named the USBWA National Player of the Week and also the first time a player from the MAAC picked up the weekly accolade as well. Stella is one of just two active players in all of Division I, along with Princeton's Bella Alarie, to be have earned both USBWA National Player of the Week and USBWA National Freshman of the Week honors in their careers.
 
- Senior guard Stella Johnson set a single-game program record with 41 points in the victory over Lipscomb on November 22. The previous record for points in game by a Bronc was 37 by both MyNeshia McKenzie and Nancy Carroll. She was the first player in the MAAC to score over 40 points since Victoria Rampado had 41 against Siena in January of 2018.
 
- Stella Johnson became the first player in program history to earn MAAC Preseason Player of the Year honors. Stella was also a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-MAAC First Team. Two other Broncs picked up preseason accolades as senior Amari Johnson landed on the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team and classmate Lea Favre earned Preseason All-MAAC Third Team distinction.  
 
- Senior Stella Johnson was named to the Women's Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on November 6th. Johnson is one of 50 players in the nation and just two players from mid-major programs to earn a spot on the list. In late October, Johnson was also named one of 20 watch-list candidates for the 2020 Nancy Lieberman Award as announced by The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). She was also named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List by the USBWA on December 5.