WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Amari Johnson (Red Lion, PA/Dallastown [Rhode Island]) converted off a sideline out-of-bounds pass from Lexi Stover (Malvern, PA/Archbishop Carroll) as time expired to give the Rider University women's basketball team a 50-49 win at hOURglass Rival Monmouth Saturday evening at the OceanFirst Bank Center. With the win, the Broncs (25-4, 18-2 MAAC) clinched at least a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship and the top seed in the Hercules Tires MAAC Championships for the first time in program history. Rider would win the title outright with a Marist loss tonight to Siena at 7 p.m.

Rider led for the first 39 minutes and 59.4 seconds, and by as many as 16 points, until the Hawks took their first lead of the game on an Akilah Jennings drive with 0.5 seconds remaining. The Broncs called timeout and advanced the ball to set up the game-winning play. Stover inbounded from the left of her team's bench and found Johnson cutting to the basket on the far side of the court. The pass hit Johnson in mid-air and the redshirt senior caught and laid it in off the glass in one motion.

Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) led all scorers with 23 points, while also making a game-high four steals. Amari Johnson was Rider's next-leading scorer with eight points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds, while Lea Favre (Vevey, Switzerland/Lycee Jeanne D'Arc) and Amanda Mobley (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) chipped in with six points apiece.  

QUOTES & NOTES
"In the summertime, when we were getting ready for Puerto Rico, we actually had that exact same situation. We ran a play very similar, not quite, and Amari made it and everybody was going crazy and it was only July. I know this sounds corny, but we have a dream jar and, if you take out Amari's piece of paper in that dream jar, it says, 'win a game for my team at the buzzer.' And she just literally lived her dream." - Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan

"We didn't execute today at all. We were not good on offense. We were taking shots too quick. We talked about it in every huddle. 'Hey, slow down, run offense, set more screens, make them guard us.' We just didn't. They sped us up on offense. They did a really good job on us. We executed one play perfectly today. And that's what it came down to." - Milligan

"We've been working so hard for this moment, so just to see that go in and just see that we are conference champions and what we've been working for all came true in that one moment. So it was just a surreal moment." - Rider senior wing Amari Johnson

"The first look was for Stella to catch and shoot, but I pretty much put that out of my mind because I knew the whole team was going to run with her. And then Daija set a back screen and, even if we got it to Stella to catch and shoot, there really was no time. So, that was my only option. I was about to call timeout, but then I saw Amari jump." - Rider senior guard Lexi Stover

- Rider completed the regular-season sweep of Monmouth to cut the Hawks' lead in the all-time series to 29-20. Rider has now won seven of the last eight meetings and is 12-5 against Monmouth under Head Coach Lynn Milligan.
- The Broncs are 20-1 this season when holding opponents to 66 points or fewer.
 
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Rider's 50 points are its second-fewest in a win this season behind only the 48 it scored in a 48-25 victory over the Hawks on Feb. 1.
- Stella Johnson scored her 23 points on 9-of-21 from the floor and 4-of-8 from the free-throw line.
- Monmouth took a 38.9 percent (21-54) to 35.0 percent (21-60) edge from the floor. Rider made 4-of-14 attempts (28.6 percent) from long range to Monmouth's 4-of-19 (21.1 percent).
- Rider edged Monmouth on the glass, 37-36, and took a 28-24 advantage in points in the paint.
- Aubre Johnson (Post Falls, ID/Post Falls) contributed three steals.

UP NEXT
Rider will face the winner of Tuesday's first-round game between eighth-seeded Niagara and ninth-seeded Saint Peter's on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.