UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – Despite a career-high 21 points from
Raphaela Toussaint (Kingston, Ontario/Lincoln Prep), the Rider University women's basketball team fell to Penn State, 83-69, in its season opener Thursday night. The Lady Lions improved to 2-0 on the season with the victory after topping LIU Tuesday night.
After an early three from
Amanda Mobley (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) put the Broncs on top 3-2, Niya Beverly bracketed a pair of threes around a lay-up she assisted and the Lady Lions never trailed again. A mid-range jumper by
Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood) brought the Broncs within four at 13-9 midway through the quarter, but the Lady Lions pulled away to lead by 10 at the end of the quarter.
A basket by Toussaint, followed by a pair of free-throws by
Victoria Toomey (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore) cut the lead to 27-20, but the Lady Lions outscored the Broncs 17-7 the rest of the half and led 44-27 at the break.
Rider fought back out of the break. Trailing 49-31, Rider went on a 10-0 run, with seven points by
Lenaejha Evans (Conway, SC/Conway) to cut the lead to single digits with 5:13 remaining in the third. A three-pointer by Evans with 3:47 remaining in the period cut the Penn State lead to 51-47, but that was as close as the Broncs would get.
Leading 59-54 entering the fourth, Penn State opened the fourth on an 11-2 run that put the game out of reach.
Quotes & Notes
"I'm disappointed with the outcome, but I thought we played some good basketball and we played some bad basketball. Not happy defensively giving up 83 points, offensively I thought we had really good flow especially with 19 assists on 25 field goals."
"Raphie picked up where she left off. She had 21 and could have had more than that. She did a really good job finding the gaps and being aggressive."
"We challenged them at the half, and we came out of the locker room strong. [Lenaejha] was the key to that run, she really gave us a spark there."
– Head Coach Lynn Milligan
"I was moving off the ball well when Vic got the ball high. Then in the second half, I was attacking and trying to get to the free-throw line."
"My shots weren't falling early, but if I stay confident eventually they will drop."
– Sophomore Forward Raphaela Toussaint
- Penn State leads the all-time series 3-1.
- Toussaint's 21 points surpasses her previous high of 19, scored against Saint Peter's last season.
- Evans had 13 points off the bench on 4-for-5 shooting, including hitting both of her shots from long range. It is her fourth career double-digit scoring game.
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Emily Strunk (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) and
Jessika Schiffer (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg [Buffalo]) made their first official appearances in Rider uniforms.
Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider shot 43.9% (25-57) from the field and 40.0% (8-20) from three. The Lady Lions shot 53.2% (33-62) from the field and 42.1% (8-19) from deep.
- The Broncs had 19 assists on their 25 made baskets, led by eight from Mobley and five from Schiffer.
- Rider was out-rebounded by Penn State 41-24, including a 14-7 advantage on the offensive glass. Toomey led Rider's effort on the boards with six.
- The Rider defense caused 19 Lady Lion turnovers, and combined for 10 steals. Mobley tied a career-high with four steals, the fifth time in her career she has done that.
Up Next
- Rider has a quick turnaround before playing at La Salle on Saturday. Tip is set for noon.
