Women's Basketball
Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 7:00 pm
Rider Broncs (0-5) vs. NJIT Highlanders (4-3)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ (Alumni Gym)
Tip: 7:00 pm
Live Video: ESPN3
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com
Live Audio: 107.7 The Bronc
Twitter: @RiderWBB
Tickets: GoBroncsTix.com
 
What You Need To Know
- Wednesday night's game will be broadcast on ESPN3, with radio broadcast available on 107.7 The Bronc.
 
- The Broncs went 0-2 at the Christmas City Classic last weekend. Despite a career-high 26 points from Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood) and a career-high 15 points from Jessika Schiffer (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg [Buffalo]) in the consolation game Sunday, a 14-3 fourth-quarter run by Columbia was enough to give the Lions a 63-60 victory.
 
- In Rider's game at La Salle, Lenaejha Evans (Conway, SC/Conway) scored a career-high 20 points, 18 in the second half and overtime. Raphaela Toussaint (Kingston, Ontario/Lincoln Prep) added a career-high 15 rebounds in the contest.
 
- The Broncs lead the all-time series 4-1, including wins in the last three meetings. The most recent meeting came last season, when Maya Hyacienth (Nottingham, United Kingdom/City of London Academy) scored a career-high 20 points as Rider erased a fourth-quarter deficit in a 57-53 victory.
 
- Rider has made five-straight appearances in the MAAC Semi-finals. The Broncs were named MAAC Champions for 2019-20 for the first time in program history.
 
- A year ago, Rider finished 8-18 overall and earned the no. 7 seed in the MAAC Basketball Championship. The Broncs ended the season strong, going 6-4 in their final 10 games. In the MAAC Championship, the Broncs knocked off 10^th-seeded Monmouth 44-41 before upsetting second-seeded Quinnipiac 62-50.
 
- Rider was picked to finish fifth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Broncs return all but one member of last year's team.
 
- Firebaugh, the reigning MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year and Second-Team All-MET guard, earned Preseason Second-Team All-MAAC honors. The sophomore averaged a team-high 11.0 points a season ago along with 4.4 rebounds. Toussaint was tabbed Preseason Third-Team All-MAAC. A fellow member of the All-Rookie Team a season ago, Toussaint averaged 7.5 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 47.6% from the field and 47.8% from three. 
 
- Amanda Mobley (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) now has 310 career assists, good for 10^th in program history. Next on the list are Becky Hower '05 and Debbie Snyder '94, who each finished with 318.
 
- The Broncs lead the MAAC and rank 74th nationally with an average of 4.2 blocks per game. Toussaint and Anna Ekerstedt (Vargburg, Sweden/Marks Gymnasium[Broward College]) are each averaging at least a block per contest this season. Ekerstedt tied a career-high last time out with three blocks against Columbia.
 
- Freshman Emily Strunk (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) set career-high with four rebounds against Lehigh before breaking that mark with five on Sunday against Columbia. For the season, she is averaging 2.0 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per contest.
 
- In four of the Broncs' first five games this season, Rider has held their opponent to their lowest point total of the season. This past weekend, the Broncs held Lehigh to 69 points and Columbia to 63. Lehigh had scored under 80 just once this season in five games prior to facing Rider, and Columbia was held under 70 just once in their seven prior games.
 
- NJIT is 4-3 this season, including the program's first-ever win over a Big Ten program, a 61-49 win over Wisconsin. After playing back-to-back games against high-powered offenses, the Broncs can expect a lower scoring contest as NJIT averages just 59.4 points per game this season. Three Highlanders are averaging double-digits this season. Kenna Squier and Ellyn Stoll are averaging 10.4 points per game, with Kimi Evans chipping in 10.1.