Women's Basketball
Saturday, December 18, 2021 at 2:00 pm
Rider Broncs (2-7) vs. Quinnipiac Bobcats (5-4)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ (Alumni Gym)
Tip: 2:00 pm
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com
Live Audio: 107.7 The Bronc
Twitter: @RiderWBB
Tickets: GoBroncsTix.com
 
What You Need To Know
- Sunday afternoon's game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
- Sunday is the Broncs' annual toy drive. Rider will have a halftime stuffed animal toss at halftime with all toys collected donated to The Children's Home Society of New Jersey and Toys for Tots. Any fan who stops by the table in the lobby of Alumni Gym will be entered into a Broncs Prize Pack giveaway. Additionally, the closest to the center court target will receive a collection of Rider t-shirts. There will also be an ugly sweater contest with the winner determined through an interactive fan vote.
 
- After winning back-to-back games, The Broncs have dropped a pair of games entering Saturday's contest. The Broncs fell 62-58 at Wagner, despite a career-high 23 points from Lenaejha Evans (Conway, SC/Conway), before losing 73-59 to Navy last time out. Evans leads the Broncs at 15.6 points per game this season.
 
- Raphaela Toussaint (Kingston, Ontario/Lincoln Prep) produced double-doubles in both Rider victories, earning MAAC Player of the Week honors on Dec. 6. In Rider's win over NJIT, she had 17 points and 10 boards. Against Army, the sophomore had 13 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high four assists.
 
- Quinninpiac has long held the advantage in the series since the Bobcats joined the MAAC for the 2013-14 season, but the Broncs have been turning the tide lately. The Broncs have won four out of the last five in the series, including the most recent matchup in the quarterfinals of last season's MAAC Tournament.
 
- 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.
 
- Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood), 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 319 career assists, good for eighth in program history after passing both Becky Hower '05 and Debbie Snyder '94 last time out. Next on the list is Rider Hall of Famer Linda Digiuseppantonio '87, who ended her career with 329.
 
- The Broncs lead the MAAC and rank 53rd nationally with an average of 4.4 blocks per game. Victoria Toomey (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore) and Toussaint are each averaging at least a block per contest this season. Toomey led the Broncs in block in both of Rider's win this season.
 
- The Broncs were lethal at the free-throw line against NJIT. The Broncs shot 88.5% (23-26) at the charity stripe, including going 11-12 in the fourth quarter. The 23 made free-throws are the most in a game since the team also had 23 in an early season win over Lipscomb in 2019. The last time the Broncs hit more than 23, was the 30 made in 2018 in a MAAC Tournament victory over Fairfield.
 
- Over 70% of Jessika Schiffer's (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg) shots this season (48-67) have come from three-point range. The transfer-junior scored a career-high 15 points against Columbia, including a 3-for-6 mark from deep.
 
- In four of the Broncs' first six games this season, Rider held their opponent to their lowest point total of the season. At the Christmas City Classic, 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.
 
- The Bobcats finished non-conference play 5-4, including nearly defeating top-10 Indiana, leading by six over the Hoosiers at the half before ultimately falling, 67-59. Mackenzie DeWees and Mikala Morris have lived up to the preseason First-Team All-MAAC hype, leading the team at 13.2 and 12.3 points per game, respectively.