Women's Basketball
Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 2:00 pm
Rider Broncs (4-10, 2-3 MAAC) vs. Niagara Purple Eagles (5-7, 2-2 MAAC)
Location: Niagara University, NY (Gallagher Center)
Tip: 2:00 pm
Live Video: ESPN3
Live Stats: PurpleEagles.com
Twitter: @RiderWBB
 
What You Need To Know
- Saturday afternoon's game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
 
- The Broncs opened the Western NY swing with a 59-51 victory over Canisius last time out. Lenaejha Evans (Conway, SC/Conway) led the Broncs with 17 points and a career-high nine boards.
 
- The Broncs led by as many as 23 points at Manhattan last Thursday, but ultimately fell, 63-58 to the Jaspers. The Broncs have had a lead in the final two minutes in four of their five MAAC contests this season.
 
- The Broncs led wire-to-wire in their victory at Siena. It's the first time Rider did not trail in a game since a 45-31 victory over Monmouth last season. The Broncs have had at least one wire-to-wire victory in every season since the 2011-12 campaign.
 
- Raphaela Toussaint (Kingston, Ontario/Lincoln Prep) produced double-doubles in both of Rider's first two 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.
 
- Niagara holds a slim 27-26 advantage in the all-time series. The teams split their meetings last season, including a Bronc victory on senior day. Rider has won five of the last six meetings and nine of the last 11.
 
- 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.
 
- Evans is leading the Broncs at 15.1 points per game, and tops the squad with 12 double-digit scoring games this season, including a career-high 23 points against Wagner. The senior leads the MAAC and ranks 93rd nationally this season, shooting 48.2% from the field.
 
- 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 against Wagner. 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 58th nationally with an average of 4.4 blocks per game. Victoria Toomey (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore) and Anna Ekerstedt (Varberg, Sweden/Marks Gymnasieskola [Broward College]) are averaging over a block per contest this season. Ekerstedt had a career high four blocks against Manhattan. Victoria Toomey (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore) led the Broncs in blocks in all four of the team's wins 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.
 
- Nearly 70% of Jessika Schiffer's (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg) shots this season (82-121) have come from three-point range. Her six made threes against Quinnipiac are tied for the fifth-most in a game in program history.
 
- The Purple Eagles are 5-7 on the season and off to a 2-2 start to MAAC play. Niagara plays up tempo and aggressive. The Purple Eagles lead the MAAC in scoring and steals, but rank last in the conference in scoring defense and have committed the second-most turnovers of all MAAC programs. Angel Parker ranks fourth in the MAAC at 15.5 points per game and second in the conference at 5.6 assists per game.