DUBLIN, IRELAND – Behind 25 points from Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood), the Rider University women's basketball team defeated North Florida, 76-67, on the opening day of play in the MAAC/ASUN Challenge Friday. The Broncs even their record at 2-2 on the season, while the Ospreys fall to 1-2.
 
The Broncs jumped out to a 9-2 lead, getting four points from Raphaela Toussaint (Kingston, Ontario/Lincoln Prep). Late in the quarter Maya Hyacienth (Nottingham, United Kingdom/City of London Academy) drained a triple to give Rider a 24-19 lead after one.
 
Down 29-23, North Florida went on an 11-2 run to take their first lead in the game. The Broncs immediately responded with an 8-0 run to end the half, including four points by Firebaugh, giving Rider a 39-34 lead at the break.
 
Both teams made runs in the third. UNF opened the quarter with a 6-0 run, but the Broncs got five-straight from Toussaint to kick off a 14-0 run capped by back-to-back threes from Firebaugh, giving the Broncs a 53-40 advantage. The Broncs led 58-46 after three quarters.
 
The Ospreys got the lead back into single digits at 64-55, but Firebaugh responded with another three, her sixth of the game to push the lead back into double-digits. Down 68-55, North Florida used a 9-0 run to cut the Rider lead to just four with 2:39 to play. UNF cut the Rider lead to three with just over two minutes remaining, but the Broncs went 6-for-8 from the line down the stretch to seal the victory.
 
Quotes & Notes
"Hard fought game. North Florida threw everything at us like I knew they would. I thought that defensively we were either really, really good or not so good. There wasn't a lot of middle ground tonight. But when we needed it, we ended the game on a three-stop."
 
"When we needed to get stops, we did. When we needed to break the press, we did. We made it interesting with a couple too many turnovers, and a couple too many fouls we need to get cleaned up pretty quickly."
 
"Overall, I think this is pretty much the second game in a row where we just saw the resilience and the heart and soul of this group." – Head Coach Lynn Milligan
 
- Rider ties the all-time series at 1-1, avenging an 80-70 setback from the last time these teams met, the 2019 MAAC/ASUN Challenge.
- The Broncs are now 2-1 all-time in the MAAC/ASUN Challenge.
- Three Broncs scored in double figures, led by Firebaugh's season-high 25. Schiffer scored 17, Toussaint finished with 13, and Amanda Mobley (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) had 10.
- Toussaint added 13 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.
- Firebaugh tied a career-high with six made threes for the second-straight game.

Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider shot 43.4% (23-53) from the field and 42.3% (11-26) from three. The Ospreys shot 40.3% (25-62) from the floor and just 23.8% (5-21) from behind the arc.
- The Broncs held a 17-10 edge in bench points thanks to nine from Hyacienth and eight from ToniRenee Blanford (Montclair, NJ/The Patrick School[Union College]).
- The Broncs had 13 assists on 23 made baskets, led by three each from Mobley, Hyacienth, and Victoria Toomey (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore).
 
Up Next
- Rider remains in Dublin for day two of the MAAC/ASUN Challenge. The Broncs take on Eastern Kentucky Saturday at 2:30 p.m. eastern.