Women's Basketball
Monday, December 19, 2022
Rider Broncs (3-7, 0-1 MAAC) vs. Niagara Purple Eagles (1-8, 0-1 MAAC)
Location: Niagara University, NY (Gallagher Center)
Tip: 6:00 p.m.
Live Stats: PurpleEagles.com
Broadcast: ESPN3
Twitter: @RiderWBB
 
 
What You Need To Know
- Monday night's game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
 
- Last time out, Amanda Mobley (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) set a career-high with 12 assists, but the Broncs could not close down the stretch, falling 74-67 to Canisius.
 
- Rider went 1-1 at the MAAC/ASUN Challenge, defeating North Florida 76-67 before falling to Eastern Kentucky 85-64. Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood) averaged 21.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 55.0% from behind the arc to earn MAAC Player of the Week honors.
 
- Rider was picked to finish tied for sixth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Broncs return four starters and all but three members of last year's team.
 
- Firebaugh was named Preseason Third-Team All-MAAC. The 2020-21 MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year averaged 11.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last season. Her 31 points against Niagara were the most in a single game by any player in the MAAC last season.
 
- Rider is one of just nine teams in Division I without a true freshman on the roster. They just faced one of the other nine teams at the MAAC/ASUN Challenge when the Broncs battled Eastern Kentucky. The remaining seven teams are Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, CSUN, Gonzaga, Green Bay, Norfolk St, and Valpo. The Broncs are one of just five teams that returns 12 or more players from last season's roster, joining Columbia, Western Michigan, Liberty, and Weber State.
 
- Rider has made the MAAC Semifinals in five of the last six seasons. The Broncs were named MAAC Champions for 2019-20 for the first time in program history.
 
- Raphaela Toussaint (Kingston, Ontario/Lincoln Prep) led the Broncs with five double-doubles last season. She earned her first double-double of the season against North Florida with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
 
- Mobley's 12 assists last time out gives her 427 for her career, fourth-most in program history. Next on the list is Stella Johnson '20, who finished with 428.
 
- The Broncs led the MAAC and ranked 42^nd nationally with an average of 4.2 blocks per game last season. Anna Ekerstedt (Varberg, Sweden/Marks Gymnasieskola) averaged 1.50 blocks per contest last season. Even with Ekerstedt sidelined due to injury, Rider blocked nine shots against NJIT.
 
- Nearly two-thirds of Jessika Schiffer's (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg) shots last season (179-277) came from three-point range. 55 of her 84 shots this season have come from deep. Schiffer scored a season-high 19 points against Lehigh.
 
- The Broncs lead the MAAC and rank 55th nationally entering the weekend, knocking down 7.9 threes a game. Maya Hyacienth (Nottingham, United Kingdom/City of London Academy) leads the conference in three-point percentage at 56.3%. Firebaugh is second the conference with 28 triples. In addition, Schiffer has 20 and Hyacienth has nine.
 
- ToniRenee Blanford (Montclair, NJ/The Patrick School[Union College]) scored a season-high 11 points and added a season-high eight rebounds last week at Seton Hall.
 
- Niagara holds a slim 28-27 lead in the all-time series. The teams played a crazy pair of games last season when they played back-to-back games in mid-January. Molly Lynch had a career game with nine points, seven assists, and two boards as Lenaejha Evans added 30 points in a 92-70 Bronc victory at Niagara. In the return game, Makayla Firebaugh's 31 points were not enough as Niagara erased a 16-point deficit to defeat the Broncs by one.
 
- The Purple Eagles are 1-8 on the season, including a loss to Marist in their MAAC opener Saturday. The Parker sisters have led the team all season, with reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year, Aaliyah leading the team at 15.4 points per game, and her First-Team All-MAAC older sister, Angel, sitting right behind, averaging 14.9 per contest.