ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Rider University women's basketball team pulled away in the fourth quarter Saturday morning, defeating Navy, 59-43, in Annapolis. The Broncs improve to 3-4 on the season, while the Mids fall to 0-9.
 
Both offenses got off to a slow start, but trailing 4-2, Rider went on a 6-0 run to claim an early advantage. Up 8-7, Raphaela Toussaint (Kingston, Ontario/Lincoln Prep) scored five-straight points and the Broncs maintained a 13-9 lead after one.
 
 The Mids quickly erased in the second. After Rider regained a 21-16 lead, Navy used a 7-0 run to retake the lead. The Broncs stopped the bleeding with an Amanda Mobley (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) three that briefly put Rider back in front before the Mids knocked down a three of their own with less than 10 seconds remaining. Mobley then loaded up from well beyond half court and drained the buzzer-beater to send Rider into the break with a 27-26 lead.
 
Tied 27-27, Rider looked to pull away with a 6-0 run, capped by a Mobley rebound that quickly turned into a fast break the other way and finished by a layup from ToniRenee Blanford (Montclair, NJ/The Patrick School[Union]). Rider led 38-32 after three.
 
Navy once again erased the Rider lead early in the fourth with a 6-0 run that tied the game 38-38, but the Broncs responded again with an immediate 10-0 run, including triples from Jessika Schiffer (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg[Buffalo]) and Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood). Leading 53-43, Rider went 6-for-6 from the line to produce the final score.
 
Quotes & Notes
"Today was a game that we needed to establish ourselves on the defensive end, and with the amount of work that we've been doing the past couple weeks. Today was just a really good defensive day for us."
 
"We were connected for 40 minutes. We didn't have the miscommunications that we saw the last two games. Our scout was on point. Our KYP was on point. Our communication from start to finish on each possession was on point."
 
"Raphie, Vic, Toni, and Soof did a really good job at boxing and creating space for Amanda to wiggle in, grab a rebound, and she did a really good job at that." – Head Coach Lynn Milligan
 
"I don't remember getting the rebounds. I was just in the right spot, grabbing the ball and pushing."
 
"We worked on our defense the last couple days because it needed to be better. We honed in on keeping them out of their flow and not letting them get the shots they wanted to take." – Graduate Guard Amanda Mobley
 
- The Broncs earn their first-ever victory over the Mids. Navy now lead the all-time series 6-1.
- The Broncs allowed just 43 points, the fewest allowed by the team since a 51-41 win over Monmouth last season.
- Three Broncs scored in double figures, led by 14 from Toussaint. Mobley finished with 10 and Victoria Toomey (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore) added 10 for her fifth game in double figures.
- Mobley also grabbed a career-high 11 boards for her second career double-double.

Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider shot 35.8% (19-53) from the field and 28% (7-28) from three. The Mids shot just 25.5% (14-55) from the floor and 16.7% (4-24) from behind the arc.
- Navy held a 41-39 edge on the glass, with a 13-7 advantage in offensive rebounds.
- The Broncs had 13 assists on 19 made baskets led by five from Mobley.
- Rider held a 20-12 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Up Next
- Rider returns home for a game Wednesday against St. Joseph's. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.