LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University women's basketball team came through on senior day, defeating Canisius 71-57 in Alumni Gym Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Broncs have won two-straight and are 8-16 on the season, including a 6-9 mark in conference play. The Golden Griffins drop to 4-22 overall, and 2-15 in the MAAC.
 
Trailing 5-4 midway through the first, Rider went on an 11-2 run with four different players scoring during the rally. Later, with time running out in the quarter, Canisius hit a layup with five seconds remaining, but Amanda Mobley (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) took the inbound and drove the length of the court to hit a pull-up jumper to put Rider up 20-14 after the opening frame.
 
The Broncs opened the second with another 11-2 run, again with four Broncs contributing to the rally. Leading 33-25, Lenaejha Evans (Conway, SC/Conway)
Went 4-for-4 from the line in the final minute of the half, but in the second quarter, it would be Canisius hitting the buzzer beater and Rider's halftime lead was 37-27.
 
The lead bounced around 10 points for a majority of the third. Leading 53-43, Mobley beat the buzzer for the second time in the game, putting the Broncs ahead by 12 entering the fourth.
 
Canisius came out firing in the fourth, scoring six-straight to open the quarter, but that would be as close as the Golden Griffins would get. Leading 60-52, Rider went on yet another 11-2 run with four players scoring to put the game away.
 
Quotes & Notes
 
"Really strong home win. Overall defensively we were pretty locked in today, and offensively we were in flow, scored in a bunch of different ways. We moved extremely well in our zone and took away some of the looks they wanted to get."
 
"I wanted Teresa to put her jersey on and hear her name because she deserves that. She's been a big part of the program for the past four years."
 
"You can get more shots at the basket, and in turn you get more points. Amanda and Jess did a really good job running the offense, Nay was really clean with the ball coming off screens, Mick was turning and going to the basket instead of looking to pass." – Head Coach Lynn Milligan
 
"This is something we wanted all season. Coming in and protecting our house. It's nice to get a win on our home floor."
 
"We're getting ready for playing back-to-back-to-back in the MAAC Tournament, and even though we have rest days we can get used to getting our bodies recovered and ready to play those back-to-backs."
 
"I just wanted to go out and put on a show for my family, and we were able to go out there and get a win for them. I just think about the good times I've had at Rider and want them to continue." – Senior guard Lenaejha Evans
 
"These two wins have helped us continue to grow. We just need to keep getting better. We need to stay consistent, and allow it to feed into our offense."
 
"I was just playing confident. MyNeshia always tells me, 'Just play, don't worry about a miss that came before.'" – Sophomore forward Raphaela Toussaint
 
- Rider earns its first season sweep of the year, and has now won four-straight over Canisius. The Golden Griffins still lead the all-time series, 33-17.
- Prior to the game, the team honored its two graduating seniors, Evans and Teresa Wolak (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan)
- Evans tied a career-high with four assists.
- Evans scored in double-figures for a team-high 17^th game this season.

Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider shot 51.8% (29-56) from the field, the third time shooting over 50% this season, and was 30.0% (6-20) from three. Canisius was 42.3% (22-52) from the field, and 34.6% (9-26) from deep.
- The Broncs had 15 assists on their 29 made baskets, led by Evans' four.
- Raphaela Toussaint (Kingston, Ontario/Lincoln Prep) led all scorers with 18 in the game, on 7-for-9 shooting. She was joined in double figures by Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood), who scored 14, and Evans and Anna Ekerstedt (Varberg, Sweeden/Marks Gymnasiekola[Broward College]), who each scored 10.
- Canisius out-rebounded Rider 30-28, and the Golden Griffins had a 10-6 edge on the offensive glass.
 
Up Next
- Rider is back in action Monday, when it hosts Marist at 7 p.m.