Women's Basketball
Monday, February 21, 2022 at 7:00 pm
Rider Broncs (8-16, 6-9 MAAC) vs. Marist Red Foxes (7-17, 5-11 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ (Alumni Gym)
Tip: 7:00 pm
Live Video: ESPN3
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com
Live Audio: 107.7 The Bronc
Twitter: @RiderWBB
 
What You Need To Know
- Monday night's game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
 
- The coaching staff will be wearing special DEI Alliance pins as it takes part in the national equality and diversity initiative across the college basketball landscape.
 
- The Broncs defense was in full effect on Thursday, holding Monmouth to just 26.7% shooting in a 51-41 victory. The 41 points are the fewest allowed by the Broncs this season. Rider followed up with a senior day victory on Saturday that saw four players score in double figures.
 
- The Broncs swept the Western NY swing for the second-straight time Jan. 13-15, also winning both in 2019-20 (Due to changes to the schedule in 2020-21 the trip did not occur), after topping Niagara 92-70 on Saturday. Lenaejha Evans (Conway, SC/Conway) scored a career-high 30 in that contest.
 
- In the second game of the home-and-home against Niagara, Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood) scored a career-high 31 points. The 31 points are the most by any player in the MAAC in a single game this season.
 
- The Broncs led wire-to-wire in their victory at Siena earlier this year. 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.
 
- Evans is leading the Broncs at 13.8 points per game, and tops the squad with 17 double-digit scoring games this season, including a career-high 30 points in the first meeting against Niagara. The senior was named both MAAC and Met Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week after leading Rider to a sweep of the western NY swing.
 
- 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. Toussaint added a career-high 23 points in the first meeting against Niagara.
 
- Marist holds a 46-19 advantage in the all-time series. The Broncs snapped a three-game losing streak to the Red Foxes when the teams met earlier this month in Poughkeepsie. Firebaugh had 14 points and a career-high nine rebounds in the first meeting.
 
- Rider has made five-straight appearances in the MAAC Semifinals. 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.
 
- Firebaugh, 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.
 
- Molly Lynch (Sea Girt, NJ/Rutgers Prep) had a career game in the first meeting against Niagara. The sophomore set career-highs in points (9), assists (7), steals (2), and minutes (23).
 
- Amanda Mobley (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) now has 344 career assists, good for seventh in program history after passing Rider Hall of Famer Linda Digiuseppantonio '87 in the game against Manhattan. Next on the list is Maritza Rodriguez '00, who finished with 360.
 
- The Broncs lead the MAAC and rank 44th nationally with an average of 4.4 blocks per game. Victoria Toomey (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore) and Ekerstedt are averaging over a block per contest this season. Ekerstedt had a career-high six blocks in the second game against Niagara. Toomey led the Broncs in blocks in five of the team's eight 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 two-thirds of Jessika Schiffer's (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg) shots this season (134-211) 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 Red Foxes are currently 10th in the MAAC with a 5-11 mark in conference play. Marist lost their last game, 59-45, to Siena. Marist is last in the MAAC this season offensively at 52.9 points per game. Trinasia Kennedy, who is averaging double figures, led Marist with 13 in the first meeting.