Women's Basketball
Thursday, February 10, 2022 at 7:00 pm
Rider Broncs (6-14, 4-7 MAAC) vs. Manhattan Jaspers (13-9, 8-5 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
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What You Need To Know
- Thursday night's game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
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- It is a Pink Out at Alumni Gym. All fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game and the Broncs will wear pink warm up shirts. The Broncs will be collecting donations with all funds raised to be donated to the Cathy Carter-Romero Memorial Endowed Scholarship in support of breast cancer awareness and finding a cure.
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- Rider snapped a four-game losing streak last time out, defeating Marist 60-50 in Poughkeepsie on Saturday. The Broncs defense held the Red Foxes to just 29.8% shooting from the field, including just 19.0% from long range.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Evans is leading the Broncs at 14.4 points per game, and tops the squad with 14 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.
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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.
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- Manhattan holds a 33-20 edge in the all-time series over the Broncs, including the first meeting between the squads this season. Rider had won eight of the prior nine meetings between the squads prior to last season's games. In the first meeting this year, the Broncs led by as many as 23 points, but a furious comeback by Manhattan gave the Jaspers the victory.
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- Rider has made five-straight appearances in the MAAC Semi-finals. The Broncs were named MAAC Champions for 2019-20 for the first time in program history.
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- 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.
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- Rider was picked to finish fifth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Broncs return all but one member of last year's team.
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- 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.
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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).
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Amanda Mobley (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) now has 328 career assists, good for eighth in program history after passing both Becky Hower '05 and Debbie Snyder '94 against Wagner. Next on the list is Rider Hall of Famer Linda Digiuseppantonio '87, who ended her career with 329.
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- The Broncs lead the MAAC and rank 49th nationally with an average of 4.5 blocks per game.
Victoria Toomey (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore) and
Anna Ekerstedt (Varberg, Sweden/Marks Gymnasieskola [Broward College]) 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 six wins this season.
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- 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.
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- Nearly two-thirds of
Jessika Schiffer's (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg) shots this season (110-173) have come from three-point range. Her six made threes against Quinnipiac are tied for the fifth-most in a game in program history.
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- The Jaspers currently sit fourth in the MAAC at 8-5 and are 13-9 overall. Manhattan is led by its pair of reigning All-MAAC selections in Dee Dee Davis and Courtney Warley. Davis leads the team and is second in the MAAC at 17.2 points per game. Warley is averaging a double-double at 10.6 points and a MAAC-best 10.9 rebounds.
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