LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University women's basketball team fought back from down by as many as 13 points Saturday afternoon, but ultimately fell in double overtime, 64-61 to defending MAAC Champions Fairfield. The Broncs fall to 5-14 on the season, and 2-8 in MAAC play. The Stags improved to 10-8 on the year, and 6-3 in league play.
 
The Broncs fell behind early ceding an 8-0 run to open the game that extended to 13-2 midway through the opening quarter. Fairfield maintained a 15-5 advantage at the end of the first.
 
Down 23-12 late in the second quarter, Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood) dropped a pair of shots to send Rider into the half down just 23-16.
 
Late in the third, leading 34-27, Fairfield went on a 6-0 run making it 40-27 with just over 30 seconds remaining in the quarter, but Molly Lynch (Sea Girt, NJ/Rutgers Prep) beat the third quarter buzzer with a three to trim the deficit to 40-30 entering the fourth.
 
Following a Stag bucket to open the fourth, the Broncs used a 10-0 run, kicked off by two Firebaugh threes, to cut the lead to just two with five minutes remaining. Down 47-42, Amanda Mobley (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) knocked down a jumper with just under three minutes to play. Neither side could score until Firebaugh drained a three with 46 seconds remaining. The Broncs forced a shot clock violation to get the final shot of regulation, but Firebaugh's shot hit just off the back iron to send the game to the first extra session tied 47-47.
 
Rider scored the first six points of overtime, extending the overall run to 11-0. After a pair of Fairfield free throws, the Broncs went 1-for-2 at the line on two trips, while the Stags knocked down a pair of threes, the last coming with 15 seconds remaining in the overtime period to force a second overtime period, tied 55-55.
 
Jessika Schiffer (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg[Buffalo]) knocked down a pair of free throws on the opening possession of the second extra period to put Rider back in front, before the Stags scored and got an and-one to go ahead 58-57. Mobley countered for the Broncs with an old-fashioned three-point play of her own, giving Rider back a 60-58 lead. Tied 61-61 with just over a minute to play, Fairfield's Janelle Brown knocked down a jumper to give Fairfield the final lead of the game, she would later go 1-for-2 at the line with 7.6 seconds remaining to give the Broncs one final chance to tie, but the Stags forced a turnover on the final possession to seal the victory.
 
Quotes & Notes
"A gut-wrenching loss from a really good game on both sides. Fairfield got the last look, but I'm really proud of our team and the way we bounced back. We were looking for a response after the Iona game, and I think we got that."
 
"We just haven't gotten a lot of breaks this year for one reason or the other, but that's not going to deter our mission. It's not going to deter what we do on a daily basis. Everyone in that locker room is upset that we lost, but nobody in that locker room is wavering or questioning anything that we do."
 
"From when it was 40 to 30 we were locked in that whole time. I didn't feel a dip in our aggression. I didn't feel a dip in our belief and doing what we were doing in that game. I looked at everyone's eyes and I felt like they felt like we were going to win the game." – Head Coach Lynn Milligan
 
"Our flow was off a bit in the first quarter. We weren't getting shots and weren't connected. We started picking it up later in the game."
 
"I'm just trying to come in the game and be a spark of energy. Do what I have to do for the team. I'm not trying to do anything special, I'm just trying to bring the team up." – Junior Guard Molly Lynch
 
"At the end there, we really stepped up the defense because we knew the offense just wasn't going to come. So our defense was going to have to win us this game."
 
"Yesterday, we really just focused on defense and made it one of our priorities. We know if we get defensive stop, and we can score on offense like we have all year. Holding people under 65 is a goal of ours." – Junior Guard Makayla Firebaugh
 
- Fairfield takes it's fifth-straight over the Broncs, and extends its lead in the all-time series to 44-13.
- Today was Rider's second overtime game this season, after defeating St. Francis Brooklyn in the extra session earlier this year. Fairfield played its fourth overtime game of the season, and second consecutive, going 2-2 in their four games requiring extra periods.
- Firebaugh led the Broncs with 20 points, her 14^th game in double figures this season. Raphaela Toussaint (Kingston, Ontario/Lincoln Prep) added 10 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider shot 34.5% (20-58) from the field, and 29.2% (7-24) from three. The Stags shot 36.1% (22-61) from the floor, and were 35.0% (7-20) from behind the arc.
- Fairfield had a 46-31 edge on the glass, with an 11-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. Toussaint's 10 boards led Rider.
- The Broncs had 13 assists on their 20 made baskets led by eight from Mobley.
 
Up Next
- Rider is back in action Thursday, when they travel to Siena for a 7 p.m. game.