Women's Basketball
Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Rider Broncs (0-1) vs. Merrimack Warriors (0-2)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ (Alumni Gym)
Tip: 5:00 pm
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com
Live Audio: 107.7 The Bronc
Twitter: @RiderWBB
 
What You Need To Know
- Sunday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and the live radio broadcast will be available on 107.7 The Bronc.
 
- The Broncs opened the season with a 63-50 exhibition win over TCNJ. Rider fell in their official season opener on Tuesday, 71-49 at Saint Joseph's.
 
- Rider was picked to finish tenth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Broncs return just two starters and only five members of last year's team.
 
- Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood) was named Preseason Second-Team All-MAAC. The 2020-21 MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year averaged 14.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last season. She scored 42 points across two games at the MAAC/ASUN Dublin Challenge to earn MAAC Player of the Week honors last year.
 
- The Broncs finished last season 10-21 with a 6-14 MAAC mark. The Broncs defeated Marist in the opening round of the MAAC Tournament.
 
- Rider has made the MAAC Semifinals in five of the last seven seasons. The Broncs were named MAAC Champions for 2019-20 for the first time in program history.
 
- Nearly two-thirds of Jessika Schiffer's (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg) shots at Rider (366-548) have come from three-point range. Her six made threes against Quinnipiac in 2021-22 are tied for the fifth-most in a game in program history.
 
- Sofie Bruintjes (Zwolle, The Netherlands/CTO Amsterdam) made her first two career starts in the MAAC Tournament last season. She responded with six points, six rebounds, and two blocks in the win over Marist.
 
- Molly Lynch (Sea Girt, NJ/Rutgers Prep) made her first start last season at Fairfield going two-for-two from behind the arc, and playing a career-high 32 minutes.
 
- ToniRenee Blanford (Montclair, NJ/The Patrick School[Union College]) is healthy after playing just 13 games last season due to injury.
 
- Seven Broncs made their official debut for the Broncs on Tuesday. Transfers Sanaa Redmond (Philadelphia, PA/The Shipley School[Samford]), Jamia Blake (Rock Hill, SC/South Point[UNC Asheville]), Mariona Cos-Morales (Matadepera, Spain/Casper College), and Taylor Blunt (Delco, PA/The Peddie School[Detroit Mercy]), joined freshmen Aliya McIver (White Plains, NY/White Plains), Sam Richardson (Linden, NJ/St. Benedict's Prep), and Kaylan Deveney (Medford, NJ/Life Center Academy). Taylor Langan (Lake Hopatcong, NJ/Jefferson Township[Millersville/Colgate]) missed the season opener due to injury.
 
- Deveney and Cos-Morales were the stars of the exhibition, scoring 17 and 14 to lead the Broncs in the victory. Cos-Morales also added six rebounds in the victory.
 
- Kaylan Deveney made the start in her Rider debut Tuesday at Saint Joseph's, scoring seven points and grabbing a board in 21 minutes of action. Deveney is the first true freshman to start in her Rider debut since Stella Johnson earned the start to begin her career in 2016.
 
- Merrimack will be playing the Broncs for the final time as a non-conference opponent Sunday, as the Warriors are set to join the MAAC along with Sa-cred Heart for the 2024-25 season. The Warriors are currently in their fifth season in Division I, making the transition from Division II ahead of the 2019-20 season. The Warriors are 49-54 since joining Division I.
 
- The Broncs and Warriors will be meeting for the first time ever in women's basketball, but Rider and Merrimack are no strangers, having played field hockey together in the NEC since Merrimack's reclassification in 2019.
 
- The Warriors have started the season 0-2 with a pair of three-point losses at the hands of Albany and NJIT. Jayme DeCesare leads the team at 11.0 points per game this season and Amaya Staton is second on the team at 10.0 points per game while leading the team at 6.0 rebounds per contest.