LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Behind a three-pointer from Sofie Bruintjes (Zwolle, The Netherlands/CTO Amsterdam) with 3.3 seconds remaining, the Rider University women's basketball team defeated Boston University, 58-55, Saturday afternoon. The Broncs improve to 2-2 on the season, while the Terriers fall to 3-1.
 
Down 10-7 in the first, a three by Taylor Langan (Lake Hopatcong, NJ/Jefferson Township[Colgate/Millersville]) kicked off a 7-0 run that gave Rider the first-quarter lead. The Broncs led 14-13 after 10 minutes.
 
After a Kaylan Deveney (Medford, NJ/Life Center Academy) triple to open the second quarter, the Terriers took back the lead with a 7-0 run. The Broncs used the long ball to their advantage in the second quarter hitting five triples in the frame, the final one beating the buzzer by Jamia Blake (Rock Hill, SC/South Pointe[UNC Asheville]) to put Rider on top 29-25 at the break.
 
Up 34-30 with seven minutes to go in the third, Rider went on a 10-0 run, with five points from Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood) and four from Langan to give the Broncs their largest lead of the day at 44-30. Rider ended the third up 46-33.
 
The Terriers exploded in the fourth, opening the quarter on an 11-0 run and later extending the rally to 18-2, taking a 51-48 lead with 2:44 to play. Back-to-back layups by Langan had Rider in front 52-51with 1:46 to go, but the lead would be short-lived with BU answering with a bucket of their own. Following a Langan miss, Rider committed a foul with 43 seconds remaining. The Terriers hit both free throws to go ahead 55-52.
 
Langan then drew a foul on the other end, hitting one of two to trim the lead to 55-53 with 39 seconds remaining. The Broncs elected to play defense and forced a missed jumper where Jessika Schiffer (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg) grabbed the rebound. On the ensuing Rider possession, the Broncs drove and kicked out to Sanaa Redmond (Philadelphia, PA/The Shipley School[Samford]) in the corner, who passed up the three to make the feed to Bruintjes who knocked down the open triple and give the Broncs the lead with 3.3 seconds remaining.
 
There was drama in the final seconds for the Broncs as the Broncs fouled the Terriers leading scorer, Caitlin Weimar, but she missed both free throws and Firebaugh grabbed the rebound. She was fouled, hit both free throws and the Terriers final shot drew iron, but did not fall to give the Broncs the victory.
 
Quotes & Notes
"I'm really proud of our effort today. I thought we came in with a good game plan and the right mentality. We bent, but we didn't break and I thought that our mentality was refuse to lose today and that was really nice to see."
 
"Our offensive philosophy is to give up the shot the you can make for the shot we can't miss, and Naa had a look. And she knew Soof's was better and she sees Soof shoot that shot every day. That wasn't by any means a lucky shot." – Head coach Lynn Milligan
 
"The team has a lot of faith in me, even when I don't. They're always there to support me. So when I got the ball, I knew it was my time to step up and make it. When I made it, I just felt so much love coming from the bench."
 
"It felt good to have that trust, and Naa gave me a good extra pass and she knows I can knock it down." – Senior Forward Sofie Bruintjes
 
"You could see in the second half, our shots were not falling, so we talked about not letting anyone's heads get down. We just lift each other up because we knew the game wasn't over, we had to keep fighting." – Senior Guard Makayla Firebaugh
 
 
- Saturday's game was the first-ever between the Broncs and Terriers. Rider has now won both games this season against first-time opponents.
- Langan scored a game-high 18 points, reaching double-figures for the third-straight game.
- Firebaugh added 12 points, reaching double digits for the second time this season.

Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider shot just 33.9% (19-56) from the field, and just 33.3% (9-27) from three, but held the Terriers to just 37.5% (21-56) from the field and 34.8% (8-23) from three.
- The Broncs had 14 assists on their 19 made baskets, led by a season-high six from Redmond.
- Rider out-rebounded BU 38-34, including a 15-12 advantage in offensive boards. Langan grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Broncs.
 
Up Next
- Rider remains at home to face La Salle Tuesday at 7 p.m.