Women's Basketball
Saturday, December 30, 2023 at 2:00 pm
Rider Broncs (2-8, 0-2 MAAC) vs. Lehigh Mountain Hawks (8-2, 0-0 PATRIOT)
Location: Bethlehem, PA (Stabler Arena)
Tip: 2:00 pm
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: LehighSports.com
Live Audio: 107.7 The Bronc
Twitter: @RiderWBB
 
What You Need To Know
- Saturday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
- The Broncs have now fallen in six-straight games, losing 60-57 against Quinnipiac last time out.
 
- 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. In Rider's win over Merrimack, Firebaugh scored a game-high 19 points.
 
- Firebaugh scored a season-high 23 points after starting 4-for-4 from distance against FDU, scoring 12 points in the opening quarter. Her six made threes in the game tied a career high and moved her past Stella Johnson into fifth on Rider's career three-pointers made list. Last time out, Firebaugh passed Joanne Giordano to move into 14th on the program's career scoring list.
 
- 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.
 
- Over two-thirds of Jessika Schiffer's (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg) shots at Rider (413-607) 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. Against Quinnipiac last time out, she made a pair of threes to move past Lexi Posset for ninth on the program's career three-pointers made list.
 
- 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. In Rider's win over BU, Bruintjes hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining.
 
- Molly Lynch (Sea Girt, NJ/Rutgers Prep) made her first career start last season at Fairfield going two-for-two from behind the arc, and playing a career-high 32 minutes.
 
- Taylor Langan (Lake Hopatcong, NJ/Jefferson Township[Millersville/Colgate]) missed the season opener due to injury. Langan made up for lost time in her Rider debut against Merrimack, scoring 16 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and nabbing four steals. The graduate student has scored in double figures in eight of the nine games she has played in this season. Langan ranks in the top ten in the MAAC in points.
 
- Kaylan Deveney (Medford, NJ/Life Center Academy) made the start in her Rider debut 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. The freshman led Rider with 13 points at NJIT and tied her career high with 13 last time out.
 
- Sanaa Redmond (Philadelphia, PA/The Shipley School[Samford]) ranks 10th in the MAAC at 3.0 assists per game and has led the Broncs in dimes in six of their ten contests. Redmond has also valued ball security, holding a 1.4 assist to turnover ratio, seventh best in the conference.
 
- The key number for the Broncs this season has been 60 points. The Broncs won both games in which they held their opponent under 60 points, and have fallen in each game they have allowed 60 or more.
 
- The Mountain Hawks hold a 21-10 lead in the all-time series after Rider fell to a hot-shooting Lehigh last season in Alumni Gym. The Mountain Hawks shot 50.8% from the field in last season's contest. The Broncs did hit 12 threes in that contest, led by five from Schiffer, who paced Rider with 19 points in the game.
 
- The Mountain Hawks are 8-2 on the season, including an 82-64 win over fellow MAAC opponent Marist. Ella Stemmer leads the Lehigh offense at 19.5 points per game. She is joined in double figures by Lily Fandre, who is averaging 12.4.