Women's Basketball
Saturday, February 4, 2023
Rider Broncs (5-16, 2-10 MAAC) vs. Fairfield Stags (12-9, 8-4 MAAC)
Location: Fairfield, CT (Leo D. Mahoney Arena)
Tip: 2:00 p.m.
Live Stats: FairfieldStags.com
Live Audio: 107.7 The Bronc
Broadcast: ESPN3
Twitter: @RiderWBB
 
 
What You Need To Know
- Saturday afternoon's game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
 
- Last time out, Rider struggled offensively in the second of four-straight road contests, falling 59-42 at Quinnipiac. Raphaela Toussaint (Kingston, Ontario/Lincoln Prep) finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.
 
- Amanda Mobley (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) currently leads the MAAC and ranks 13^th nationally at 6.1 assists per game. She set her career-high with 12 assists at Canisius, then tied that mark against Saint Peter's.
 
- Rider went 1-1 at the MAAC/ASUN Challenge, defeating North Florida 76-67 before falling to Eastern Kentucky 85-64. Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood) averaged 21.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 55.0% from behind the arc to earn MAAC Player of the Week honors.
 
- At the MAAC/ASUN Challenge, Maya Hyacienth (Nottingham, United Kingdom/City of London Academy) drained six threes across the pair of games. She had ten triples on the season.
 
- Rider was picked to finish tied for sixth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Broncs return four starters and all but three members of last year's team.
 
- Firebaugh was named Preseason Third-Team All-MAAC. The 2020-21 MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year averaged 11.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last season. Her 31 points against Niagara were the most in a single game by any player in the MAAC last season.
 
- Rider is one of just nine teams in Division I without a true freshman on the roster. They just faced one of the other nine teams at the MAAC/ASUN Challenge when the Broncs battled Eastern Kentucky. The remaining seven teams are Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, CSUN, Gonzaga, Green Bay, Norfolk St, and Valpo. The Broncs are one of just five teams that returns 12 or more players from last season's roster, joining Columbia, Western Michigan, Liberty, and Weber State.
 
- Rider has made the MAAC Semifinals in five of the last six seasons. The Broncs were named MAAC Champions for 2019-20 for the first time in program history.
 
- Toussaint led the Broncs with five double-doubles last season. She earned her first double-double of the season against North Florida with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and posted 10 points and 10 rebounds against Fairfield for her second.
 
- Nearly two-thirds of Jessika Schiffer's (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg) shots last season (179-277) came from three-point range. 121 of her 180 shots this season have come from deep. Schiffer scored a season-high 19 points against Lehigh.
 
- ToniRenee Blanford (Montclair, NJ/The Patrick School[Union College]) scored a season-high 11 points and added a season-high eight rebounds at Seton Hall.
 
- The Stags lead the all-time series 44-13, including a 64-61, double-overtime victory in Lawrenceville just two weeks ago. Makayla Firebaugh scored 20 points in that game as the Broncs stormed back from down 13 points late in the third quarter to force the extra sessions.
 
- The Stags are tied for fourth in the MAAC at 8-4 in conference play and 12-9 overall. Callie Cavanaugh is second in the MAAC at 17.0 points per game, including 17 in the first meeting between the teams. Janelle Brown, who finished with a double-double in the first game, leads the Stags at 6.7 boards per game.