BROOKLYN, NY – The Rider University women's basketball team earned a road victory Tuesday night, defeating LIU 66-54. The Broncs improve to 1-1 on the season, while the Sharks fall to 1-3.
 
Gabby Turco (Wildwood, NJ/Wildwood Crest[Saint Anselm/La Salle]) got the Broncs off to a fast start scoring five points as the Broncs took a 9-2 early lead. Rider would maintain the edge, leading 14-10 through the opening ten minutes.
 
LIU made their run to start the second quarter, scoring eight-straight points to go ahead 18-14. The Broncs answered out of a called timeout, going on a 15-1 run, led by a pair of threes from Camryn Collins (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro). Rider would take a 33-23 lead into the half.
 
Out of the break, Rider went on an 11-4 run, starting the second half 5-for-5 from the field with Turco, Mariona Cos-Morales (Matadepera, Spain/IES Matadepara[Casper College]), Collins, Sanaa Redmond (Philadelphia, PA/The Shipley School[Samford]), and Kaylan Deveney (Medford, NJ/Life Center Academy) all scoring during the run that gave the Broncs their largest lead of the game.  Trailing 46-29, LIU went on a 17-2 run to close out the third quarter and open the fourth, trimming Rider's lead to just two.
 
Rider would have the answer scoring six-straight points and Cos-Morales was the closer down the stretch, scoring nine points in the fourth quarter as the Broncs pulled away late.
 
Quotes & Notes
" I'm happy with our overall performance. To come on the road, in a tough environment, have some adversity, some foul trouble, and be able to hold on to our lead, make some big buckets, and really stick together for the entire 40 minutes. I thought it was a good first W."
 
"I saw a big step from the week we had in between the practice. We obviously locked in a lot on our defense. This past week, I saw a group of young ladies, really trusting each other, really coming together, really backing each other up. I thought our help side was terrific, which is where Hata got a lot of the blocks. I thought our rotations and our scrambles were really good, and that's what it's going to take. I think it's one of those games we can look and say, okay, we had all five people guarding the ball." – Head Coach Lynn Milligan
 
"We had that sense of urgency that we all needed. I think we stayed connected all the way through, especially in that fourth quarter, which got us all fired up. So honestly, I feel like everybody was so connected that I had no other option but to just work hard."
 
"When we really move good off the ball, I feel safer getting into a move, because I know I have a kick out. And we were shooting good today the ball, so I just feel like everybody was comfortable with each other, and everybody was playing their role. So that really helped us out." – Senior Forward Mariona Cos-Morales
 
- The Broncs win their first-ever matchup against the rebranded LIU.
- Cos-Morales led the Broncs with 14 points, scoring in double figures for the first time this season.
- Turco and Collins each scored double digits for the second time this year with 13 and 10, respectively.
 
Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider shot 52.2% (24-46) from the field and 36.4% (4-11) from three. The Sharks shot just 25.5% (14-55) shooting from the field and were 22.2% (4-18) from three.
- The Broncs had 21 assists on their 24 made baskets, led by six from Redmond.
- LIU outrebounded Rider 37-33, with the Sharks holding an 18-8 edge in offensive boards. Cos-Morales led Rider with eight rebounds.
- Emilee Tahata (Springfield, Australia/Woodcrest State College[La Salle]) set a career-high with five blocks.
 
Up Next
Rider returns home for a game against Bryant Friday at 5 p.m.