ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Rider University women's basketball team was defeated, 67-56, on the road at Navy. The Broncs fall to 1-4 on the season, while the Mids remain unbeaten at 4-0 on the year.
 
Tied 4-4 in the opening quarter, the Broncs got an and-one from Aina Perez Mesquida (Manacor, Spain/IES CTEIB), then after a Navy basket, Emmy Roach (Littlehampton, Australia/Heathfield) and Aliya McIver (White Plains, NY/White Plains) knocked down shots to give Rider an 11-6 advantage. The Broncs led 16-13 following 10 minutes.
 
Navy would come back to take the lead midway through the second before Daniya Brown (Fairfax, VA/Bishop O'Connell) got a bucket to put Rider back in front 23-22, but the Mids would come back with a 7-0 to close the half and take a 29-23 lead into the break.
 
Leading 34-29 midway through the third, Navy began to pull away, using an 8-0 run to extend the lead to double digits. Kristina Ekofo (Brussels, Belgium/ Établissement Des Soeurs De Notre Dame[North Dakota State University/Northeastern Oklahoma A&M]) would knock down a three to end the run, but Navy would end the quarter with another 8-0 run to lead 52-32 after three quarters.
 
Trailing 57-37 early in the fourth, McIver knocked down a three, then buckets from Deb Okechukwu (Washington, DC/Archbishop Carroll [Harcum CC/CCBC – Essex]) and Okofo made it a 7-0 Rider run. A later three by McIver would get the Broncs back to within single digits at 63-54 with 3:01 to play, but the Broncs would get no closer.
 
Quotes & Notes
"We lost to a very good team. We played really well at times, but the end of the second quarter and third quarter really hurt us. That's something we need to figure out moving forward, but I was proud of how we kept fighting. We have players playing major minutes, and I think we really just run out of gas, so I'm hoping to get more contributions from the bench moving forward." – Head Coach Jackie Hartzell
 
- Navy's lead in the all-time series is now 8-1.
- Ekofo led the Broncs with 17 points to finish in double figures for the fifth-straight game to start the season.
- Okechukwu added 12 points, reaching double figures for the second time this year. She added a career-high 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.
- McIver finished with 13 points, scoring in double digits for the fourth time this year.
 
Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider shot 37.1% (23-62) from the field, and 24.1% from three (7-29). The Mids shot 40.6% (26-64) from the field and 21.4% (6-28) from three.
- The Broncs had 15 assists on their 23 made baskets, led by five each from McIver and Perez Mesquida.
- Both teams finished with 40 rebounds, but Navy held a 12-11 edge on the offensive glass.
 
Up Next
The Broncs are off until Tuesday, when they travel to George Mason for a 7 p.m. tip.