POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – The Rider University women's basketball team was defeated, 61-49, at Marist Saturday afternoon. The Broncs drop to 3-12 on the season, and 1-6 in MAAC play, while the Red Foxes improve to 6-10 on the year, and 3-3 in league play.
 
Down 16-7 in the first, the Broncs went on a 10-0 run, started by an Aliya McIver (White Plains, NY/White Plains) three and capped by a three from Kaylan Deveney (Medford, NJ/Life Center Academy) that gave the Broncs a one-point edge after the opening 10 minutes.
 
After Marist took back the lead 23-20 early in the second when back-to-back threes from Alena Cofield (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy) and Daniya Brown (Fairfax, VA/Bishop O'Connell) put the Broncs back in front. Rider led 28-25, when Marist closed out the half on a 5-0 run to take a 30-28 edge into the locker room.
 
With the Red Foxes holding a 33-32 lead early in the third, Marist made their move, going on an 18-2 run to extend the lead to 51-34. Rider would close out the third on an 8-0 run, getting buckets from Cofield and Aina Perez Mesquida (Manacor, Spain/IES CTEIB) before a three from Deveney and a free throw by Perez Mesquida trimmed the deficit to single digits entering the fourth quarter.
 
The fourth quarter remained scoreless for nearly five minutes, and after a Marist three, the Broncs would not back within single digits until a three by Emmy Roach (Littlehampton, Australia/Heathfield) with 2:32 to play, and would not get any closer than seven for the remainder of the contest.
 
Quotes & Notes
"We played well at times, but I think that stretch in the third quarter really hurt us. We played well in the fourth quarter, getting seven consecutive stops, but we just couldn't capitalize on the offensive end. We hit the offensive boards hard and got extra possessions, but we just couldn't put the ball in the basket." – Head Coach Jackie Hartzell
 
- Marist's lead in the all-time series is extended to 50-23.
- Cofield reached double figures for the third-straight game and fourth career game with a team-high 14 points.
 
Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider shot 29.5% (18-61) from the field, and 25.0% (8-32) from three. The Red Foxes shot 45.3% (24-53) from the field and 47.8% (11-23) from three.
- The Broncs had 10 assists on their 18 made baskets, led by a career-high five from Cofield.
- Marist held a 38-34 edge on the glass, but Rider had an 11-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. McIver led the Broncs with eight boards.
 
Up Next
The Broncs are back in action next Saturday, returning home to host Sacred Heart at 2 p.m.