RIVERDALE, NY – The Rider University women's basketball team was defeated on the road at Manhattan Monday night, falling 58-46. The Broncs drop to 4-14 on the season, and 2-7 in MAAC play, while the Jaspers improve to 5-13 on the year, and 5-4 in league play.
 
Down 7-2, the Broncs closed out the first quarter on a 6-0 run, getting a bucket from Aliya McIver (White Plains, NY/White Plains) before back-to-back baskets from Amany Lopez (Springfield, MA/South Shore Christian Prep) gave Rider an 8-7 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
 
The Broncs extended the run to 10-0 and the lead to 12-7 with baskets by Lopez and Kristina Ekofo (Brussels, Belgium/ Établissement Des Soeurs De Notre Dame[North Dakota State University/Northeastern Oklahoma A&M]) to open the second quarter. The Jaspers would counter with an immediate 18-0 run that closed out the first half and gave Manhattan a 25-12 lead entering the locker room.
 
The run reached 19-0 with a free throw to open the third before McIver scored to end the drought. Down 34-17, the Broncs scored five-straight with McIver getting three at the line around a basket from Aina Perez Mesquida (Manacor, Spain/IES CTEIB), but Manhattan would lead 40-25 after three quarters.
 
Trailing 51-34, the Broncs got a 4-0 individual run by Emmy Roach (Littlehampton, Australia/Heathfield) that sparked a 9-2 run for the Broncs, trimming the deficit to 53-43, but the Broncs would get no closer.
 
Quotes & Notes
"We really dug a hole for ourselves in the first half. We were just fighting back the rest of the game, but it was too much to overcome. Rebounding had a very big impact on the game. A lot of rebounding is effort, especially on the offensive end when shots are not falling, we have to find other ways to get us going." - Head Coach Jackie Hartzell

- Manhattan extends its lead in the all-time series to 39-21.
- Perez Mesquida led Rider with 11 to finish with double digit points for the sixth time this season.
 
Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider shot 29.6% (16-54) from the field, and 16.7% (3-18) from three. The Jaspers shot 43.4% (23-53) from the field and 45.5% (5-11) from three.
- The Broncs had 12 assists on their 16 made baskets, led by three from Alena Cofield (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy).
- Manhattan held a 46-23 advantage on the glass, including a 12-6 edge on the offensive boards.
 
Up Next
The Broncs are back in action Thursday, hosting Iona at 6 p.m.