JERSEY CITY, NJ – The Rider University women's basketball team was defeated at Saint Peter's Saturday afternoon, falling 55-46. The Broncs drop to 4-16 on the season, and 2-9 in MAAC play, while the Peacocks improve to 5-15 on the year, and 4-7 in league play.
Rider jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, getting a quick bucket from
Deb Okechukwu (Washington, DC/Archbishop Carroll[Harcum CC/CCBC-Essex]) and a three by
Alena Cofield (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy). The Broncs would hold a 10-8 lead before the Peacocks hit a three to beat the first-quarter buzzer to lead 11-10 after the opening 10 minutes.
To start the second, a three by
Kaylan Deveney (Medford, NJ/Life Center Academy) followed by five-straight points by
Kristina Ekofo (Brussels, Belgium/ Établissement Des Soeurs De Notre Dame[North Dakota State University/Northeastern Oklahoma A&M]) made it an 8-0 Rider run and gave the Broncs an 18-11 lead. Up 21-15, Saint Peter's would counter with a 6-0 run to tie the game and the teams went to locker room tied 23-23.
The Peacocks opened the third quarter with five-straight points, and led 30-25 when Rider got baskets from Ekofo and
Aliya McIver (White Plains, NY/White Plains) to trim the lead to one. Down 38-36, Cofield knocked down a three to beat the third quarter buzzer and give the Broncs the one-point lead entering the fourth.
The Peacocks made the game's decisive run to start the fourth, scoring 12-straight points. Down 52-41, Rider scored five-straight points, but the comeback effort would come up short.
Quotes & Notes
"We played ok in the first half, but not a good second-half effort by us. Credit to Saint Peter's, they played harder, and played like they wanted to win. It's up to the players to figure out how to put a full 40 minutes together. We've been able to do it in spurts, but we can't go through these stretches where we can't score and have breakdowns on the defensive end. Hopefully it's something we can figure out soon."
– Head Coach Jackie Hartzell
- Saint Peter's extends its lead in the all-time series to 51-30.
- Ekofo led Rider with 11 to finish with double digit points for the 11
th time this season.
- McIver added 10 to finish in double figures for the 11
th time this season.
- Okechukwu finished with double-digit rebounds for the fourth time this season with a game-high 10.
Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider shot 34.0% (16-47) from the field, and 31.8% (7-22) from three. The Peacocks shot 40.0% (22-55) from the field and 35.7% (5-14) from three.
- The Broncs had 13 assists on their 16 made baskets, led by five from
Aina Perez Mesquida (Manacor, Spain/IES CTEIB).
- Rider held a 34-31advantage on the glass, but Saint Peter's held a 13-11 edge on the offensive boards.
Up Next
The Broncs are back in action Thursday, hosting Mount St. Mary's at 6 p.m.
