LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Behind a career-high 31 points from Aliya McIver (White Plains, NY/White Plains), the Rider University women's basketball team defeated Manhattan, 71-60, Thursday night. The Broncs improve to 5-17 on the season, and 3-10 in MAAC play, while the Jaspers drop to 5-17 on the year, and 5-8 in league play.
 
After the Broncs scored the game's first two points, the Jaspers responded with an 11-0 run, and held a 19-12 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
 
Leading 24-16 early in the second, the Jaspers went on a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 31-16, their largest of the contest. Trailing 35-20, the Broncs would go on a 9-0 run, led by four points each from McIver and Emmy Roach (Littlehampton, Australia/Heathfield). Manhattan led 37-29 at the break.
 
Trailing 45-35 midway through the third, the Broncs closed out the quarter on a 9-2 run. McIver started the run with a bucket before a layup by Kristina Ekofo (Brussels, Belgium/ Établissement Des Soeurs De Notre Dame[North Dakota State University/Northeastern Oklahoma A&M]). After a basket by Manhattan, Roach made a pair of free throws, then three-straight points by Ekofo got Rider within a possession at 47-44 after three quarters.
 
The Jaspers extended the lead to 55-48 with 5:51 to play when the Broncs go a free throw from McIver, a three by Roach, another triple by McIver, and finally a McIver layup for a 9-0 run that gave the Broncs their first lead since 2-0. Manhattan would score to tie the game, but an old-fashioned three-point play by Alena Cofield (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy) followed by a technical foul that saw Ekofo hit both free throws, then an Ekofo layup and a Roach three, extended the run to 19-2 and put the Broncs in front 67-57 with a minute to play. McIver went 4-of-4 at the line down the stretch to secure the win.
 
Quotes & Notes
"We got ourselves into a hole early on, but we just kept playing, even down 15, and just played a great second half. Really good fourth quarter, and got contributions from a lot of different people. Our energy was great, the bench was great, and it was a great team win. I prefer not to fall behind like that , but we keep fighting. A lot of the games, the hole we dug was too big to overcome, but fortunately today, we are able to overcome that deficit and have that confidence that if we do fall behind, we keep fighting. Our team is not based around one player, we have multiple players that are capable of stepping up." – Head Coach Jackie Hartzell
 
"My teammates just set me up. There were a lot of good screens and I had the hot hand so they kept finding me. [Falling behind], honestly, we didn't even think about offense. We just thought about defense and getting stops. Getting stops will lead into our offense. We're trying to get into the tournament and every team that we face, we have to win." – Junior guard Aliya McIver
 
- Rider earns the season split and cuts Manhattan's lead in the all-time series to 39-22.
- McIver's career-high 31 gave her a 12^th double-digit scoring game this season. She scored 12 of her 31 in the fourth quarter.
- Ekofo added 15 to reach double digits for the 13^th time this season.
- Roach scored 14 point to finish in double figures for the seventh time this year.
 
Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider shot 45.5% (25-55) from the field, and 26.7% (4-15) from three. The Jaspers shot 40.4% (21-52) from the field and 36.4% (4-11) from three.
- The Broncs had 20 assists on their 25 made baskets, led by five from Aina Perez Mesquida (Manacor, Spain/IES CTEIB).
- Rider held a 33-32 advantage on the glass, including a 12-11 edge on the offensive boards. McIver and Roach each had seven rebounds to lead the Broncs.
 
Up Next
The Broncs are back in action next Saturday, visiting Merrimack for a noon tip.