Broncs lose one-score contest to La Salle
By Kadie DiGiuseppe
Rider women’s basketball hit the road again, looking to recover from their home loss to Bryant on Nov. 15, only to be defeated by the La Salle Explorers 55-54, as their record fell to 1-3.
The first quarter was back and forth between the teams and ended with Rider trailing 13-10.
Sophomore center Kaylan Deveney finished the quarter with four of the Broncs 10 points while senior guard Gabby Turco and freshman guard Camryn Collins both added 3-pointers.
The Broncs’ bench players shined in the second quarter , helping them regain a lead and get ahead by as much as 12 points. The bench finished the game with 18 combined points.
Freshman forward Winner Bartholomew, sophomore guard Ailya McIver, senior guard Jamia Blake, freshman guard Emmy Roach all tallied up for 14 points combined in the second quarter, giving the Broncs a 33-25 lead going into the second half.
“Our bench players were really a spark and that kind of propelled us forward in the second and the third [quarter] which was great. They really stepped up and without them I don’t really think we would have been in that lead situation so cheers to them,” Turco said.
Senior guard Sanaa Redmond, Turco and Collins all worked up the Broncs’ lead to 12 once again during the third quarter but quickly saw that lead diminish back to one point by the end of the quarter after defensive collapses and the Explorers made all their shots.
The former La Salle explorer, junior forward Emilee Tahata, racked up her first points of the game along with senior guard Mariona Cos-Morales in the fourth quarter.
After leading since the first quarter, the Broncs found themselves trailing by one point at the end of the fourth quarter after an Explorer made both free throws, sending the score to 55-54.
With one last chance, the Broncs inbounded the ball to Collins who was not able to convert on a last opportunity layup.
Rider allowed La Salle to score 24 of it 55 points off the teams 28 turnovers. The Broncs only made two 3-pointers during the game while allowing the Explorers to shoot 33% from three with eight made 3-pointers.
The other former Explorer, Turco, finished with 14 points while Collins continued her streak of obtaining double figures in all her games as a freshman with 10 points.
“This one stings a little bit more than usual given that [La Salle] was my last school I was at. Going into there, wanting to get the win, and then having a couple slip ups late in the game really cost us. The fact that we turned the ball over so much and we weren’t making foul shots, wasn’t good,” said Turco.
“Obviously we’re disappointed. It was a tough, kind of gut wrenching,” said hHead Coach Lynn Milligan. “This was just one of those games we just made one too many mistakes that just cost us at the end.”
With the loss, Rider moved to 1-3 on the season and will travel to Virginia Commonwealth University for a game at 1 p.m. on Nov. 24.
