Broncs losers of fifth straight amid playoff chase
By Kadie DiGiuseppe
After a weekend of close losses, Rider women’s basketball had two tough games against of some of the top teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. On Feb. 20 the Broncs were defeated by the top-seeded Fairfield Stags 72-46 in Connecticut. Back in Lawrenceville, Rider lost once more to Mount St. Mary’s 76-49, extending its losing streak to four games.
Failing at Fairfield
Senior guard Gabby Turco started off the night for the Broncs but her efforts were not enough to match the Stags 9-0 run.
The Broncs kept things close and ended the quarter down 14-12 with other scoring contributions from freshman guard Camryn Collins, freshman guard Emmy Roach and freshman forward Winner Bartholomew.
Collins’ free throws and a layup by sophomore guard Aliya McIver gave the Broncs the lead to start the second quarter.
The lead did not last long after the Stags obtained 24 more points going into the locker room, bringing the score to 40-21.
The Broncs scored only eight points during the third quarter forcing them to try and put together any last stitch efforts in the final 10 minutes.
Fairfield did not stop the momentum and started the fourth quarter on a 11-2 run, which was ended by the Broncs’ leading scorer, Bartholomew, who finished with 10-point layup.
By the time the buzzer sounded, the Broncs trailed 72-46 for its third loss in a row.
Every Bronc that played except one reached the bottom of the basket but other than Bartholomew,
Turco and Collins combined for 15 points.
Rider lost the turnover battle 23-7 but had a 43-34 advantage in rebounding.
Third-quarter collapse
Returning back to Lawrenceville, the Broncs and the Mountaineers battled things out in the first quarter, evenly matched but Rider came out on top, 11-10 after the first 10 minutes.
Mount St. Mary’s started off the second quarter with a bang and put together a 12-22 run but Rider rallied back with the help from Turco, Collins, Bartholomew and Roach to tie the game at 22 all.
The Broncs trailed by three points at halftime. Bartholomew opened the second half with a layup but the Mountaineers responded with a quick six points, maintaining their lead.
All Broncs went quiet on offense while the Mountaineers added 15 more points which gave them a hefty lead.
Senior guard Jamia Blake and freshman guard Jocelyn Chavez connected on free throws but Rider was held to only nine points during the third.
“I think some of our missed opportunities on offense, they took advantage of. We turned the ball over a ton and they capitalized pretty much on all of them. I don’t think we gave ourselves that much of a chance in that quarter,” said Head Coach Lynn Milligan.
Trailing by 20, Chavez and Roach opened the quarter with free throws but the Rider offense continued to struggle, as the Mount started to pull back.
Collins, Bartholomew, McIver and Turco tried to work up the scoring sheet in the middle of the quarter while Blake and Roach finished things off from the charity stripe.
Their offensive efforts were not enough to match up with the Mountaineers’ lead, resulting in another loss for the Broncs, this time ending with a score of 76-49.
Once again, every Bronc that saw the court obtained at least one point except for one. Bartholomew finished leading the Broncs with 15 points while Turco contributed 11 points of her own, marking her 20th game as a Bronc in double figures.
“I think at this point, we know that there’s nothing else to do but win,” said Turco.
“Gabby [Turco]’s right. We just have to fight all the way through,” said Bartholomew.
Rider turned the ball over 33 times while the Mount turned the ball over 15 times. However, the Broncs won the rebound battle 45-36.
The Broncs sit 3.5 games outside of the MAAC tournament in the 11th seed with three games left. On Feb. 27, the Broncs will welcome the seventh-seeded Merrimack Warriors on senior night at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
