From dominance to dominated, Rider splits two

By Joshua Yuhas and Benjamin Shinault

It was an up and down week for Rider women’s basketball as they split two games against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponents. The first of the two was a comeback win against Manhattan University, followed by a blowout loss to Merrimack College.

Down, but not out 

On the Alumni Gym court on Feb. 5, freshman guard Aina Perez Mesquida opened the game with a layup, but the Broncs clung to the basket in their first seven attempts from the field as the Jaspers started the game on a 12-4 run.

Out of a timeout, the Broncs hit one of two free throws, but a steal by junior guard Aliya McIver      provided an easy score before the two sides traded baskets for a 19-12 score after one quarter.

The second quarter was a tale of two halves with a pair of turnovers to start off, leaving the Broncs trailing by 15 near halfway through the quarter.

While a challenging position to be in early in the game, McIver expressed the team’s mindset to fight through and get back into the game.

“Honestly, not to even think about offense. Just think about defense, get stops,” McIver said, “Get a stop and leave it to our offense.”

The Alumni Gym rallied behind the Broncs with chants every defensive possession, providing a burst to the Broncs, who earned a pair of steals and a turnover to spark a 9-2 run, closing out the first half down by eight.

McIver fought for the offensive rebound to open the second half scoring, then found space in the paint for an early four points.

Graduate student forward Kristina Ekofo then knocked down six of her 15 points from the paint, the charity stripe and the midrange leaving the Broncs down just 47-44 heading into the final quarter.

The Jaspers extended their lead back to seven before McIver scored five points in a 7-0 run to tie the game at 55 with just under four minutes remaining.

McIver stole the ball for an easy basket on the other end following the timeout, then freshman guard Alena Cofield scored a layup and converted the 3-point at the free throw line.

The Jaspers’ head coach was called for a technical foul in this sequence with Ekofo dropping both the technical free throw shots in.   

A 3-pointer from sophomore guard Emmy  Roach and late free throws from McIver extended the Broncs’ lead until the final buzzer, closing the game on a 23-5 run.

McIver’s free throws pushed her to a career-high 31 points, marking the second game in a row with a 30-point performance by a Bronc. The first time was when Stella Johnson, ’20, did it on her own in the 2019-20 season.

“We have multiple players who are capable of  stepping up and Aliya had the hot hand tonight. I thought we did a great job of getting her the ball and putting her in a position where she can score,” Hartzell said. 

McIver shot an efficient 10-15 from the field that, paired with an energetic crowd and 10 steals as a team, led the Broncs to a comeback home victory over the Jaspers, 71-60.

A game to forget

The Broncs, hoping to ride the high of grabbing a big comeback win against the Jaspers, were stopped in their tracks with a blowout loss to Merrimack College on Feb. 7, 73-37.

The first quarter was solid for the Broncs as they swapped baskets with the Warriors for the first couple minutes of the game and even took a two-possession lead when they went up 12-7 after a 3-pointer from junior center Kaylan Deveney.

Rider held onto the lead and added another two points to its total with an Ekofo jumpshot to lead 14-9. From there, the Warriors held the Broncs scoreless for the final three minutes of the opening quarter.

The Broncs, as a team in the first quarter, shot 46% from the field and cashed in two 3-pointers. 

Then, it took nearly seven minutes for the Broncs to score a single point in the second quarter. By the   quarter’s end, Rider only rummaged up two points. The team made one of its 14 field goal attempts and did not hit any of its 3-point attempts. The Broncs finished the quarter trailing  31-16.

Ekofo finally broke the offensive silence with a free throw shot to bring the score to 33-17.

Ekofo was the star of the show for the Broncs as she finished with 13 points and four rebounds. With her 13 points, Ekofo has now recorded double digits in scoring 14 times this season.

In the final few minutes of the third quarter, Merrimack went on a 6-0 run to close out the quarter, putting the Broncs down by 21, 50-29.

During the fourth quarter, Merrimack had their best quarter of the game as they tallied 23 points while Rider only scored eight. 

The buzzer sounded and Rider walked out with a tough loss, 73-37. The game marked the second time the Broncs have failed to reach 40 points in a game  this season.

The Broncs will surely put this one in the rearview mirror as they head back home to Lawrenceville to face off against Saint Peter’s University on Feb. 12. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.