Losing skid ends, Broncs close road trip with victory

By Benjamin Shinault

The streak has finally been snapped. On Dec. 2, Rider women’s basketball took a trip to the Big Apple to take on the Long Island University Sharks. Coming into the game, the Broncs had been losers of five straight games, but the streak was snapped as Rider picked up its second victory of the 2025-26 season, 58-43.

‘All credit to them’

Graduate student forward Kristina Ekofo picked up right where she left off and started the game out with a 3-pointer. The Sharks then responded by heading to the line to shoot two free throws.

Soon after that, the Broncs then went on a 7-0 run to get out to a 9-2 lead.

“I think they were definitely giving us shots in the first … we kind of knew we had to start hitting them,” sophomore guard Emmy Roach said to Rider Athletics.

 The seven point lead did not last long, as LIU struck back and tied the game at 9-9. On back-to-back possessions, junior guard Deb Okechukwu had field goals to get Rider back in the lead, 13-9.

After free throws from LIU and a free throw from junior guard Aliya McIver, the first quarter concluded with the Broncs having a narrow lead, 14-13. 

During the course of the first quarter, LIU only made two field goals and zero of its five 3-point attempts. Outside of their two field goals, LIU heavily relied on the free throw line as they laced nine of its nine free throw attempts.

The Broncs opened up the second quarter by creating some separation, thanks to buckets from McIver and freshman guard Aina Perez Mesquida.

Now leading 18-13, LIU then took over in the second quarter. The Sharks went for a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 26-24. 

Trailing to open the second half, Rider stepped on the gas and opened it up with a 3-pointer from Roach within the first 10 seconds of the quarter.

It only took Roach a week to break her new career-high in points, as she scored 19 points against LIU. She also had a season-high in assists with four and grabbed five rebounds.

Roach is also fourth in 3-point percentage and third in overall field goal percentage in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

“Emmy’s just getting better every game. She puts a lot of time in the gym, so it’s really rewarding to see her success,” Head Coach Jackie Hartzell said to Rider Athletics.

Okechukwu added a 3-pointer after Roach to make the score 30-28 in favor of Rider. Later on in the third, Roach splashed home another 3-pointer to match the Broncs’ largest lead at seven. By the end of the quarter, Roach scored 11 of her 19 total points in the third quarter alone.

The Broncs closed out the third quarter with a 47-39 lead, thanks to a 10-0 run.

The fourth quarter turned out to be all Rider, as well. LIU would only score twice in the fourth quarter for a grand total of four points, while the Broncs scored 11. 

“I think we just stepped up our team defense collectively. We just committed to getting stops, and we did a great job,” Hartzell said.

Now with a clean slate and a win on its shoulders, Rider will return to the Alumni Gym to play a home game for the first time in a month.

The Broncs will welcome in the Bulldogs of Yale University on Dec. 6. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and will begin at 2 p.m.