Madness in Manhattan: Broncs losers of three straight
By Kadie DiGiuseppe
Rider women’s basketball faced a devastating, 80-41 loss on Jan. 4 in Riverdale, New York, to the Manhattan Jaspers, bringing its season record to 2-10 and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference record to 0-3.
Both teams entered the game looking for their first win over a MAAC opponent.
Freshman forward Winner Bartholomew scored the Broncs’ first points of the afternoon after senior guard Mariona Cos-Morales found her cutting in the paint.
Senior guard Gabby Turco struck next for the Broncs with a 3-pointer, but for the next three minutes, the Broncs offense went cold while allowing the Jaspers offense to score six more points.
Junior forward Emilee Tahata finished the quarter with four straight points for the Broncs, who were scoreless in the last three minutes of the first, bringing the Manhattan lead to 26-9.
Bartholomew led the Broncs in scoring and added four points at the beginning of the second quarter, while Turco and freshman guard Camryn Collins combined for four points to start the second.
With more than five minutes left before halftime, a Tahata jumper was the last bucket scored by the Broncs scored in the first half.
The Manhattan offense could not miss during the first half, shooting over 58% from the field while Rider only shot 25%, resulting in a 44-20 deficit for Rider at halftime.
The defensive struggles continued for Rider in the second half, as it was outscored 21-10 with Bartholomew obtaining three points, Collins adding five and freshman guard Amany Lopez earning two.
Manhattan did not stop on offense but the fourth quarter allowed some younger Broncs to shine, like freshman guard Jocelyn Chavez and freshman guard Emmy Roach totaling six points in the fourth.
Senior guard Jamia Blake also added four of her own points but it was not enough to best the Jaspers who took the dominating 80-41 win.
Bartholomew led the Broncs with nine points but before this game, the Broncs did not allow any of their opponents to score over 80 points.
“We are a solution based program. We are solution based people. We will find a solution. This one’s on me. I didn’t have my team ready,” said Head Coach Lynn Milligan.
The Broncs will welcome the Canisius Griffins to Alumni Gym looking to get their first MAAC win on Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
