Rider drops third straight, lose ground in MAAC
By Benjamin Shinault
Rider women’s basketball faced its third straight loss against Saint Peter’s on Jan. 24. The game was tight throughout, but the Peacocks were able to pull away from the Broncs in the fourth quarter after some lackadaisical defense and unorganized offense. With the loss, Rider lost some ground in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings.
Rider opened up the scoring within the first 30 seconds with a layup down in the paint from junior forward Deb Okechukwu. A couple possessions later, the Broncs added on with a 3-pointer from freshman guard Alena Cofield to create an early two-possession lead.
The Broncs held onto the lead for a few more minutes when graduate student forward Kristina Ekofo added on with a layup of her own to put Rider up 7-4.
The scoring would halt for Rider for six minutes until junior center Kaylan Deveney hit a 3-pointer to put Rider up front 10-8 with 40 seconds left to play in the opening quarter. Saint Peter’s would then hit a 3-pointer of their own at the buzzer to give it the lead at the end of the first quarter, 11-10.
To open the second quarter, Deveney splashed another 3-pointer to give Rider the lead early in the second. The 3-pointers kept flying for the Broncs as Ekofo joined the party soon after to extend the Rider lead to 16-11.
About a minute passed and Ekofo scooped up two more points from the free throw line to put the Broncs up 18-11. After back-to-back baskets from Saint Peter’s, the Broncs got back on track with a 3-pointer from junior guard Aliya McIver.
The Broncs would find one more field goal during the second quarter from sophomore guard Emmy Roach, but the damage was done, as Rider’s defensive efforts in the second quarter took a hit, letting the Peacocks tie the game at 23.
The third quarter was like the two previous quarters: back and forth. Saint Peter’s started the scoring in the third quarter with a 3-pointer to give itself its first lead of the game, 26-23. Cofield got the Broncs on the board with her second field goal of the game.
Both teams were very efficient scoring the basketball in the third quarter. The Broncs, as a team, shot 53% from the field while the Peacocks shot 46%.
By the end of the third quarter, Rider walked away with a one point lead with just 10 minutes to go.
Within the first minute of the fourth quarter, Saint Peter’s hit a 3-pointer to grab the lead right back, 41-39. The Peacocks would not stop there, as they went on a 12-0 to open the fourth quarter, putting the Broncs down 48-39.
Ekofo ended the scoring drought after two free throws and Roach would also take a trip to the free throw line, cashing in both to make the score 52-43 in favor of the Peacocks.
After a layup and a free throw from McIver, Rider came within six points with just 38 seconds to go, but Saint Peter’s closed out strong and protected its home court.
“We can’t go through these stretches where we can’t score and have breakdowns on the defensive end. Hopefully it’s something we can figure out soon,” Head Coach Jackie Hartzell said to Rider Athletics.
Rider, now 4-16 overall and 2-9 in the MAAC, have some work to do. The Broncs will head back home to Alumni Gym to face off against Mount St. Mary’s University. Tipoff will be at 6 p.m. on Jan. 29 and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
