Second half woes strike, Rider falls to Marist

By Benjamin Shinault

Rider women’s basketball continued on with their New York road trip and fell to 1-1 on the trip after losing to Marist College on Jan. 10, 62-49. The Broncs had a solid first quarter, but the Red Foxes took control for the remainder of the game.

Marist got off to a good start taking the lead 11-4 in just about five minutes. But, soon after, the Broncs got in a groove themselves and hit three 3-pointers to put them ahead 17-16 going into the second quarter.

To open up the second quarter, junior center Kaylan Deveney hit another 3-pointer to grab back the Rider lead, 20-18.

Deveney would go on to hit three of her four 3-point attempts to give her a season-high nine points.

Rider kept on trying their luck with the 3-pointers during the second quarter, going on to hit three of its six attempts, but the Red Foxes also brought the same amount of offensive pressure in the second quarter and would outscore the Broncs 14-11, putting them on top heading into the halftime break, 30-28.

The third quarter did not treat the Broncs well. It started fair though, as freshman guard Aina Perez Mesquida tied the game up at 30-30 with a layup, but it was all Marist after that, as they went on strong to go up 51-34. 

Cofield was the one to finally stop the Marist run with a layup. Cofield led the Broncs in scoring with 14 points and also reeled in seven rebounds. Cofield, in her freshman campaign, has already recorded four double-digit scoring games, including her last three games.

Down big entering the fourth quarter, both teams struggled mightily to find the bottom of the net, as no team scored until there was five minutes left to go. The Broncs finally found the score sheet in the fourth quarter after a pair of free throws from graduate student Kristina Ekofo to make the score 54-43.

“We played well in the fourth quarter, getting seven consecutive stops, but we just couldn’t capitalize on the offensive end,” Head Coach Jackie Hartzell said to Rider Athletics.

Sophomore guard Emmy Roach hit a 3-pointer and Cofield converted on a jumpshot, but it was all too late and the Broncs fell to the Red Foxes, 62-49.

With the loss, Rider is now 1-6 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings. The team will now look ahead to Sacred Heart University on Jan. 17. Tipoff will be at 2 p.m. at the Alumni Gym and will be broadcast on ESPN+.