Women's Basketball Hosts Siena on Senior Night Thursday - Rider University Athletics (2024)

Women's Basketball
Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Rider Broncs (9-18, 6-12 MAAC) vs. Siena Saints (16-11, 13-6 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ (Alumni Gym)
Tip: 5:00 pm
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Audio: 107.7 The Bronc
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com
Twitter: @RiderWBB

What You Need To Know
- Thursday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

- Prior to the game, the team will be honoring its six graduating senior team members, ToniRenee Blanford (Montclair, NJ/The Patrick School[Union/Monroe College]), Sofie Bruintjes (Zwolle, The Netherlands/CTO Amsterdam), Makayla Firebaugh (Winchester, VA/James Wood), Taylor Langan (Lake Hopatcong, NJ/Jefferson Township[Millersville/Colgate]), Molly Lynch (Sea Girt, NJ/Rutgers Prep), and Jessika Schiffer (Iserlohn, Germany/Deutschhaus Gymnasium Würzburg).

- The Broncs were defeated on the back end of the western New York trip, falling 73-62 at Canisius last time out. Langan did record her seventh double-double of the season in the contest with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

- Against Iona, Langan scored 12 points, none bigger than her final two, a buzzer beater that broke a 43-43 tie and was featured as the number five play on SportsCenter's Top 10.

- Langan also led the Broncs to victory over Iona in the first meeting this season with 25 points and 18 rebounds. The 18 rebounds are the second-most in a game by a MAAC player this season. Combined with 26 points from Firebaugh, the duo was the first Bronc pair to score 20+ in a game since Lenaejha Evans (30) and Raphaela Toussaint (23) at Niagara in January 2022 and the first Rider duo to score 25+ in a contest since Stella Johnson (35) and Amari Johnson (28) against Mount St. Mary's in November 2018. Langan ranks third in the MAAC in scoring at 14.4 points per game this season and second in the MAAC at 8.6 rebounds per contest.

- Taylor Langan scored 20 points against Quinnipiac, including the 1,000th point of her career. The Graduate Student now has 1,088 collegiate points with 252 at Colgate, 476 at Millersville, and 360 at Rider.

- Firebaugh was named Preseason Second-Team All-MAAC. The 2020-21 MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year averaged 14.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last season. She scored 42 points across two games at the MAAC/ASUN Dublin Challenge to earn MAAC Player of the Week honors last year. In Rider's win over Merrimack, Firebaugh scored a game-high 19 points.

- Firebaugh scored a then season-high 23 points after starting 4-for-4 from distance against FDU, scoring 12 points in the opening quarter. Her six made threes in the game tied a career high and moved her past Stella Johnson into fifth on Rider's career three-pointers made list. Firebaugh passed both Kamila Hoskova and Jennifer Feeney for eighth on Rider's all-time scoring list in the first meeting against Saint Peter's.

- Rider was picked to finish tenth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Broncs return just two starters and only five members of last year's team.

- Rider has made the MAAC Semifinals in five of the last seven seasons. The Broncs were named MAAC Champions for 2019-20 for the first time in program history.

- Over two-thirds of Schiffer's shots at Rider (483-706) have come from three-point range. Her six made threes against Quinnipiac in 2021-22 are tied for the fifth-most in a game in program history. Against Saint Peter's, she made a trio of threes to move past Mere Eberspeacher for seventh on the program's career three-pointers made list.

- Bruintjes made her first two career starts in the MAAC Tournament last season. She responded with six points, six rebounds, and two blocks in the win over Marist. In Rider's win over BU, Bruintjes hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining.

- Kaylan Deveney (Medford, NJ/Life Center Academy) made the start in her Rider debut at Saint Joseph's, scoring seven points and grabbing a board in 21 minutes of action. Deveney is the first true freshman to start in her Rider debut since Stella Johnson earned the start to begin her career in 2016. The freshman set a career-high with 14 points against Canisius and tied it against Niagara.

- Sanaa Redmond (Philadelphia, PA/The Shipley School[Samford]) leads the Broncs at 2.6 assists per game and has led the Broncs in dimes in 11 contests. Redmond has also valued ball security, holding a 1.3 assist to turnover ratio.

- The Broncs have been at their best when their defense has been on point. Rider is unbeaten this season when allowing under 60 points, going 6-0 in those games.

- Aliya McIver (White Plains, NY/White Plains) set career-highs with seven points against Mount St. Mary's. The freshman set a new career-high with five assists against Manhattan and tied that mark last time out against Niagara.

- Mariona Cos-Morales (Matadepera, Spain/IES Matadepera[Casper College]) set a career-high with 14 points against Marist. The junior scored nine of her 14 in the third quarter, which saw Rider turn a six-point deficit into a three-point lead.

- The Broncs went on a 26-0 run spanning the first and second quarter against Saint Peter's. During the run, Firebaugh led the Broncs, scoring seven points. Langan and Deveney each added five. Redmond scored four, Schiffer scored three, and Cos-Morales had two during the rally. The 26-straight points are tied for the second-longest known run in the country this season behind only a 28-0 run by South Carolina.

- The Saints lead the all-time series 39-17, including the first meeting this season in Loudonville. Taylor Langan had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but Siena had three players score 15+ points led by Anajah Brown's 21 points and 13 rebounds.

- The Saints are currently third in the MAAC standings, just a game behind Niagara for the two seed in next week's conference tournament. Teresa Seppala leads four Saints who are averaging double figures at 13.8 points per game.