LAWRENCEVILLE, New Jersey – Women's basketball fell 70-64 to the Broncs in a hard fought battle for second place in the MAAC standings. Marist led by as many as six in the final five minutes, but Rider buckled down defensively and hit some clutch shots to prevent the Red Fox victory.

SUMMARY

• The Red Foxes and Broncs went back and forth to start the game and were tied at 13 halfway through the first quarter.
• Marist led 24-17 at the end of the first, having gone 10-of-13 on field goals. Rider was held to 7-of-16.
• The Broncs went on a 12-4 run to open the second quarter, and led 29-28 at the media timeout. The Red Foxes had five turnovers in the first six minutes alone.
• Alana Gilmer got Marist back in the game after Rider built up a six points lead, and the Red Foxes trailed only 34-32 entering halftime.
• Marist turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, with multiple times coming from inbounding the ball. At the same time, the Red Foxes had a 15-11 rebounding advantage.
• Marist started off the third quarter strong, but the Broncs went on a 6-0 run to lead 42-37 at the midway point of the third.
• Gilmer came alive once again out of the timeout and scored five points in quick succession to spark the Marist offense and cut the Rider lead to 48-47 at the end of the third.
• Rider came out aggressive from the break to lead by five, but a layup by Henningsdottir led to back-to-back threes by Hand and Best and Marist had a 55-52 lead with six minutes in play.
• Barcello came back on the next offensive possession and hit a triple of her own to give Marist a 58-52 lead, their largest of the day.
• Rider found some offense and took the lead back with a 12-3 run, but Henningsdottir knocked it down from deep to tie the game at 64 with 46 seconds left.
• Stella Johnson hit a deep three to take back the advantage once again, and this would be the dagger as the Red Foxes turned over the ball on a critical play in the closing seconds to eliminate the chances of a final comeback.

KEY STATS

• Alana Gilmer led the team with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, along with six rebounds and three assists.
• Rebekah Hand contributed 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting with three three-pointers, three rebounds and two assists.
• Marist led in rebounds at halftime, but Rider picked it up in the second half to have a 33-30 advantage at the close of the game.
• The Red Foxes shot 49.0% from the field and 42.9% from three, compared to Rider's 43.5% and 33.3%.

NOTES

• Marist is now 43-18 all-time with Rider.
• Hand has scored in double-digits in all 25 games this season, and in 35 straight continuing from last year.
• This is the only game the Red Foxes have lost where they had the advantage in field-goal percentage and three-point percentage.
• Marist is now 17-8 overall and 9-4 in MAAC play, third in the conference standings.

QUOTE

"It was a tough loss because you have a six point lead late, and you give up an open three which can't happen" remarked Coach Brian Giorgis. "Those were not smart things, and Stella Johnson made a great defensive play for them and we missed some free throws. It's tough to lose one like that, but it was great match between two great teams."
 

UP NEXT

• Marist returns home for a pair of games beginning with Canisius (9-14, 7-5 MAAC) on Saturday, Feb. 16.
• The annual Play4Kay game will be broadcast on ESPN3 starting at 7 p.m, and tickets are on sale now.