Losing season ends in opening round defeat

By Paige McAtee
The women’s basketball team came home with  a MAAC record it probably didn’t particularly want as it fell to Siena 45-25 in the MAAC Tournament.
On Thursday, March 4, the Broncs recorded the fewest points in a game during the loss in the first round of the tournament.
In the game, the Broncs had the lowest amount of points since the 1975-76 season against St. Peter’s when they scored 29 points, losing 72-29.
“In our MAAC Tournament game versus Siena we struggled mightily to score the ball,” Head Coach Lynn Milligan said. “Our effort was there, but we just could not score.”
Siena started the game with a 4-0 lead leaving Rider scoreless for the first five minutes of the game. Senior Amanda Sepulveda hit the first basket for Rider, getting the Broncs on the board, as well as a three-pointer with 12 minutes left in the first half.
Siena played strong defense the entire game, which helped lead them to victory.
“We were missing All Rookie selection Caitlin Bopp to a concussion and Siena did a great job defensively against our leading scorer and All MAAC third team performer Amanda Sepulveda,” said Milligan.
Sepulveda had only five points during the game.
Rider opened up the second half strong when freshman Dior Brown scored three straight points, which brought Rider to 12-14. The Saints responded with a 15-2 run, making the score 33-16.
The Broncs were unable to put baskets on the scoreboard for an entire seven minutes until junior Cintella Spotwood scored a two-pointer. Spotwood finished the game with two points and three rebounds.
With a lead of 33-18, Siena continued with a 12-3 run making their lead the largest of the game.
In the final minutes of the game, Siena had a 45-21 lead before sophomore Ali Heller was able to score Rider’s final four points of the game.
Rider shot a season worst 14.5 percent (8-55) from the field, made only one three-pointer and committed 16 turnovers.
The Broncs out-rebounded Siena 46-44 and had six blocks within the game, three from sophomore Sarah Homan.

This was Rider’s sixth loss to the Saints, adding to the Broncs’ four-game losing streak to end their season.
Despite the loss, Milligan has hope for next season.
“We have always had very good competitive games with Siena, and this one was no different.”
The Broncs are already getting ready for redemption for next basketball season.
“This season was obviously not the season we anticipated or wanted,” Milligan said. “Our team fought hard and worked hard all season. We were a very resilient group that will bounce back. We will work even harder to correct our mistakes and prepare for next season.”