February 25, 2007 - Iona 77 Rider 50
February 25, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Women's College Basketball
Iona College 77, Rider University 50
LAWRENCEVILLE--The Broncs lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game against Iona Sunday afternoon. “This was the kind of game that you just toss the tape out the window and move on to the next game,” said head coach Tori Harrison.
For Rider (2-27, 1-17 MAAC), junior Janele Henderson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) had 10 points.
For the Gaels, senior Martina Weber finished with 17 points and senior Regan Pettijohn added a 'double-double' with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Iona (18-11, 13-5 MAAC) jumped out to a 20-9 lead with Weber scoring six of the first eight points for the Gaels and Iona held the Broncs to three field goals in the first nine minutes of the game.
Rider cut the Gael lead to seven at 22-15 on a layup by Stephanie Wisniewski (Levittown, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) before Iona went on a 9-0 run to lead 31-15 with 1:20 left in the first half and Iona led 31-18 at halftime. Wisniewski finished with five points and three rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
Iona held Rider to two field goals and seven total points in the first nine minutes of the second half, eventually opening up a 40 point lead before the Broncs closed the game on a 23-10 run for the final score.
“I want the team to come together, even if it’s only for a pride factor,” said Harrison. “It’s why you play the game to begin with and you have to be able to look deep down and battle and show pride with your effort. The other team may have a better player but pride won’t let you get scored on the same way every time. Pride won’t let a team launch three-point shots up by 40 and those are the things that we are still learning.”
Rider shot 26 percent from the field and were out-rebounded by the Gaels 52-24.
Due to a violation of team rules, the Broncs were without starting freshmen Amanda Sepulveda and Ashley Anderson and due to injury, only eight players were in uniform.
“It was disheartening to me that for Monica and Kara, playing in their last game, two of our players couldn’t play due to discipline,” Harrison added. “We just have to pull it together and bounce back. Who knows what can happen in a tournament situation? They have to believe that they have a chance to compete and go from there.”
For the 11th season in a row, Rider celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day and 1,011 fans also helped the Broncs mark the final appearance in Alumni Gym for graduating seniors Monica Welborn (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) and Kara Borel (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg). Welborn had two points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 31 minutes with Borel scoring nine points in 24 minutes. Borel, who is number three all-time on the Bronc rebounding list, led Rider with four boards in the game.
“Today’s game was just filled with a lot of emotion,” said Borel who is 12th on the all-time assist list at Rider. “My teammates really wanted to send myself and Monica out on a good note and even though the score didn’t reflect that, they really wanted to send us off to the tournament on the right note. We felt that it was five against eight during some of the plays but you can’t lose your composure. We were playing with emotion but it was misplaced at times and Iona was able to take advantage of that.”
The teams combined for 40 fouls with the Broncs also picking up two technical fouls along the way.
Rider travels to Bridgeport, Connecticut for the 2007 Bank of America Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Basketball Championship Tournament at noon on Thursday, March 1 with the probable opponent being Saint Peter's. The Broncs are the number ten seed. The official pairings of the conference tournament will be announced by the league office Monday afternoon.
The Peahens swept Rider this season, winning 71-51 in December and 71-56 in January at Trenton's Sovereign Bank Arena. The SBA game was tied with 14 minutes left before the Peahens used a 10-0 run to seal the win.
“I have no preference who we play in the first round,” said Harrison. “We did some good things against Saint Peter's and they did some things that worked against us so we will have to address those unique situations come Thursday at noon. I am more focused on getting our team to come out and play because if we have already folded the tents, than it won’t matter who we are matched up against.”
“We can’t control who we play,” Borel said. “But we can control how we play and that’s what we are going to try and do on Thursday.”
-RU-
