Broncs Welcome Defending Champion Bobcats to Lawrenceville, Broadcasted Live on ESPNU

1/6/2020 10:00:00 AM

Lawrenceville, N.J. (Jan 6, 2020) – The defending champion Quinnipiac University Bobcats (4-7, 1-1 MAAC) travel to Lawrenceville, New Jersey later this week for a matchup with the Rider University Broncs (9-2, 2-0). The matchup is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 9 at 11:00 a.m. and will be broadcasted on ESPNU.

The Broncs started conference play strong, collecting victories at home against Niagara University (2-9, 0-2) and on the road at Iona College (2-9, 1-1). The Broncs are also coming off a strong showing in non-conference play, where the team picked up victories over Penn State, Xavier, and Georgetown. Defending MAAC Player of the Year Stella Johnson has had a stellar start to the season thus far, leading the NCAA in points per game at 28.0. The Denville, New Jersey native also sits in a tie for first place with Iowa State’s Ashley Joens in free throws made at 98. Additionally, Johnson (5) and teammate Amari Johnson (1) have claimed six of eight MAAC Pepsi Zero Player of the Week awards this season.

The Bobcats look to get back on track after having their 52-game winning streak against MAAC opponents broken this past week against Iona. The team bounced back on Saturday with a 66-52 win on the road against Siena College (2-9, 0-2) to claim its first conference win of 2020. Shaq Edwards currently sits in sixth in the conference in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game. Edwards also leads the team in field goal percentage at 50.5% and steals with 1.7 per game. Paige Warfel is tied for the league lead in rebounds with Rider’s Amari Johnson at 113, both averaging 10.3 per game.

Both teams have championship aspirations this season, with Quinnipiac ranked second in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll and Rider ranked third. The Bobcats will look to defend their three straight titles and the Broncs look to capture their first in conference history. The two conference foes met in the MAAC Championship game in 2017, with Quinnipiac edging Rider 81-73 at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York.

The 2020 MAAC Basketball Championships are set for March 10-14 at historic Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. All tickets for the 2020 championships can be purchased by visiting ticketmaster.com or by visiting maacsports.com/basketball.

To stay up to date on MAAC basketball, visit maacsports.com/basketball and follow @MAACHoops on Twitter. Join the conversation on all social platforms using #MAACHoops and #maAChoops20.

About the 2020 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships:
The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships return to New Jersey on March 10-14, 2020 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. To stay up to date on MAAC basketball, visit http://maacsports.com/basketball and follow @MAACHoops on Twitter.

About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 39^th year of competition during the 2019-20 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.