Women's Basketball

All Three Higher Seeds Earn Wins in the Opening Round of the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship Presented by Showboat

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (Mar. 12, 2024) – The 2024 Hercules Tires Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women’s Basketball Championship at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall began on Tuesday morning with the opening round. All three higher seeded teams earned wins, with No. 8 Rider University, No. 7 Quinnipiac University, and No. 6 Mount St. Mary’s University each advancing.
 
No. 8 Rider – 66 | No. 9 Iona – 56
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
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In the session’s opening contest, Rider knocked off the defending MAAC Champions, Iona, by a 66-56 double-digit win. The Broncs used a dominating final quarter, in which they outscored the Gaels 25-15, to secure the victory. Entering the final frame tied at 41-41, Rider used a 13-2 run over the first 4:15 of the quarter, taking a commanding 54-43 lead. For the last 10 minutes, the Broncs shot an astounding 90 percent from the field, making 9-of-10 shot attempts. Iona would cut the deficit to single digits three times, but never got any closer than eight points.
 
Rider Notes and Notables
  • Rider used a combined team effort in the win, having four players score in double figures, while all eight Broncs who played, scored at least two points.
  • The duo of Sanaa Redmond and Taylor Langan led the Broncs with a team-highs of 13 points, while Langan added seven rebounds and Redmond led the team with four assists and two steals.
  • Molly Lynch and Mariona Cos-Morales scored 10 points apiece as well.
  • Rider logged more points off of turnovers (14-10), points in the paint (24-22), fast break points (11-7), and bench points (22-9).
  • In total, the Broncs led for almost 22 minutes compared to 11:59 by the Gaels.
  • Rider advances to the quarterfinal round of the championship, and will meet top-overall seed and No. 25 nationally ranked Fairfield tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.
 
Iona Notes and Notables
  • The Gaels were led by Sierra DeAngelo’s game-high 23 point, seven rebounds, and two assists.
  • Joining DeAngelo in double-digit scoring was Ella Fajardo who tallied 13 points.
  • Iona posted an 8-4 edge in second chance points.
 
No. 7 Quinnipiac – 68 | No. 10 Saint Peter’s – 63 OT
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Box Score (XML)
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Quinnipiac and Saint Peter’s needed an extra period to decide a winner. In the overtime contest, the Bobcats prevailed, topping the Peacocks 68-63. Quinnipiac controlled the first half, going ahead 22-15 after one, and 37-28 at the half. The second half was all Saint Peter’s, using defense to outscore Quinnipiac 26-17, highlighted by an 11-6 fourth quarter. In the overtime period, Ava Sollenne knocked down back-to-back triples to give the Bobcats the lead for good and give the Bobcats the victory.
 
Quinnipiac Notes and Notables
  • A quartet of Bobcats surpassed double-figures; Sollenne, Karson Martin, Anna Foley, and Grace LaBarge.
  • Sollenne led Quinnipiac with a game-high 19 points on 6-for-9 shooting from three-point range.
  • Martin scored 18 points and grabbed five steals.
  • Both Foley and LaBarge added 10 points in the win, while Foley added a team-leading nine rebounds.
  • Despite the meeting going into an extra period, Quinnipiac dominated the time of possession, holding the lead for 37:09, while Saint Peter’s led for just over three minutes total.
  • The Bobcats produced more points off of turnovers (14-9) and fast break points (12-10).
  • Quinnipiac moves into the quarters for a date with No. 2 Niagara at 3:30 p.m.
 
Saint Peter’s Notes and Notables
  • The Peacock trio of Fatmata Janneh, Maria Fux, and Jada Leonard combined to score 41 of the team’s points.
  • Leading the way were both Janneh and Leonard, which scored 15 points each.
  • Fux totaled 11 points.
  • Additionally, Janneh recorded a double-double, adding 11 rebounds to her stat line, while Leonard was one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing her afternoon with nine boards.
  • Saint Peter’s outscored Quinnipiac in the paint, 30-22, and scored one more bench point (9-8).
 
No. 6 Mount St. Mary’s – 60 | No. 11 Marist – 47
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Box Score (XML)
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Mount St. Mary’s handled Marist, 60-47, in the final game of the opening round. The Mountaineers erupted for 24-8 second quarter, giving them the advantage by halftime. The Mount would never relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game, leading to the convincing victory.
 
Mount St. Mary’s Notes and Notables
  • Jo Raflo was the team’s leading scorer, logging 17 points, to go along with three rebounds.
  • Jessica Tomasetti followed with 11 points, four assists, and four rebounds.
  • Jada Lee chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.
  • The Mount outplayed Marist in all facets of the meeting, which included points off of turnovers (19-10), points in the paint (26-20), second chance points (15-7), fast break points (7-3), and bench points (10-6).
  • Mount St. Mary’s will continue on to the quarterfinals round and will take on No. 3 Siena on Thursday, March 14 at 1:00 p.m.
 
Marist Notes and Notables
  • Morgan Lee ended the game 20 points to lead all scorers.
  • She also added eight rebounds, and two blocks.
  • Catie Cunningham was the team’s second leading scorer with 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks.
 
For all information regarding the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit MAACSports.com/basketball and by following @MAACHoops and #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 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
 
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Threads or visit MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.