
Rider Broncs

Sacred Heart Pioneers
Highlights
Preview
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (Interstat) ā Two teams seeking momentum will meet Sunday when the Rider womenās basketball team visits Sacred Heart in a nonconference matchup at the William Pitt Center. Both the Rider Broncs (2-8) and Sacred Heart Pioneers (2-7) enter the contest on losing streaks, each having dropped their last four games. The game is organized by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Rider is coming off an 84-58 home loss to Fairfield on Friday. The Broncs have struggled offensively during their skid, averaging just 49.5 points per game in those four defeats. They will lean on guard Kristina Ekofo Yomane, who has been a consistent performer. She is coming off a 12-point, 4-assist effort against Fairfield and scored 18 points with 9 rebounds in a narrow 53-52 loss to Yale on Dec. 6. Sacred Heart last played on Dec. 14, falling 63-46 to Vermont. The Pioneers have also found points hard to come by, failing to reach 50 in three of their last four outings. Guard Nalyce Dudley provides a scoring spark, having posted 19 points in a close loss to Albany on Dec. 3 and 13 points in the defeat to Vermont. The Pioneersā two wins this season came against Mercy (58-46) and Central Connecticut (74-64). Riderās victories were over Lafayette (65-58) and Long Island (58-43). This game represents one of the final nonconference tune-ups for both programs before the bulk of their league schedules begin in the new year. Rider begins MAAC play at Iona on Dec. 29, while Sacred Heart opens Metro Atlantic action at Marist the same day. The venue, the William Pitt Center on Sacred Heartās campus, has not been a stronghold this season; the Pioneers are 1-3 at home. Rider is 1-4 in true road games. The teams are scheduled for a rematch in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, on Jan. 17 as part of the conference slate. Sundayās tipoff is set for 1 p.m. EST.