Jackie Hartzell didn’t wait long to tick off the box for win number one.
The first-year coach was victorious in her debut as the Rider women’s basketball team held off a fourth-quarter surge by Lafayette to win 65-58 on Thursday night at Alumni Gymnasium.
“We’ve been working since July. It’s been a long few months and we were excited for the first game,” Hartzell said. “It’s great to get that first win and hopefully build on that positive momentum going forward.”
Kristina Ekofo, a graduate student from Belgium with a previous stop at North Dakota State, led four players in double figures with 19 points.
Alena Cofield, a freshman out of Neshaminy, had 14 points in her collegiate debut, Aliya McIver netted 11 and Emmy Roach stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, five steals and three blocks.
“I love that kind of balance,” Hartzell said. “If you have one player a team can focus on that makes it a little bit easier from a scouting standpoint. If you have multiple players who are capable of being in double figures that helps and it opens up more opportunities offensively.”
The Broncs (1-0) surged in front by outscoring the Leopards (0-2) by a 25-8 margin the third quarter. They then held on in the fourth quarter as Lafayette sliced that 17-point lead to seven in the final three minutes.
“It’s our first game so we’re not really used to seeing it. You can only simulate that kind of pressure so much at practice,” Hartzell said. “We lost our composure for a little bit, we made a few mistakes but we made enough good plays to win us the game.”
Rider in next in action on Nov. 12 at Boston College. That is the first of three-game trip to New England that also features contests against Stonehill on the second night of a back-to-back and Bryant on Nov. 15.
The best part?
Win number one is already in the books.
“I’m so proud of our group for doing enough to win the game,” Hartzell said. “I’m so happy for our kids to get the win.”
