Rider to host two games as underdog vs. Quinnipiac

Ask Tricia Fabbri, the highly successful Quinnipiac women’s basketball coach, what are her concerns as she prepares to face Rider this weekend and you get a litany of what’s so impressive about the young Broncs.

Fabbri, who has led the Bobcats to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title in three of the last four years, is a Jersey native having grown up in Delran and she has a lot of respect for the Rider program.

It was Rider, a year ago, that ended the Bobcats’ three-year title run in the pandemic-shortened MAAC Championships.

The two will tangle this weekend on Friday and Saturday in a pair of games at Rider’s Alumni Gymnasium. Both games tip off at 1 p.m.

Here’s what concerns Fabbri about

Rider:

• Lynn (Milligan) and her coaching staff.

• (Amanda) Mobley and her ability to create for others and herself.

• (Makayla) Firebaugh is a flamethrower.

• Deija’s (Moses) clutchness.

• (Raphaela) Toussaint is coming of age like most rookies in January.

• A healthy (Maya) Hyacienth.

• (Victoria) Toomey’s size.

• A balanced Rider attack.

The Broncs (2-13, 1-9 MAAC) come into the weekend off a split with St. Peter’s and Quinnipiac (6-4, 4-2 MAAC), which has won three straight hasn’t played since Jan. 10.

“We have to build on what we did in the first (St. Peter’s) game, then in the second game we still put ourselves in a position to win,’’ Milligan said of last weekend. “We just didn’t shoot the ball really well.’’

Rider knows this will be another tough test for the young Broncs.

“They have a lot of options and (Mikala) Morris is playing really well and they do a good job of getting her good touches,’’ said Milligan. “They have some kids that can make some plays, and individually they can cause some problems and our defense is going to have to be on point.’’

Morris averages 13.0 points a game. Mackenzie DeWees, who is shooting at 52 percent, comes in at 12.9. Rose Caverly pours in 9.9 a game. Morris grabs 9.7 rebounds a game, DeWees hauls in 8.3 caroms a game and Caverly has 47 assists.

The Bobcats have four losses and three of them have come by a total of five points. It was only the first Marist game that they were not in contention. They did begin this winning streak the next Marist game, though.

“I have been super impressed with our grit,’’ said Fabbri. “Our defense is competing at a championship level. Offensively we need to capitalize in transition better and limit unforced turnovers.’’

While turnovers have been costly to the Broncs, what has been progressing is the play inside by sophomore Toomey and freshman Raphaela Toussaint, who is the two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week.

“We are excited about Victoria (Toomey) and Raphie (Toussaint),’’ said Milligan. “They just get better every day together. Being a sophomore and a freshman, it is a good thing for us to have such a promising inside presence. Their consistency is something they continue to work on.’’

It might be a short season, but when you are as young as the Broncs there are some long days. However, they are staying the course.

“We are progressing and we are moving in the right direction,’’ said Milligan. “We just want to be consistent and that is a tall task for a lot of young kids that don’t have enough experience yet at this level.’’