Saints still in hunt for a bye

Rider tops Siena, but Manhattan, Monmouth lose too

Lexi Posset scored 19 points and Lea Favre added 18 as Rider crushed the Siena women 77-54 Thursday in Lawrenceville, N.J.

Maddie Sims led the Saints with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Aaliyah Jones added 12 points.

With the win Rider (17-11, 13-4) locked up the No. 2 seed heading into the MAAC Tournament next week. The Saints (12-16, 8-9) failed to capitalize on a chance to strengthen its hold on the fifth seed and a first-round bye. Siena is in a four-way tie for fifth. Fortunately for the Saints, two of the teams it is tied with, Manhattan and Monmouth, both lost on Thursday as well.

Rider outscored the Saints 16-3 over the final eight minutes of the first quarter to take a 20-10 lead. Posset nailed two 3-pointers and scored eight points in the run and Favre added four more. Siena shot 26.7 percent (4for-15) from the field in the first quarter.

Posset sank her third 3-pointer of the first half late in the second quarter to push the Broncs’ lead to 37-24. Posset had 15 points in the first half.

Favre scored Rider’s first seven points of the second half as the Broncs’ lead ballooned to 30 points. Siena shot only 18 percent and made only two field goals in the third quarter.

Siena finished the regular season 5-7 on the road. They play Quinnipiac on Saturday at home in the regular-season finale.