Video Highlights

BALTIMORE – UMBC women's basketball eliminated a 14-point third quarter deficit, outscoring Rider, 19-5 in the fourth quarter en route to a 58-53 victory in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at the RAC Arena. UMBC juniors Pandora Wilson (Gaithersburg, Md./Academy of Holy Cross) and Taylor McCarley (Bowie, Md./Academy of Holy Cross) combined for 11 of their 29 points in the fourth quarter.

The Retrievers went cold in the second and third quarters, hitting 13 percent, to trail by nine, 48-39, at the end of the third quarter, but UMBC held Rider to 9.1 percent shooting in the final quarter to help spark a 12-1 run over a 5:35 span to take its largest lead of the half at 55-51 with 28 seconds. The Broncs had a chance to tie with a three attempt from Lexi Posset with 10 seconds to go, but the shot did not fall allowing the Retrievers to hold on for the victory.

Pandora Wilson registered her third double-digit scoring game in four contests, finishing with a game-high 15 points, on six-of-10 shooting, and three steals, while McCarley added 14 points, five assists and two steals. The Retrievers win their second straight to improve to 2-2 and hand the Broncs (2-1) their first loss of the season. Rider was led by 14 points and six rebounds from Julia Duggan. Robin Perkins and C'quoya Haughton chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Rider got on the board first, but the Retrievers responded with 11 straight points sparked by juniors Pandora Wilson and Chukwuma Chiamaka (Lagos, Nigeria/Eastern Arizona College). Rider chipped away at the deficit, but Castaldo knocked down her second made three of the afternoon before the buzzer to end the first quarter and extended the Retrievers' lead to 24-18. UMBC shot 75 percent in the opening quarter, led by Castaldo who recorded eight of her season-best 10 points in the stanza.

A layup from Haughton and a Posset three cut the Retrievers' advantage to one, 24-23, 1:35 into the second period. The Retrievers were unable to continue their hot shooting, going 0-for-10 from the floor in the second quarter, allowing the Broncs to outscore UMBC, 12-4. A Duggan layup as time expired in the first half gave Rider a 30-28 lead at the break, marking the Broncs first lead since holding a 2-0 advantage in the opening minute of play.  

Rider opened the third quarter with eight straight points before Liz McNaughton (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) drained her first three of the afternoon to trim the Retrievers' deficit to 38-31 with 7:27 remaining in the stanza. UMBC continued to struggle to knock down shots, opening the door for another 9-0 run for the Broncs, marking the largest lead of the afternoon at 14, 45-31, with 4:28 to go in the quarter.

Despite shooting just 23.1 percent in the third quarter, the Retrievers knocked down their first two shots of the fourth to trim their deficit to five point, 48-43. The Broncs hit just 1-of-11 shots in the fourth and added nine of their 21 turnovers during the final 10 minutes of play. The Retrievers took advantage, hitting 60 percent from the field in the fourth and recording 10 points off of turnovers.

UMBC pulled within two on a pair of Pandora Wilson free throws and tied the contest at 51 apiece on a short jumper from McCarley with 2:06 to go in regulation. McCarley followed a minute later with a steal and layup to give UMBC its first lead of the second half. Pandora Wilson helped to preserve the Retrievers' lead, drawing a charge on Perkins and draining a jumper on the ensuing possession to put UMBC on top, 55-51. The Retrievers hit three of their final four free throws to solidify the victory.  

Game Notes

-Junior guard Taylor McCarley moved into eighth all-time at UMBC in career free throw makes (253) and 10th in career free throw attempts (373).
-The Retrievers entered the game shooting 19.6 percent (10-for-51) from three, but knocked down five-of-11 attempts (45.5 percent) against the Broncs.

On the Horizon for the Retrievers

-UMBC takes another trip to a local-rival when the Retrievers travel to Towson for an 11 a.m. matchup on Tuesday, Nov. 24.