Moon Township, Pa. / Sewall Center?The Robert Morris University women's basketball team will face Rutgers on Saturday, March 22,in their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament. The Colonials have won 17 consecutive games and enter the tournament as a #15 seed while the Scarlet Knights are a #2 seed.
The opening round tilt is scheduled to tip-off at approximately 2:30 Eastern at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa. Iowa State University, which itself is a #7 seed in this year's tournament, is serving as the First and Second Round host of the Greensboro bracket.
Robert Morris, 23-9 on the season, laid claim to the Northeast Conference regular season and tournament titles for the second consecutive season to earn their berth in this season's tournament. The Colonials, under the guidance of fifth-year head coach Sal Buscaglia, have won 20 or more games in each of the last four seasons after winning just seven total games in the three seasons prior to his arrival.
“We're excited about winning back-to-back titles and returning for our second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament,” said Buscaglia. “It will be a great experience for the kids to go to Iowa and play a formidable opponent like Rutgers.
“We are looking forward to a good week of preparation. Our players know a lot of players on the Rutgers team, so the pride factor will definitely be a part of the game Saturday.”
Robert Morris lost their first round game last season, 84-52, against North Carolina State at North Carolina State. The Colonials were a #13 seed last season.
Junior guard Sade Logan (Knoxville, Tenn. / Chattanooga State JC) leads the team and is second nationally in scoring at 25.2 points per game. The NEC Player of the Year, she leads the nation in three-pointers and her 124 treys this season are two short of the record set by Alabama State's Lisa McMullen in 1991.
The Colonials inside-outside duo is finished off by senior forward Chinata Nesbit (Washington, D.C. / Chipola JC) who combines with Logan to form the second-highest scoring duo in the nation at 40.8 points per game. Nesbit, the 2007 and 2008 NEC Tournament Most Valuable Player, averages 15.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest. She has recorded two triple-doubles, the only two in team history, in the last six games.
Senior guard Psyche Butler (Fort Worth, Texas / New Mexico JC) (8.8 ppg, 6.3 ppg) and junior guard Kendra Williams (Bronx, N.Y. / Mount St. Ursula) (7.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg) round out the Colonial returnees who were part of last season's NCAA squad.
Rutgers, 24-6, is ranked seventh in the latest USA Today / ESPN Division I Top-25 Coaches' Poll. The Colonials have played two teams that made this year's NCAA Tournament, losing 73-58 at #5 seed Nebraska and 82-74 at #13 seed Miami (Ohio). Robert Morris and Rutgers have never played.
