ROBERT MORRIS COLONIALS (2-5) at VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (5-3)
Saturday, December 11, 2010 - 5:00 p.m.
Blacksburg, Va. - Cassell Coliseum
On the Air: WLFP 1550 AM
Internet: www.rmucolonials.com
Adam Gusky, play-by-play
The Game
The Robert Morris University Colonials (2-5, 2-0 NEC) are riding a two-game win streak as they continue a nine-game, 48-day road trip by taking on the Virginia Tech Hokies (5-3) Saturday, December 11, in Blacksburg. The Colonials got off to a 2-0 start in conference play after a sweep of the Northeast Conference's Brooklyn schools - St. Francis (N.Y.) and Long Island. Virginia Tech snapped a three-game skid Sunday, beating Winthrop, 53-48. That game took place at Cassell Coliseum where the Hokies are perfect in five games.
Musket Shots
- Senior Yohanna Morton had a career-best 22 points in the win over Long Island
- Robert Morris plays nine consecutive games away from the Sewall Center, a team record
- A span of 48 days will pass between RMU's last home game, Nov. 28, and their next, Jan. 15
- Just two of the team's first 14 games are at home
- RMU has reached the 20-win plateau in five of the last six seasons
- The Colonials were selected second in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll
- Head coach Sal Buscaglia is 615-283 (.685) in his 33rd season of coaching
- Robert Morris has captured NEC regular season titles in 2007, 2008 and 2010
- The Colonials are 71-16 (.816) at the Sewall Center over the last six seasons
- Four former Colonials are playing professionally overseas - Angela Pace (Germany), Vega Gimeno-Martinez (Spain), Sade Logan (Iceland) and Sugeiry Monsac (Israel).
All-Time Series vs. Virginia Tech
The Colonials lost their only meeting with the Hokies, 67-76, at the Tulane Tournament title tile in December 2007. The Colonials held an 11-point halftime lead in that contest, but were outrebounded by 15 and missed 10 free throws in the second half.
Scouting the Hokies
The Hokies snapped a three-game losing streak with a 53-48 victory against Winthrop Sunday to improve to 5-3 on the year. Virginia Tech is 5-0 at home. They shoot 40.0 percent from the field, 23.0 percent from three-point range, while averaging 63.4 points per game. Opponents connect at 36.9 percent while scoring 61.0 points a contest. Shanel Harrison leads the team with 11.7 points shooting just over 40 percent from the field. Alyssa Fenyn adds 81. popints while Taylor Ayers tops the squad with 5.8 rebounds.
Stacked Starters Stats
The starting five for Robert Morris have accounted for 90 percent of the team's scoring, averaging 50.5 of the team's 55.6 points per game. They also have skewed percentage of rebounds in relation to the minutes played per game, corralling 87 percent of the team's rebounds while playing 82 percent of the team's minutes.
Scary Scheduling
Through the first five games of the season, Robert Morris has played the 76th-toughest schedule in the nation according to realtimerpi.com and the 78th toughest according to collegerpi.com. The Colonials opponents this season are a combined 20-8 led by UNC at 7-0 and Cincinnati at 4-0. Mount St. Mary's is the only NEC team with a tougher schedule (38) than RMU.
