Islanders on the Peninsula
ROBERT MORRIS COLONIALS (3-5) vs.TEXAS A&M CORPUS CHRISTI ISLANDERS (0-8)
Monday, December 20, 2010 - 5:00 p.m.
Gainesville, Fla. - O'Connell Center
Internet: www.rmucolonials.com
Adam Gusky, play-by-play
The Game
The Robert Morris University Colonials (3-5, 2-0 NEC) continue a nine-game, 48-day road trip with their longest trip of the season to the Gator Holiday Classic. The team opens the event at Florida's O'Connell Center Monday, Dec. 20, with a 5:00 contest against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The Colonials are riding high followin their upset of Virginia Tech last Saturday that extended their winning streak to three games while giving the program its first win over an ACC squad.
Musket Shots
- Senior Yohanna Morton is the Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week (20 pts, 8 ast., 6 reb.)
- Freshman Artemis Spanou is the Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week (18 pts, 7 reb.,. 3 blk.)
- 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
- 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 616-283 (.685) in his 33rd season of coaching
- Robert Morris has captured NEC regular season titles in 2007, 2008 and 2010
- 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. Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Monday's games marks the inaugural meeting between RMU and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Robert Morris has never played a team from the Southland Conference.
Strength of Schedule
Through the first eight games of the season, Robert Morris has played the 56th toughest schedule in the nation according to realtimerpi.com. During the team's three-game win streak over the last two weeks, the Colonials have rocketed through the RPI rankings as well. They moved 83 spots in the last week alone fueled by the 14-point win at Virginia Tech.
Scouting the Islanders
The Islanders are still in search of the first victory of the season after dropping a nine-point decision to Division II St. Edward's Thursday night. Corpus Christi averages 56.2 points a game, shooting 33.7 percent form the field and 21 percent from three-point range. Defensively, the Islanders allow 74.9 points a game with opponents converting at 42.2 percent. Lauren Smith leads the team in scoring at 12.4 points while Adrienne Scott adds 10.8 points after missing the first four games of the year. Anitra Jeffery tops the squad with 9.6 boards a game.
Play On Player .... of the Week
Senior Yohanna Morton is the Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Morton led the Colonials to a win at Virginia Tech with a game-high 20 points to go along with a career-best eight assists. Morton is averaging 21.5 points over the last two games.
Rock On Rookie ... of the Week
Freshman Artemis Spanou is the Choice Hotels Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. Spanou tied her season-high with 18 points at Virginia Tech. She also had seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
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.
Glass-tastic
The Colonials are outrebounding their opponents by an average of 15.0 rebounds a game during their current win streak. For the season, RMU holds a 2.3 rebound advantage over their opposition. RMU is averaging 15.1 offensive rebounds a game and 11.2 second-chance points on the season.
