SACRED HEART PIONEERS
Monday, January 19, 2015 | 2:00 p.m. | Moon Township, Pa. | Charles L. Sewall Center
 
The Capsule
The Robert Morris University women's basketball will be seeking its 12th straight Northeast Conference home victory when it hosts the Sacred Heart Pioneers in a special 2:00 p.m. matinee on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 19, at the Charles L. Sewall Center. RMU was won two in a row, shooting a combined 51.9% (55-106) in those games.
 
The Series vs. Sacred Heart
The Colonials trail the all-time series against the Pioneers, 8-20. RMU had lost seven in row to Sacred Heart before upending the Pioneers at home, 90-66. The Colonials are 5-8 at the Chuck against SHU.
 
Rain!
Using the words of former RMU manager Dave Williamson, the Colonials were raining three-pointers in a 67-64 win over St. Francis Brooklyn Friday night. Robert Morris tied the team record by knocking down 13 of the long range bombs. RMU was 13-of-21 from behind the arc, the 61.9 percent conversion rate the second-best mark in team annals.
 
Dishing It Out
Junior guard Ashley Ravelli had 11 assists at Wagner (1.12.15), a career high for the native Italian and tied for ninth in the team's single-game annals. The squad record is 14 assists, a mark that Kathy Frederick reached twice in the 1985-86 season, while three players have had 13 assists and three have had 12 assists. Ravelli is the sixth different player with 11 assists and the first with that many since Briannica Tye (1.9.12).
 
Musket Shots
> Anna Niki Stamolamprou set a career-high with 23 points (7-12 FG; 6-9 3FG; 3-4 FT) against St. Francis Brooklyn
> RMU is shooting 51.9% (55-106) from the field in the last two games, including 50% (22-44) on three-pointers
> The Colonials tied the team record for three-pointers with 13 against the Terriers
> Robert Morris has won 11 consecutive NEC home games and 14 straight home games against conference opponents
> The Colonials set season highs for points (86) and assists (20) in an 86-37 win at Wagner
> The 39-point margin of victory at Wagner is the third largest in team history and most since a 100-50 win at FDU in 1985
> Ashley Ravelli had 11 assists at Wagner, tied for 9th in the RMU record books and the 4th most in team history
> Ravelli has started every game since 2012-13, a streak of 78 consecutive starts
> At 7.5 three-pointers made per game, RMU leads the NEC and is 38th in the nation in three-pointers per game
> The Colonials underclassmen average 50.0 points per game, accounting for 79.0 percent of the team's scoring
> The Colonials three overtime games this season tie the team record set by 2012-13 and 1998-99 squads
> RMU is 114-33 (.776) at the Sewall Center since 2004-05, including 77-15 (.837) in NEC games
> Eight of the Colonials 12 players hail from outside the United States
> In 11 seasons at the helm, Sal Buscaglia has led the Colonials to six 20-win seasons
> RMU has won three of its five NEC Championships with Buscaglia on the bench
> Buscaglia was named the Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year for the third time in 2013-14
> The Colonials were selected first in the 2014-15 NEC Preseason Poll garnering five first place votes
> Robert Morris has made it to the NEC Tournament semifinals in eight of the last 10 seasons
 
30 Year Victory
The Robert Morris victory at Wagner on Jan. 12 was unlike any other by the team in nearly 30 years. The Colonials 86-47 win, a 39-point margin, was the team's largest since it defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 100-50, on Feb. 19, 1950. It is the third largest margin of victory in team history.
 
Underclassmen Scoring
RMU has received tremendous offensive output from its eight underclassmen with sophomores and freshmen accounting for 79.0 percent of the team's scoring tallying 50 points per game. The sophomore class scores 31.8 points a game and the rookie class tacks on 18.2 points. Juniors and seniors combine to score 13.3 points a game.
 
Decade of Dominance
From 2004-05 through 2013-14, Robert Morris posted a record of 128-52 in Northeast Conference play and won four regular season titles. The Colonials .711 winning percentage is second only to Sacred Heart (138-42, .767) with each team claiming four regular season championships and three tourney titles.
 
Working Overtime
The Colonials played back-to-back overtime games for just the second time in team history and the first time since the 1998-99 season. With three overtime contests already in the books, the squad has tied the record for OT games in a season, equaling the totals of the 2012-13 and 98-99 squads.
 
Schedule Strength
The Colonials non-conference schedule was the 71st toughest of the 349 Division I teams in the nation. Of the Colonials 11 non-conference opponents, 10 were .500 or better coming into the game. RMU opposition was a combined 40-21 (.655) coming into games against the Colonials.
 
Chuck's Charms
The Charles L. Sewall Center, a.k.a. "The Chuck", has lent a certain advantage for the Colonials over the past 11 seasons. Since 2004-05, RobertMorris is 114-33 (.775) in home games, including an even more impressive 77-15 (.837) record against Northeast Conference opponents.
 
Bench Depth
All 12 RMU players are averaging at least 6.8 minutes per game and the bench delivers 21.1 points per game. Ten players are scoring at least 3.0 points per game. Six different players have seen action in every game this season. The RMU bench has outscored all but four of its counterparts.
 
Second Half Improvement
The Colonials have played significantly better in the second half of games this season compared to the opening half. In the first half, RMU is averaging 26.6 points while shooting 32.4 percent from the field and 28.4 percent from long range. In the second half, those numbers improve to 33.9 points while shooting 37.6 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from long range.
 
Record Road Trip
Robert Morris opened the season with five consecutive road games, the most road games to start a season in program history. The five-game swing is also the second longest road trip in team history and the first five-game trip since 2007-08. The 1989-90 squad had six consecutive road games.
 
Racking Up the Rewards Points
In the first 21 days of the 2014-15 basketball season, RMU spent 12 nights in a hotel and a total of 14 nights on the road. In addition to hotel stays, the team traveled overnight to Iowa and back from Illinois.
 
Preseason Favorite
Robert Morris earned five first-place votes and was picked first in the NEC Preseason Women's Basketball Coaches Poll. It's the second straight season RMU is the preseason favorite and the fourth time overall.
 
Growing Pains
The 12-player Robert Morris roster features eight underclassmen and just four upperclassmen. Jolie Olingende is the lone senior and Ashley Ravelli, Lou Mataly and Randi Jackson make up the junior class. RMU has four sophomores and four freshmen.
 
The Road to The NCAA Tournament
The Colonials earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Northeast Conference Tournament, taking advantage of the top seed they secured by winning the regular season title witha 14-4 record. RMU has won five NEC titles, earning NCAA Tourney berths in 2007, 2008 and 2014. A 16-seed last season, the Colonials lost to #1 seed Notre Dame, 42-93.
 
Jolie's Seven Jargons
Redshirt senior Jolie Olingende is fluent in seven languages. The 6' 1" center speaks French, English, Lingala, Kingwandi, Kisango, Kkongo, Munukutoba. French is the offical language of the Congo. Kisango is her mother's native language while Kingwandi is her father's. Lingala is the language of northern Congo and Kkongo was the language spoken where she attended school. Olingende picked up Munukutuba on her own and didn't learn English until she attended school at Arizona Western. She plans on learning Spanish as well when she travels to Spain next year.
 
International Love
The Robert Morris roster once again features members from all over the world. The Colonials 12-player roster features eight international players. The four Americans come from the states of California, Maryland, and New Jersey. RMU's imported players hail from Canada, Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Greece, Italy and Spain.
 
20 Win Again
The 2013-14 squad reached the 20-win plateau for the eighth time in school history. Six of those 20-win seasons have come in the 11 seasons that Sal Buscaglia has been at the helm of the program.
 
Insurmountable Lead
Robert Morris has never lost a game in which it has held the lead at the end of the game. The Colonials are 5-0 in such situations this season. All-time, RMU is 484-0 when leading at the final whistle.
 
Perennial Playoff Potential
Robert Morris has missed the NEC playoffs just once since 2004-05. RMU had eight consecutive playoff appearances from 2004-05 through 2011-12 and finished first in three of those seasons, earning the tournament's top seed in 2010. The Colonials returned to the postseason last year by taking the regular season title.
 
Team Records For Home Wins
The Colonials went 15-4 at home last season, setting a team record for home wins. RMU won 13 straight games at the Chuck to end the 2012-13 season, the longest such win streak in team history.