MOUNT ST. MARY'S MOUNTAINEERS
Saturday, January 3, 2014 | 1:00 p.m. | Moon Township, Pa. | Charles L. Sewall Center
 
The Capsule
The Robert Morris University women's basketball team begins defense of its 2014 Northeast Conference Championship when league play gets underway with a 1:00 p.m. contest against Mount St. Mary's at the Charles L. Sewall Center Saturday, January 3. RMU has a .711 winning percentage in NEC games since 2004-05, winning an average of 12.8 league games.
 
The Series vs. Mount St. Mary's
Robert Morris has won the last three meetings and 16 of 19 against Mount St. Mary's. The Colonials still trail the Mount in the all-time series, 19-32. RMU is 11-14 against the Mount in home games, including a six-point win in last year's meeting at The Chuck.
 
Decade of Dominance
Over the last 10 seasons, Robert Morris has 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.
 
Underclassmen Scoring
RMU has received tremendous offensive output from its eight underclassmen with sophomores and freshmen accounting for 77.2 percent of the team's scoring tallying 47.6 points per game. The sophomore class scores 31.4 points a game and the rookie class tacks on 16.2 points. Juniors and seniors combine to score 14.1 points a game.
 
Musket Shots
- Freshman Shakema Dashiell is the NEC Rookie of the Week after scoring a season-high 12 points at Cornell
- Megan Smith leads the NEC in three-point shooting percentage at 53.8 percent
- Nationally, the Colonials are 21st in three-pointers made (8,0 per game)
- Ashley Ravelli has started every game since 2012-13, a streak of 72 consecutive starts
- The Colonials underclassmen average 47.6 points per game, accounting for 77.2 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 112-33 (.773) at the Sewall Center since 2004-05, including 75-15 (.833) in NEC games
- Seven 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 went 21-12 in 2013-14, winning the NEC and earning their third NCAA Tournament berth
- 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
 
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
Of the Colonials 11 non-conference opponents this season, 10 have had .500 or better records coming into the game. RMU opposition was a combined 40-21 (.655) coming into games against the Colonials.
 
Olé Sole
Sophomore center Judith Sole put together a pair of impressive performances to break into the starting line-up. She recorded two double-doubles, averaging 18.5 points and 13.5 rebounds against Hofstra and Duquesne. Sole had 14 points and 10 rebounds at Hofstra before recording career-highs for points, 23, and rebounds, 14, in her first career start vs. Duquesne.
 
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 112-33 (.772) in home games, including an even more impressive 75-15 (.833) record against Northeast Conference opponents.
 
Bench Depth
The Colonials have 11 players averaging at least 11.9 minutes per game. Ten are scoring at least 3.2 points or more per game. Seven different players have seen action in all 11 games this season. The RMU bench has outscored all but two 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 27.0 points while shooting 34.1 percent from the field and 30.2 percent from long range. In the second half, those numbers improve to 33.6 points while shooting 38.1 percent from the field and 36.1 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 8 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.
 
Bringing Home the Hardware
Four Colonials were honored with NEC Postseason accolades in 2013-14. Artemis Spanou was the Player of the Year for the second straight season while Sal Buscaglia was the Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year for the third time. Anna Niki Stamolamprou and Cassie Oursler earned spots on the All-Rookie team.
 
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.
 
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 14-player roster features eight international players. Of the six Americans, all come from different states with Maryland, New Jersey, New York and California represented. 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 2-0 in such situations this season. All-time, RMU is 481-0 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.