ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN TERRIERS            
Saturday, January 9 // 1:00 p.m.
Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. // Pope Center
 
The Capsule
It will be a rematch of the 2015 Northeast Conference Championship game when Robert Morris takes on St. Francis Brooklyn this Saturday, Jan. 9, at 1:00 p.m. at the Pope Center in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. The Terriers defeated the Colonials at the Sewall Center in the league's title tilt last season while
 
The Series vs. St. Francis Brooklyn
Robert Morris leads the all-time series against the Terriers, 40-18. RMU reeled off wins in 14 of 15 meetings from 2005 through 2011, but the teams have split the last six meetings with three of those going to overtime. The Colonials are 16-11 in games at the Pope Center.
 
Milestone Watch
> Head coach Sal Buscaglia won his 700th career game against Wagner on Jan. 4
> Ashley Ravelli has 956 career points and needs 44 to become the 21st RMU player to score 1,000 career points
 
BCT Sportsperson of the Year
RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia was named the Beaver County Times Sportsperson of the Year. The 13th-year RMU head coach was selected as much for his promoting and growing women's athletics as for his on the court accomplishments.
 
The Rain From Spain
Junior Rebeca Navarro, a native of Galicia, Spain, leads the nation in three-point percentage converting at 54.2 percent this season.She is 26-48 this season and has hit 7-of-her-last 10 from long range. Navarro is fourth all-time at Robert Morris shooting .383 from beyond the arc for her career.
 
Coach Sal Sailing On
The 2015-16 season will be the last for 13th year RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia who will retire at the conclusion of the season after 38 years on the bench. Coach Sal, as he is respectfully called, has won 700 games at four schools and has 431 wins as a Division I coach.
 
Musket Shots
> RMU is 126-36 (.778) at the Sewall Center since 2004-05, including 85-16 (.842) in NEC games
> Sal Buscaglia became the winningest coach in RMU history winning his 212th game against Sacred Heart Jan. 2
> Buscaglia won his 700th career game with a 64-44 victory against Wagner Jan. 4
> Anna Niki Stamolamprou became the 20th RMU player to reach 1,000 career points eclipsing the mark Jan. 2 vs. SHU
> Rebeca Navarro leads the nation in three-point shooting converting at 54.2 percent (26-48)
> RMU hit 12 three-pointers against both Northern Kentucky and Sacred Heart, second-most in program history
> Ashley Ravelli and Stamolamprou rank third and fourth at RMU with 173 and 171 career three-pointers
> Ravelli is second all-time at RMU with 103 career starts, having starting all but one game in her career
> Mikalah Mulrain is seventh all-time at RMU with 72 career blocks in just 45 career games (Next: Tess Cooley, 2004-06)
> RMU set team records for points (124), scoring margin (+65), FGs (49), assists (37) and rebounds (67) vs. WV Wesleyan
> The Colonials were selected first in the 2015-16 NEC Preseason Poll garnering seven first place votes
> Stamolamprou was named Preseason All-NEC by the league coaches
> Robert Morris has made the NEC playoffs 10 times in the last 12 seasons under Sal Buscaglia
> Eight of the Colonials 15 players hail from outside the United States
> RMU has won three of its five NEC Championships with Buscaglia on the bench
 
Winner, Winner, Carmine's Dinner
Head coach Sal Buscaglia, who's favorite on-the-road dinner destination in Carmine's in New York, became the winningest coach in RMU history when the Colonials beat Sacred Heart, 78-63, on Jan. 2 in the team's NEC opener. The victory was the 212th for Buscaglia who surpassed Dan Swalga (1978-90) for the record.
 
A Dozen Threes, Please
Robert Morris buried a dozen three-pointers twice this season, the second-most made treys in team history. RMU hit a dozen in a two-point setback against Northern Kentucky and also nailed 12 in its NEC opening victory against Sacred Heart.
 
Thessaloniki Thousand
Anna Niki Stamolamprou, a native of Thessaloniki, Greece, became the 20th player to record 1,000 career points when she tallied 22 points against Sacred Heart on Jan. 2. She joins all-time great Artemis Spanou (2010-14) as the only two Greek players in the club.
 
Chuck's Charms
The Charles L. Sewall Center, a.k.a. "The Chuck", has lent a certain advantage for the Colonials over the past 12 seasons. Since 2004-05, RobertMorris is 126-36 (.778) in home games, including an even more impressive 85-16 (.842) record in Northeast Conference opponents.
 
Things To Look For
A third of the way through the schedule, some statistical patterns have begun to emerge. RMU is 7-1 when leading at the half and 8-1 when leading at the end of the third quarter. They are 1-4 when trailing at half and winless, 0-4, when trailing at the ened of the third quarter. RMU is unbeaten (7-0) when winning the rebounding battle, 7-1 when holding opponents to less than 60 points, and 8-0 when outshooting its opponent.
 
Tres, Trois, Tpia,Tre
The Colonials foreign born players have accounted for all but four of the team's 102 three pointers this season.
 
Consecutive Games With a Three
Robert Morris has hit a three-pointer in 82 consecutive games dating back to Feb. 18, 2013. That streak includes a trey in every game from 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. It's a long way off of the team record of 285 consecutive games stretching from Jan. 7, 2002 through March 8, 2011.
 
Depth Coming Through
The Colonials have had at least eight players score in all but two games this season and have had 10 or more players find the scoring column five times. RMU is averaging 20.6 points off the bench and nine players are averaging over 9.0 minutes per game.
 
Mulrain's Doing Double Duty
Sophomore Mikalah Mulrain has recorded two double-doubles this season. She had 20 points and 13 rebounds — both career highs — against West Virginia Wesleyan and 13 points and 11 rebounds against La Salle.
 
Fantastic Four
Anna Niki Stamolamprou, who wears number four, was named to the All-NEC First Team as a sophomore. She finished 2014-15 ranked 15th in the nation shooting 42.0% from three-point range while leading the team in scoring (15.2 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg). Her 81 three-pointers last season rank second in single season history.
 
Six Score More
Robert Morris has had six different players lead the team in scoring this season. Anna Niki Stamolamprou, Ashley Ravelli, Mikalah Mulrain, Leah Wormack, Megan Smith and Rebeca Navarro have all finished games with top scoring honors for RMU.
 
Six Reach Double-Digits
Six Colonials hit double-digits in the scoring department in its season opener, the first time that's happened in a home since 2008, and the first time overall since the end of the 2013-14 season. Mikalah Mulrain led all scorers with 20 points, Anna Niki Stamolamprou and Rebeca Navarro added 15 each, Jocelynne Jones a career-best 13 along with Lou Mataly and freshman Nia Adams tacking on 11 points.
 
Preseason Favorite
Robert Morris earned seven first-place votes in the 2015-16 NEC Preseason Poll and was selected first in the preseason poll for the third straight season. They won the NEC Tournament in 2014 and made it to the championship in 2015 as the preseason leader. This marks the fifth time overall that the Colonials are the preseason favorite.
 
Postseason Prizewinners
A trio of Colonials players received post-season accolades from the coaches in 2014-15. Anna Niki Stamolamprou was named to the All-NEC First Team honor. Mikalah Mulrain and Megan Smith both earned spots on the All-Rookie team, the third consecutive season RMU has had two members on the league's all-rookie squad.
 
Coach In Waiting
With the imminent retirement of head coach Sal Buscaglia, associate head coach Charlie Buscaglia, will take over the reins of the program in 2016-17. Coach B, as he is respectfully called, is in his 13th season with the Colonials.
 
Record Three-Point Performance
The 2014-15 team crushed the team record for three-pointers, knocking down 248. The Colonials ranked 24th nationally hitting 7.8 treys per game.
 
Near Playoff Perfection At Home
Robert Morris is 16-2 all-time in home playoff games. The squad had won 14 consecutive home playoff contests before falling to St. Francis Brooklyn in the 2015 NEC Final.
 
Decade of Dominance
From 2004-05 through 2014-15, Robert Morris posted a record of 141-57 in Northeast Conference play and won four regular season titles. The Colonials .712 winning percentage is second only to Sacred Heart (149-49, .753) with each team claiming four regular season championships and three tourney titles.
 
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 8-0 in such situations this season. All-time, RMU is 503-0 when leading at the final whistle.
 
Full Complement
For the first time under head coach Sal Buscaglia, the Colonials roster features a full complement of 15 players. It's likely that all will make contributions as the Colonials had 10 or more players find the scoring column on 11 different occasions last season.
 
Nationally Known
Robert Morris has played in a national tournament in six of the last nine seasons. In 2007 and 2008, the Colonials took part in the NCAA Tournament. A Preseason WNIT berth followed in 2008-09 and a Postseason WNIT in 2009-10. The 2011-12 season ended with the top seed in the Women's Basketball Invitational before RMU returned to the Big Dance in 2014.
 
International Love
The Robert Morris roster once again features members from all over the world. The Colonials 15-player roster features eight international players and seven domestic products. RMU's imported players hail from Canada, France, Greece, Italy and Spain.
 
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.