Kent, Ohio – Four players were in double-figure scoring as a resilient Robert Morris University women's basketball team withstood an 11-point fourth quarter comeback to defeat Kent State University in overtime, 68-65, this afternoon from the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.
Despite fouling out early in the final frame of regulation, junior forward Megan Smith paced Robert Morris (3-1, 0-0 NEC) with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Senior guards Anna Niki Stamolamprou and Rebeca Navarro added 12 and 11 points, respectively, while third-year forward Jocelynne Jones scored a season-high 10 on a 4-of-5 performance from the field.
The Colonials had to rely on an unconventional lineup in the end to defeat Kent State (2-1, 0-0 MAC), as both senior guard Janee Brown and Stamolamprou fouled out in the final minutes. RMU had just six dressed players remaining and relied on a trio of freshmen (Nneka Ezeigbo, Nadège Pluviose, Lucia Striešová) in the waning moments.
"I was really proud of how we stuck together today," said first-year head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "As the type of team we are, we're always trying to do the best we can to handle the moments of adversity, and today we had a lot of those. Down the stretch in that last overtime, I give our players a lot of credit for coming back out there and playing with so much passion after how crazy the end of the fourth quarter was."
The visiting Colonials caught fire as soon as they stepped off the bus, drilling three-pointers on their first three possessions to go ahead, 9-2. RMU would keep up its blistering start for the duration of the first quarter, pouring a season-high 26 points in the frame thanks to a 6-of-8 performance from international waters. Stamolamprou buried a pair of trifectas in the stanza, while junior guard Shakema Dashiell, Jones, Navarro, and Smith also contributed to the cause.
The lead grew to 15 midway through the second quarter when Brown finished a layup following being fouled. The Golden Flashes answered with four free throws to make it 31-20, but Striešová checked in for the first time of her career and calmly sank a pair of foul shots to allow the Colonials to regain their first quarter edge. However, after Navarro's jumper in the paint put the visitors up 10 with the clock running down, Naddiyah Cross responded with a successful half-court heave to pull KSU with seven at halftime.
RMU's advantage grew to double-digits once more in the third quarter. The hosts cut the deficit to 45-41 when Larissa Lurken finished in the paint, but the 4:38 mark would be the last they would score in the frame as Stamolamprou, Navarro, and Smith each responded to make it 52-41 as the buzzer sounded.
The Golden Flashes would not go quietly however, as they made up that 11-point difference with 16 seconds left in regulation as Cross sank two attempts from the chalk.
Ezeigbo pulled down a big rebound on KSU's first possession of overtime and put the Colonials back out front with a layup on the other end. The freshman center cleaned the glass again on the next trip down the floor and RMU used the full 30-second shot clock, culminating with a Jones fall-away jumper to make it a two-possession game.
With 1:31 left, Pluviose forced a turnover from Alexa Golden and buried both of her free throw attempts to set the score at 66-60. Lurken would cancel those out on the next possession, but Jones added a freebie at the Colonial offensive end to make it a five-point difference with 47 seconds remaining.
Again the Golden Flashes would not go quietly as Lurken – who led all scorers with 32 points – drilled a trey to make it 67-65 with 31 seconds left. After Navarro made just one of two foul shots, KSU had a chance at the tie and freed Lurken on the wing, but her shot was just long and pulled down by Striešová as time expired.
In her first career start, Ezeigbo pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds. The Garden State native now has posted double-digit rebounding totals in two of RMU's four games.
"Nneka was very steady for us and I'm really proud of her," said Buscaglia. "With Mikalah (Mulrain) being out, she was either going to respond in one way or the other, and she responded well in such a big position. She grabbed a lot of big rebounds and did a great job in overtime getting the first basket. That really set the tone that we weren't going away and that this was only a setback."
The Colonials shot 45.6 percent (26-of-57) on field goals, but missed 11 of their last 12 attempts from beyond the arc after the 6-of-8 first quarter performance. Kent State took 34 free throw attempts and made 24 of them for a conversion rate of 70.6 percent.
"Today was a great day for us to learn," continued Buscaglia. "I'm really happy for these kids and how hard they worked so we could come out with the win."
Robert Morris remains on the road for the remainder of the month, next traveling to The Volunteer State for a date with Vanderbilt on Tuesday, Nov. 22. The Colonials and Commodores are set for a 12:30 p.m. opening tip, 11:30 a.m. central time.
