(picture from Darren Miller / Iowa Athletics)
Iowa City, Iowa – A 10-2 run by Iowa to close the second quarter proved to be a momentum shifter as the Hawkeyes used that boost to defeat the Robert Morris University women's basketball team, 81-60, this evening from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The teams' fourth meeting since 2012-13 began similarly to the previous ones as Robert Morris (4-6, 0-0 NEC) went toe-to-toe with their familiar Big Ten foe. After the second media timeout however, a 30-29 Colonial deficit turned into a 40-31 Iowa (8-3, 0-0 Big Ten) lead at halftime, thanks to the aforementioned 10-2 stretch.
"In that timeout we made a couple of adjustments and our players didn't respond well," said first-year head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "After that media timeout, I remember going into the huddle and there was a lack of focus on the court. You need to have players that are seniors to come out of timeouts and know what we're doing. If you give up a tough shot or the other team makes a tough play, that's understandable. But to come out and be confused is unacceptable."
Senior guard Anna Niki Stamolamprou continued her success against the Hawkeyes, finishing with a game-high 16 points for the Colonials. Freshman forward Nadège Pluviose provided an offensive boost in 15 minutes off the bench, adding a career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
"[Nadège] played with a lot of passion and that's something I'm always looking for," said Buscaglia. "She's playing very humble and earning everything that she gets, which is great. For a freshman, she's giving us a steady role off the bench. She's continuing to grow, which is exciting to see. If everyone had the mindset she's showing right now, we'd be a pretty good team."
RMU grabbed its first lead at the 6:58 mark of the first quarter when junior center Mikalah Mulrain stole the ball and banked in a layup. She added another following an Ally Disterhoft bucket, and Stamolamprou had an answer for a Megan Gustafson jumper to make it 10-9 in favor of the visitors with 5:47 left in the frame.
The Hawkeyes responded with a 6-1 run to regain the lead, but a Stamolamprou trifecta made it a one-point difference again. However, her three-pointer was answered by an Alexa Kastanek basket from beyond the arc, and Chase Coley followed a Pluviose layup with a jumper to make it 20-16 after one.
Disterhoft stretched the advantage to five with a trey three minutes into the second quarter, but senior guard Janee Brown buried a three of her own on the next possession. Freshman center Nneka Ezeigbo then stole the ball at center court and pushed it up to Brown, who finished in the paint to tie the game at 25-25. That was followed with a layup from junior forward Megan Smith to put the Colonials ahead, and they stayed on top after an Ezeigbo jumper cancelled out a bucket from Hannah Stewart.
Iowa went back in front with 3:36 left before halftime as Makenzie Meyer ripped the net from downtown. That sparked the long Hawkeye run to close the half, with a pair of free throws from Pluviose being the reason it was a single-digit deficit for the visitors and not one of the double-digit variety.
The hosts' advantage quickly jumped to double-figures in the third quarter and remained there for most of the second half. RMU pushed once more with 6:31 left in regulation as Smith and Brown each scored, with the former adding a pair of foul shots following a Kathleen Doyle jumper. The junior forward then grabbed a Stamolamprou miss from three and put it back in to trim the difference to 67-58 at the 5:02 mark, but Stewart answered shortly after to stop the momentum.
"We did some nice things throughout the middle of the game and we fought for a while," said Buscaglia. "We definitely did some stuff offensively that bothered them. We were right there with them for most of the game, which is a nice thing to see against a team of this caliber. But we let this one go because we weren't willing to finish the game."
Mulrain and Smith added eight points each for the Colonials. Iowa had four players in double-figure scoring, led by Gustafson's 15-point effort.
Robert Morris closes out the non-conference slate of its schedule on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 2:00 p.m. when it travels to Baltimore to play Morgan State.
