#1 SACRED HEART PIONEERS
Sunday, March 13 // 3:00 p.m.
Fairfield, Conn. // William H. Pitt Center
 
The Capsule
The Robert Morris women's basketball team is looking for its sixth Northeast Conference Championship when it takes on the top-seed Sacred Heart Pioneers in a 3:00 p.m. game at the William H. Pitt Center Sunday, March 13. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU with Mark Couzens and Nell Fortner calling the action.
 
Championship Notes
RMU has won NEC championships in 1988, 1991, 2007, 2008 and 2014. The Colonials are in the league championship contest for the third straight season and are 5-3 in title tilts.
 
The Series vs. Sacred Heart
Robert Morris trails the all-time series against Sacred Heart, 10-22. The home team has won the last seven games between these squads. RMU is 3-14 at the Pitt Center, their last victory in Fairfield coming in 2008.
 
RMU In The NEC Playoffs is ...
> 7-3 all-time as a #3 seed
> 5-3 in the NEC Championship
> 2-1 against Sacred Heart, including a 68-66 win in the 2007 NEC Championship game
> 5-10 in games on the road
> 2-6 all-time against #1 seeds
 
Milestone Watch
> Anna Niki Stamolamprou, 207 treys, needs two three-pointers to pass Jenna Burkett (208) to set the RMU career record
> Mikalah Mulrain needs one block to reach 100 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 705 games at four schools and has 436 wins as a Division I coach.
 
Musket Shots
> RMU is 132-38 (.776) at the Sewall Center since 2004-05, including 90-18 (.833) in NEC games
> Anna Niki Stamolamprou was named to the All-NEC Second Team, her third honor from the league in as many seasons
> The Colonials are 17-2 in NEC Tournament home games
> Anna Niki Stamolamprou, with 207 treys, needs just two more to become RMU's all-timer leader
> Ashley Ravelli hit the 1,000 point plateau against CCSU, the 21st player in team history to reach 1K
> The Colonials shot 57.1% against Mount St. Mary's, the fourth-best shooting percentage in team history
> 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 NEC in three-point shooting converting at 44.4 percent (40-90)
> RMU hit 12 three-pointers against both Northern Kentucky and Sacred Heart, second-most in program history
> Mikalah Mulrain is sixth all-time at RMU with 99 career blocks in just 63 career games
> RMU set team records for points (124), scoring margin (+65), FGs (49), assists (37) and rebounds (67) vs. WV Wesleyan
> Robert Morris has made the NEC playoffs 11 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
 
That Escalated Quickly
Robert Morris borke open a tie game in just over four minutes of play, going on a 14-3 run in the fourth quarter. The squad scored five points in 23 seconds after a Bryant timeout attempted to stop the run.
 
Sizzling Second Half
The Colonials went 21-29, 72.4 percent, in the second half at Bryant after going just 8-of-24 in the opening frame. RMU committed just one turnover in that second half.
 
Postseason Prizewinners
Junior guard Anna Niki Stamolamprou was named to the All-NEC Second Team. She led the team in scoring (13.4), three-pointers (62) and assists (97). Stamolamprou is a three-time league honoree, earning a first team nod in 2014-15 and an all-rookie selection in 2013-14.
 
Perennial Playoff Potential
Robert Morris has clinched an NEC playoff berth for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons. RMU had eight consecutive playoff appearances from 2004-05 through 2011-12, finishing first in three of those seasons, earning the top seed in 2010.
 
Ten Tickle the Twine
The Colonials have had 10 or more players find the scoring column in 11 different games this season. It's all part of a bench effort that is averaging over 21 points per game.
 
Tres, Trois, Tpia,Tre
The Colonials foreign born players have accounted for all but 12 of the team's 211 three pointers this season.
 
The Rain From Spain
Junior Rebeca Navarro, a native of Galicia, Spain, leads the Northeast Conference in three-point shooting at 45.2 percent. She is 47-104 this season and is fourth all-time at Robert Morris shooting .383 from beyond the arc for her career.
 
Doing It With Defense
According to the most recent NEC statistics, Robert Morris leads the league in points allowed (58.8), field goal percentage defense (.376), scoring margin (+5.7), three-point FG defense (.275) and is second in rebounding margin (+1.7).
 
Seven-Point Possession
The Colonials had a seven-point possession against CCSU, a three-pointer by Ashley Ravelli coming at the same time Megan Smith was fouled setting a screen. Smith scored twice from the line, but not before Rebeca Navarro hit two from the chalk thanks to a technical foul call on the Blue Devils bench.
 
Sharp Shooting
The Colonials shot 57.1 percent (28-49) at Mount St. Mary's, tying the fourth-highest field goal percentage in team history. RMU was 22-31 — 71.0 percent — on shots from inside the arc and 6-18 on three-pointers.
 
Two With Double-Digit Boards
Mikalah Mulrain and Megan Smith each had 12 rebounds against Saint Francis U. It was the first time since March 3, 2014, that a pair of Colonials had 10 or more boards.
 
Seven Score More
Robert Morris has had seven different players lead the team in scoring this season. Anna Niki Stamolamprou, Ashley Ravelli, Mikalah Mulrain, Leah Wormack, Megan Smith, Rebeca Navarro and Jocelynne Jones have all finished games with top scoring honors for RMU.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Ravelli Reaches 1K
Senior guard Ashley Ravelli became the 21st player in RMU history to reach 1,000 career points. She did it with foul shot in the first half against Central Connecticut (Feb. 8). She is the second player this season to hit the 1K mark.
 
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 132-38 (.776) in home games, including an even more impressive 90-18 (.833) record against Northeast Conference opponents.
 
Things To Look For
RMU is 15-3 when leading at the half and 18-3 when leading at the end of the third quarter. They are 2-7 when trailing at half and winless, 0-8, when trailing at the end of the third quarter. RMU is 14-2 when winning the rebounding battle, 16-2 when holding opponents to less than 60 points, and 14-0 when outshooting its opponent.
 
Consecutive Games With a Three
Robert Morris has hit a three-pointer in 97 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 four games this season and have had 10 or more players find the scoring column 11 times. RMU is averaging over 21 points off the bench and nine players are averaging over 11 minutes per game.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 19-0 in such situations this season. All-time, RMU is 514-0 when leading at the final whistle.
 
Near Playoff Perfection At Home
Robert Morris is 17-2 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.
 
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 14-player roster features seven international players and seven domestic products. RMU's imported players hail from Canada, France, Greece, Italy and Spain.