Staten Island, N.Y. – Another single-game program record gained a rewrite this afternoon as the Robert Morris University women's basketball team defeated Wagner College, 82-63, in Northeast Conference (NEC) action from the Spiro Sports Center.
Five days after senior guard Anna Niki Stamolamprou tied single-game standards in points scored and field goals made, junior center Mikalah Mulrain went a perfect 8-for-8 from the field, establishing a new record in field goal percentage (min. 8 FGM). Mulrain's 1.000 mark surpassed the previous standards of .900, which was accomplished twice, most recently by recent RMU Ring of Honor inductee Sugeiry Monsac on Feb. 5, 2007 against Fairleigh Dickinson.
"Mikalah played with a lot of passion," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "One of our biggest words we live by is passion and seeing the way she performed today was all about the passion she brought to the floor. It really was beautiful to see, because that's the Mikalah Mulrain that we know we can see more often, and if she continues to bring that focus, then she'll be tough in there. Her performance was a testament to her overall mindset, and I'm proud of her for having a special day."
Robert Morris (8-8, 3-2 NEC) used both an efficient offensive attack and opportunistic defense to pick up their second consecutive victory, as it set a new season-high in field goal percentage at 58.2 percent and tied its best mark in steals with 13. The Colonials had four players in double-figure scoring, led by Mulrain's season-high 18 points.
"Our offense did a good job at reading the defense and the actions," continued Buscaglia. "We took what the defense gave us. For the most part, we played with a good pace – with an exception for a lull coming in the second quarter. We got a lot of better looks because we were out there thinking the game, and in this game when you create the better looks you'll usually win. We didn't settle for tough and contested shots; we worked to get an open shot and worked the ball inside well."
RMU started strong once again, scoring the game's first 11 points and didn't allow a Wagner (1-15, 0-5 NEC) bucket until the 3:12 mark of the first quarter. The Colonials' opening spurt came off some opportunistic defense as they forced 10 turnovers in the stanza and tied a season-high with 13 steals for the game.
"We did a very good job at setting the tone early defensively," said Buscaglia. "[Wagner] is a very isolation, one-on-one dribbling team and we knew that we would have to guard the ball well. We showed good accountability on man-to-man principles and when we stayed in front of the ball, we caused them to throw passes that were tougher to complete.
The Seahawks responded well in the second quarter, however, burying a trio of trifectas to open the stanza and cut the RMU lead from 20-6 after one to 35-29 at halftime.
Mulrain went to work in the third quarter, surpassing her previous season-high in the frame alone as she tallied 10 points. It took her 13 seconds to get involved as a smart drive and dish from Stamolamprou freed her at the block. She then had back-to-back buckets around the seven-minute park off passes from junior forward Megan Smith and senior guard Janee Brown. Her eighth point came from a Jocelynne Jones helper, while nine and 10 were from the stripe to make it 55-40.
The advantage remained 15 heading into the fourth quarter and it reached a peak of 25 points following a Rebeca Navarro trifecta and layup from freshman forward Nadège Pluviose. A 10-point run by the Seahawks cut the deficit to 73-58 with 2:32 remaining, but another Mulrain bucket and points from Brown and Stamolamprou put an end to the hosts' faint hopes.
Mulrain added a game-high seven rebounds to her 18 points. Stamolamprou and Smith each scored 16, while Brown tallied 10 and five assists.
Defensively, the Colonials forced Wagner into 22 total turnovers. Smith registered a career-best five steals, while Stamolamprou and Brown each swiped three.
Robert Morris returns home to kick off a three-game home stand, starting on Monday, Jan. 16 at 2:00 p.m. against Keystone State rival Saint Francis U.
