Emmitsburg, Md. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team ran its winning streak to three, moving to 6-3 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) with a hard-fought 50-44 victory at Mount St. Mary's this afternoon.
Free throw shooting proved to be a difference for Robert Morris (11-9, 6-3 NEC) as it converted 12-of-15 attempts (80.0 percent) from the stripe, compared to Mount St. Mary's (5-15, 3-6 NEC) 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) effort. The extra emphasis at the foul line made up for a season-worst 2-of-14 performance (14.3 percent) on three-point attempts and a 32.7 percent shooting performance overall.
"Things didn't come easy for us today," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "It was a very intense game for 40 minutes, but we were able to take control of it. We struggled to finish well today – we had a lot of opportunities to finish some good looks that we created – but those kind of days happen. The offensive rebounding and willingness to defend each possession really gave us an opportunity to win the game, and ultimately we were able to do that."
Holding a narrow 37-36 lead early in the fourth quarter, Nia Adams halted a 7-0 Mountaineer run with her only bucket of the game. Anna Niki Stamolamprou followed that jump with a jumper on the next possession, and then after the media timeout, Nadège Pluviose – making her first career start – buried a left-handed hook in the lane to put the Colonials up seven.
RMU's strong day at the chalk proved dividends down the stretch as a pair of Katrice Dickson free throws were canceled out by Mikalah Mulrain. Mount St. Mary's scored the next four points to make it 45-42 with 1:07 left, but after another Mulrain basket, Janee Brown and Stamolamprou sealed the win by making three of four possible freebies.
"We held ourselves accountable when shooting free throws," said Buscaglia. "The routine remains the same all year long, but a lot of it has to be player-driven. Players know that they should shoot a lot of them on their own, because there's not a whole lot of time to practice, like to have an hour's worth of free throws. You have to get them in when you're tired, so that you get used to the feel during the game."
The difference remained between two and four points for the opening seven minutes before Rebeca Navarro buried a three off a Mulrain assist. After a Caroline Hummel answer on the other end, Jocelynne Jones canned a jumper from the wing and Stamolamprou sank a trifecta to make it 18-8 after one quarter.
The Colonials flexed their muscle on the boards early on, owning an 11-4 edge in the first stanza. RMU ultimately finished with a 40-32 advantage on the glass – led by Mulrain's season-high 10 – and grabbed 14 caroms on the offensive end.
"[Mount St. Mary's] likes to go with four guards and we knew that we had the size and strength advantages inside," said Buscaglia. "Our players responded well to that by crashing the boards. We just had a really good focus on rebounding and took advantage with our size and athleticism inside."
Stamolamprou led RMU with 15 points, while Navarro added nine to go along with four assists and four steals off the bench. Pluviose pulled down five boards and tallied a steal in her aforementioned first appearance in the Colonial starting five.
"Nadège has been playing [Megan Smith's] position all year and she has accepted her role as someone we count on as a freshman, so we wanted to give her this opportunity to start," said Pluviose. "She knocked down a big left-handed hook in the line with the shot clock winding down, which is a moment where a lot of freshmen would be scared. I was really proud of her down the stretch."
RMU has now won eight consecutive games against Mount St. Mary's and is 19-2 over the teams' last 21 meetings.
Robert Morris remains fourth in the NEC standings after the conclusion of today's games and will look to extend its winning streak to four games on Monday, Jan. 30 at Keystone State rival Saint Francis U. Opening tip is set for 7:00 p.m. between the Colonials and Red Flash.
