Women's Basketball | 1/6/2017 11:46:00 AM

GAME 14
St. Francis Brooklyn (3-10, 1-1 NEC) at Robert Morris (6-7, 1-1 NEC)
Saturday, January 7, 2017 • 1:00 p.m.
Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056) • Moon Township, Pa.

Video: RMUColonials.com • NECFrontRow.com
Video Talent: Adam Gusky (play-by-play), Justin Pyles (color commentary)
Twitter: @RMUWBasketball • Instagram: rmuwbasketball
 
The Capsule
Robert Morris returns to The Chuck for the first time in a month on Saturday, Jan. 7 as it hosts five of its next six games, starting with a tilt against St. Francis Brooklyn. Both teams split their respective opening weekends of Northeast Conference (NEC) competition; RMU gained a victory over Fairleigh Dickinson, while the Terriers defeated Bryant at home on Dec. 29.
 


The Series vs. St. Francis Brooklyn
Robert Morris owns a 41-19 record over the Terriers in its history, but St. Francis Brooklyn has gotten the better of the Colonials in their last two meetings at The Chuck. RMU's last victory over the Terriers in Moon Township came on Jan. 17, 2015 as it held off a late rally to win 67-64. The Colonials tied a program single-game record with 13 three-pointers in that contest and were led by Anna Niki Stamolamprou, who scored 23 points on a 6-of-9 performance from beyond the arc.

Scouting the Terriers
St. Francis Brooklyn is 3-10 overall and 1-1 in the early stages of NEC play after being picked to finish sixth in the conference according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches. Senior forward Olivia Levey paces the Terriers in scoring at 13.3 points per game and has a team-high 17 steals. Sophomore forward Maria Palarino - who has some local ties as a Penn Trafford (Irwin, Pa.) graduate - is St. Francis Brooklyn's leading rebounder at 6.5 per contest and is also averaging 10.0 points per game. As a team, the Terriers are the best free throw shooting team in the NEC at 76.2 percent, but are the worst in three-point percentage at 25.9.

Coach B Weekly
In the seventh episode of Coach B Weekly, head coach Charlie Buscaglia recaps the Colonials' opening weekend of NEC play, takes a look at the team's success on three-point attempts, previews the upcoming weekend against St. Francis Brooklyn and LIU Brooklyn, and shares a recruitment story of Sugeiry Monsac (2004-07).


 
Know Your Enemy
Anna Niki Stamolamprou averages 16.7 points per game on 44.9 percent shooting against St. Francis Brooklyn and has scored 20 or more points on three occasions. Stamolamprou is also making 43.4 percent of her three-point attempts and is registering averages of 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest. Last season, Megan Smith tallied 11 points in each meeting with the Terriers, adding 15 total rebounds and five helpers.

Last Time Out
Robert Morris bounced back from a loss to Sacred Heart in its NEC opener to defeat Fairleigh Dickinson, 66-64, on New Year's Eve. The Colonials used a 46-30 difference in the middle frames to grab the win, which included a 28-point second quarter - the team's highest scoring stanza of the season. Rebeca Navarro came a point shy of tying her career high in scoring, tallying a game-best 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
 
Ring of Honor
Sugeiry Monsac, a 2007 alumnae of Robert Morris, is slated to become the first member of the women's basketball program inducted into RMU Ring of Honor at halftime of Saturday's game against St. Francis Brooklyn. Monsac claimed NEC Player of the Year accolades in 2005, helped lead the Colonials to their first NCAA Tournament berth in 2007, and was named to the RMU Hall of Fame in 2014.
 
From Downtown
In its victory at Fairleigh Dickinson, RMU established a new single-game record for three-point percentage (min. 10 3FGM) at 66.7 percent. The Colonials made 12-of-18 attempts from deep, led by Rebeca Navarro's 6-of-9 performance. Anna Niki Stamolamprou added three trifectas for RMU, who as a team paces the NEC from beyond the arc with a 37.2 percent conversion rate.
 
The 50-40-90 Club
It has been said that the ultimate standard for shooters in basketball is to make 50 percent of your field goals, 40 percent of your three-point attempts, and 90 percent of your free throws. Junior forward Megan Smith is on pace to become the program's first member of the exclusive club as she's shooting 50.8/54.3/91.3 across the three categories. RMU has only had 11 players shoot 50 percent or higher in a season (min. 60 FGM) and seven make over 40 or more percent of their three-pointers (min. 20 3PM). The Colonials have not had a player make 90 or more percent of their free throws (min. 50 FTM), and have had eight players with a percentage of at least 80 percent.
 
Major Minutes
Senior guard Rebeca Navarro didn't start for the first time all season on Dec. 29 at Sacred Heart, but she still managed to play a team-high 38 minutes in the defeat. Navarro has been hard to pull off the floor for the Colonials in her last hurrah, currently sitting second in the NEC with an average of 33.63 minutes per contest. Her classmate, Anna Niki Stamolamprou, leads the league at 36.00 minutes per game.
 
The Floor General
Senior guard Janee Brown has had a strong start to her final season in a Colonial uniform, owning a 1.74 assist-to-turnover ratio through the first 12 games. Brown (47a, 27t) currently leads the Northeast Conference, which hasn't been done since 2009-10 when Angela Pace topped the league with a 2.36 mark.

Musket Shots
In the Colonials' six victories this season, they have held a lead going into the fourth quarter ...  The last two times Robert Morris has started 1-1 in league play have ended in an NEC Tournament title (2013-14) and a conference championship game appearance (2014-15)  ... Nneka Ezeigbo claimed her second NEC Rookie of the Week award on Dec. 19, becoming the fourth Colonial in the last five seasons to garner the plaudits more than once (Ashley Ravelli, Megan Smith, Anna Niki Stamolamprou) ... RMU returns 74 percent of its scoring from 2015-16, including five of its six leading scorers

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