Emmitsburg, Md. – A strong first quarter helped the Robert Morris University women's basketball team extend its winning streak to seven games with a 77-68 victory at Mount St. Mary's this evening in Northeast Conference (NEC) play from Knott Arena.
Robert Morris (14-4, 7-0 NEC) led wire-to-wire, opening the game with a 10-0 lead after the first two minutes. The Colonials shot 45.9 percent (28-61) from the floor and made 9-of-20 (45.0 percent) of their three-point attempts, and owned a 43-24 edge on the glass.
"We did a good job at setting the tone early on," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "Offensively, we got off to a nice start and gained control of the game thanks to coming out prepared and playing free. As the game progressed, I give Mount St. Mary's a lot of credit for continuing to fight and play hard. At the end of the day, we have to be a little bit smarter closing out the game and have to grow up fast since we have a lot of young players on the floor. We have to continue to get better every day and put bricks on our foundation."
RMU began the game with points on its first three possessions. Megan Smith started it off with a layup, followed by a Megan Callahan three from the wing. Honoka Ikematsu then canned a trifecta from the corner, forcing an early timeout from the Mountaineers just 1:10 into the contest. Another defensive stop turned into a second Smith basket, giving the Colonials an early double-digit advantage.
Mount St. Mary's (6-13, 3-5 NEC) responded with a 7-0 stretch as Ashlee White sank a three, jumper, and two free throws. The difference would bounce between one and two possessions for the next three minutes, then RMU closed the quarter on a 9-2 run thanks to two Nina Augustin treys, a Jocelynne Jones jumper, and Nneka Ezeigbo foul shot to make it 22-12 after one.
Daly Sullivan – who led all scorers with 19 points off the bench – opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, pulling the hosts within four at 58-54. The Mountaineers then had a chance to make it a two-point game, but a pair of blocks by Smith and Mulrain held the four-point advantage in place. Jones followed that up with a layup, kickstarting a 13-0 run that made it a 71-54 contest.
Smith led the Colonials with 15 points (7-10 FG) and eight rebounds. The senior forward was one of four RMU players in double-figures scoring, joining Nina Augustin (career-high 14), Honoka Ikematsu (14), and Megan Callahan (12).
"(Megan) was really good today," said Buscaglia. "She was very relentless. (Mount St. Mary's) played four guards for most of the game, leaving Megan to use her lateral quickness and the things we developed with her, along with her physicality around the basket. She really took over when the team needed her to and played with a great pace. She was a backbone for us both offensively and defensively."
This is the Colonials' 10th consecutive victory over the Mountaineers.
RMU has tied its best start to open the conference campaign, joining the 2010-11 squad as the only teams in program history to open NEC play at 7-0.
Robert Morris returns home for a pair of games, starting on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 1:00 p.m. against Bryant. The Colonials and Bulldogs are riding the best current winning streaks in the league at seven and five games, respectively.
