Moon Township, Pa. – In a rematch of last year's Northeast Conference (NEC) title game, the Robert Morris University women's basketball team withstood an early 9-0 Bryant run to topple the visiting Bulldogs, 72-49, this afternoon at the North Athletic Complex.
The victory establishes a new Robert Morris (15-4, 8-0 NEC) record for its best start in NEC play, as its 8-0 conference record surpasses the 7-0 kickoff to the 2010-11 league campaign. The Colonials used their stifling defense to force a season-high 30 turnovers from Bryant (6-13, 5-3 NEC) and held the visitors to 29.8 percent (14-47) shooting, the sixth time a RMU opponent has shot under 30 percent in a game.
"I said at halftime that we came out a little bit lazy, and when you come out lazy those kind of things happen," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia, referring to Bryant's 9-0 start. "As the game went on, we started to set the tone and find ourselves. That transferred over at the end of the half where we were able to take control and get into a good offensive rhythm. Our backbone, our defense, created everything for us."
Four Colonials reached double-figures scoring, led by Honoka Ikematsu's 16-point effort on 6-of-9 shooting. Jocelynne Jones and Megan Callahan each added 12 points, while Megan Smith scored all 10 of her tallies in the first half.
"Honoka has a lot of talent and it's been a big transition for her coming from Japan, but today she did a great job at playing free," said Buscaglia. "She was hitting from the outside early and getting her shot off quick. She's working on a quicker release and today she shot with confidence. That's great to see, because she's been pushing herself at practice every day. That shows a lot of faith in what we're doing."
The Bulldogs jumped out ahead early, converting on their opening four possessions to take a 9-0 lead. Kierra Palmer kicked it off with a long three-pointer as the shot clock sounded, then Bryant grabbed a total of six offensive rebounds over the next three trips down the floor before converting on each of them.
Jones briefly halted the Bulldog rally with a pair of free throws four minutes in. After Macey Zegarowski and Mikalah Mulrain traded layups, RMU closed the frame on an 11-3 run thanks to two more Mulrain baskets along with contributions from Smith, Jones, Nneka Ezeigbo, and Laura Carrasco.
The Colonials took control of the contest in the second and third quarters by outscoring Bryant, 45-18, during that time. RMU caused 20 of the visitors' 30 turnovers over this stretch and held them to 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) from the floor. All of Ikematsu's 16 points came in the middle stanzas as the Colonials converted 61.5 percent (8-13) of their attempts from deep.
The lead reached a game-high 29 points with 3:19 to play after Callahan drained a trifecta off a pass from Smith. Bryant finished the contest on an 8-2 run to set the final score.
In addition to setting a new season-high in turnovers forced, the RMU defense also established new 2017-18 bests in steals (16) and blocked shots (6). Ezeigbo led the way in steals, collecting a career-high six in 20 minutes off the bench. Mulrain tallied half of the Colonials' rejections with three, pulling within 11 of tying the program career record (169, Anna Gailite, 2009-13).
The 30 caused turnovers are RMU's most since Feb. 23, 2008 when it forced 31 in a 75-38 victory over Wagner.
"It's great to win the turnover battle," said Buscaglia. "We didn't play a perfect game, but our hearts were full after that rocky start and we just kept battling. The turnovers come when you work hard and speed things up."
The Colonials' eight-game winning streak is tied for the seventh-longest stretch in program history. Last season's team rattled off nine consecutive victories from Jan. 21, 2017 to Feb. 18, 2017.
Sydney Holloway led the Bulldogs with 17 points.
Robert Morris closes a two-game home stand at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 29 against Central Connecticut. A victory would give the Colonials a perfect January, marking the first time since February 2010 that the team has gone undefeated over a full month.
