Moon Township, Pa. – For the first time since February 2010, the Robert Morris University women's basketball team went undefeated over a full month as the Colonials moved to 9-0 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play with a 66-47 victory over Central Connecticut this evening from the North Athletic Complex.
By holding Central Connecticut (2-18, 2-7 NEC) to 29.4 percent shooting, Robert Morris (16-4, 9-0 NEC) completed a perfect opening trip around the conference. The Colonials received a season-high 22 points (9-10 FG) and nine rebounds from Megan Smith, along with the seventh double-double of the season for Nneka Ezeigbo (10 points, 13 rebounds).
"(Megan Smith) was really good today, and not just because she shot the ball well," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "Her pace was really strong, she did a good job at playing free, and took over when she needed to. She played a real complete game today. I'm very proud of her and how she gave us a steady balance today."
After the Blue Devils took a brief 3-2 lead, RMU answered with an 11-0 run. Honoka Ikematsu converted a tough layup to start it off, then canned a trifecta off a feed from Smith. Megan Callahan followed that up with a layup, and Megan Smith sank back-to-back buckets to make it 13-3.
CCSU wouldn't concede early, however, as three consecutive three-pointers by Morgan Johnson, Andi Lydon, and Emma McCamus – the last coming as the first quarter buzzer sounded – set the score at 13-12 after 10 minutes of play.
The visitors would knot it at 15-all with 7:03 left in the first half after another Johnson trey, but the Colonials regained control with a 7-0 stretch over the next 1:05. That served as part of a 21-7 run over the second and third frames, turning a tie game into 36-22 one in favor of the hosts. The deficit never fell below 12 points from there, as an Ezeigbo layup with 8:21 remaining in the fourth gave the Colonials their largest lead at 56-34.
"We played in spurts again," said Buscaglia. "We had some moments where we did some great things, but never really continued to build on it. There were some good individual performances and good leadership out there today, but also some lackluster performances. We have to be able to put it together as a team."
Ikematsu dished out a career-high eight assists in 38 minutes. Callahan joined Smith and Ezeigbo in double-figures scoring, eclipsing that mark for the fourth consecutive game with 11 points.
RMU has now held seven opponents to below 30 percent shooting this season, one shy of matching last season's mark.
The Colonials' current nine-game winning streak is tied for the fourth longest in program history. Last season, RMU won nine straight from Jan. 21 to Feb. 18.
Robert Morris begins a three-game road trip on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 2:00 p.m. against Saint Francis U. The Colonials were victorious in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 13, 63-62, thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Megan Smith. Saturday's contest can be seen on ESPN3.
