GAME #2
La Salle Explorers (0-1, 0-0 A-10) @ Robert Morris Colonials (0-1, 0-0 NEC)
Sunday, November 11, 2018 // Noon // Moon Township, Pa. – North Athletic Complex
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: RMUColonials.com
Play-by-Play: Adam Gusky, Color Commentary: Justin Pyles

Notes Packages: La Salle // Robert Morris

Musket Shots
> The Robert Morris University women's basketball team returns to Moon Township for its home opener on Sunday, Nov. 11 at noon as Keystone State foe La Salle comes to town. The Colonials and Explorers both stumbled in their season debuts; RMU fell at Youngstown State in overtime, 69-59, while La Salle dropped a 57-54 decision against Howard.
> The Colonials have won two of their last three home openers, picking up victories over West Virginia Wesleyan (124-59) in 2015 and Point Park (69-52) in 2016, before falling to Bowling Green in overtime last year, 64-62.
> Guided by third-year coach Charlie Buscaglia, RMU returns a pair of starters and nine letterwinners from its 2017-18 squad that won a school-record 25 games and a share of the Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season crown.
> Robert Morris was selected to finish first in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, earning five of nine possible first-place votes. This is the fourth time in the last six seasons that the Colonials were named the favorite, and during that timeframe they've never been picked outside of the top two. Junior center Nneka Ezeigbo was named Preseason All-NEC after leading RMU in scoring (10.4 PPG) and rebounding (7.0 RPG) last season.
 
Series History w/ La Salle
Overall: 1-4 | Home: 0-1 | Away: 1-2 | Streak: W1
Last Meeting: 11/21/2015; Philadelphia, Pa. – Robert Morris 76, La Salle 45
> Robert Morris is 1-4 all-time against La Salle, having played the Explorers only twice in the last four seasons and three times this century.
> All five games in this series have been decided by double-digits, with a 76-63 win in favor of La Salle in 1981-82 being the closest matchup.
> RMU used a 27-10 third-quarter difference to topple the Explorers, 76-45, in their last meeting on Nov. 21, 2015. All but two of the 13 Colonials that saw action made a basket, with Anna Niki Stamolamprou's 15 points (6-11 FG) leading the way. Mikalah Mulrain posted a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double, and Megan Smith nearly had one of her own with nine points and nine caroms.
 
Scouting the Explorers
> La Salle finished last season with an 8-22 overall record and 3-13 mark in Atlantic 10 play. The Explorers are under new leadership with first-year head coach Mountain MacGillivray, and were picked to finish 14th this season in the A-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
> La Salle lost its three leading scorers from a season ago, with junior forward Shalina Miller being the top returnee with 8.2 points per game. In their season-opening defeat to Howard, sophomore guard Rayshel Brown paced the Explorers with 10 points (6-10 FT). Miller fell a point shy of a double-double with 12 caroms, but as a team La Salle only converted 20.3 percent (14-69) of its field goal attempts.
 
Splash Sisters
> Sophomore guard duo Megan Callahan and Honoka Ikematsu emerged as two of the top three-point threats in the NEC last season, finishing fourth and third, respectively in conversion rate. On Tuesday at Youngstown State, the duo continued to live up to that billing, combining to go 6-of-11 (54.5%) from beyond the arc.
> Ikematsu came off the bench to lead the Colonials in scoring with 15 points (5-11 FG, 5-9 3PT) in 24 minutes. Callahan started her 33rd consecutive game at shooting guard, tallying eight points (3-6 FG, 1-2 3PT) in 20 minutes.
> Last season, Ikematsu made 41.4 percent of her attempts from deep, sinking a total of 65. Callahan converted 38.3 percent of her three-point shots, making 64 in all. Those marks also rank first and sixth, respectively, in the school career record books, with the Japanese guard holding the current program standard.
 
The Pittsburgh Kid
> Isabella Posset did a little of everything in her collegiate debut on Tuesday, collecting five points, eight assists, and three steals in 27 minutes off the bench. The eight assists are the most for a RMU player in a season opener since Briannica Tye dished out nine against Coppin State on Nov. 12, 2011.
> A native of Beaver, Pa., Posset provides some rare local flair to the Colonials roster in 2018-19. She is the first Pittsburgh-area player on the team since Britta Emberg (Kittanning HS) in 2013-14, and the first on scholarship since Monica Jones (Woodland Hills HS) in 2009-10.
> Posset starred at Beaver High School, being named PIAA All-State twice, with a First Team designation following her senior season. She collected Beaver County Times Player of the Year accolades and led the team to its first appearance in the WPIAL Championship Game.
 
Waiting Their Turn
> Neither Nneka Ezeigbo nor Nadège Pluviose started a game during their sophomore seasons, but both appeared in the starting five as juniors on Tuesday at Youngstown State.
> Ezeigbo's last start came as a freshman on Dec. 31, 2016 at Fairleigh Dickinson. She's the Colonials' active leading scorer (531 points) and rebounder (370 rebounds), having posted six points and eight caroms to go along with two blocks in the season opener.
> While Ezeigbo started 10 games in 2016-17, Pluviose kicked things off on just two occasions as a rookie, the most recent being on Jan. 30, 2017 at Saint Francis U. The Montreal, Quebec native has played in all of RMU's 67 games since her freshman campaign, seeing an average of 11.9 minutes per contest. On Tuesday, Pluviose went for nine points (3-5 FG, 2-2 3PT) and eight rebounds in a career-high 32 minutes of action, coming just shy of posting her first career double-double.
 
Continuing the Legacy
> After taking the reins from his father, Sal Buscaglia, prior to the 2016-17 season, third-year head coach Charlie Buscaglia has continued to raise the bar for the program. Coach B, as he is respectfully called, has been named Brenda Reilly NEC Coach of the Year in each of his first two seasons, leading the Colonials to 47 victories, two NEC regular-season titles, a NEC Tournament crown and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth, and a Postseason WNIT appearance.
> With three more victories, Buscaglia will become the third coach in program history to reach the 50 mark. The Empire State native owns a .701 winning percentage through 66 contests, and has won 83.3 percent (30 of 36) of his NEC games. His 22 wins in 2016-17 established a new school record for a first-year head coach.
 
Welcome to Hoop Township
> Robert Morris is currently in the midst of a golden era for the program, winning a total of 105 games and advancing to four postseason tournaments (3 NCAA, 1 WNIT) since the start of the 2013-14 season. RMU has also won 68 of its 90 NEC matchups over this stretch.
> If we stretch the timeline further, since the 2006-07 campaign the Colonials have gone 229-154 (.598) with a 154-62 (.713) mark in conference play. That stretch has featured five NCAA Tournaments (2007, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2017), two WNIT berths (2010, 2018), and a WBI appearance in 2012. RMU has posted seven 20-win seasons over this run and advanced at least one round in the NEC Tournament in 10 seasons.
 
Insurmountable Lead
> Robert Morris has never lost a game in which it has held the lead at the end of the second half. The Colonials went 25-0 in such situations last season, and are 598-0 all-time when holding the lead at the final whistle.

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