Women's Basketball | 11/21/2018 2:38:00 PM

GAME #5
Robert Morris Colonials (1-3, 0-0 NEC) vs. SMU Mustangs (2-3, 0-0 AAC)
Friday, November 23, 2018 // 3:30 p.m. (ET) // Los Angeles, Calif. – Albert Gersten Pavilion
Live Video: TheW.tv // LiveStats: LMULions.com
 
GAME #6
vs. Loyola Marymount Lions (3-0, 0-0 WCC) or Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (3-1, 0-0 Big West)
Saturday, November 24, 2018 // 3:30 p.m. (ET) or 6:00 p.m. (ET) // Los Angeles, Calif. – Albert Gersten Pavilion
Live Video: TheW or YouTube // LiveStats: LMULions.com
 
Notes Package: Robert Morris

Musket Shots
> The Robert Morris University women's basketball team continues a four-game road trip with its second straight Thanksgiving trip to the Golden State, as it takes part in the Loyola Marymount Thanksgiving Classic on Friday, Nov. 23 and Saturday, Nov. 24. The Colonials will play SMU in a 3:30 PM (ET)/12:30 PM (PT) tip to open the invitational, then depending on the result will match up with LMU or Northern Arizona on Saturday at either 3:30 PM (ET) or 6:00 PM (ET). Both RMU and the Mustangs are coming off losses, the former to Bowling Green (61-60) and the latter to Southeastern Louisiana (63-62).
> This four-game road trip is tied for the longest this season for the Colonials, matching an NEC swing from Jan. 12 to Jan. 21. RMU's longest home stand follows this stretch, lasting a total of six games from Dec. 7 to Jan. 7.
> Third-year head coach Charlie Buscaglia sits two wins shy of 50 for his career following Sunday's triumph against La Salle. Buscaglia is looking to reach 50 victories faster than any other coach in program history, the record currently held by Dan Swalga at 78 games. His father, Sal Buscaglia, reached the 50-win mark at RMU on Dec. 28, 2006 after 96 contests in charge of the Colonials.
 
Series History w/ SMU, Loyola Marymount, & Northern Arizona
Overall: 0-0 | Home: 0-0 | Away: 0-0 | Streak: --
Last Meeting: N/A
> Robert Morris has never played SMU, Loyola Marymount, or Northern Arizona in its history.
 
Scouting the Mustangs
> SMU enters Friday's contest with a 2-3 overall record, owning victories over Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi Valley State. The Mustangs have lost three straight, dropping tough decisions to Alabama in overtime (62-61), TCU (65-63), and Southeastern Louisiana (63-62).
> Freshman guard Kayla White leads SMU in scoring (15.0 PPG), converting 37.1 percent of her field goal attempts. Fellow first-year Amber Bacon is averaging 12.8 points per contest, while senior forward Alicia Froling is a double-double machine (11.8 PPG, 12.8 RPG) with a team-high seven blocks.
 
Scouting the Lions
> Loyola Marymount opens its home tournament with a 3-0 overall record with wins over UCLA (69-63), Arizona (66-64), and UC Santa Barbara (70-57). The Lions were picked to finish fourth in the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll.
> Redshirt senior forward Gabby Green was a Preseason All-WCC pick and scored 25 points in LMU's opener against UCLA, but hasn't played since. Sophomore guard Chelsey Gipson is averaging 12.3 points per game, and sophomore forward Jasmine Jones is at 12.0 points per contest despite not receiving a start. Redshirt senior forward Bree Alford is pulling down 10.7 rebounds per game.
 
Scouting the Lumberjacks
> Northern Arizona arrives in Los Angeles sporting a 3-1 record, owning triumphs over Fresno State (86-73), Seattle (65-58), and California Baptist (91-88). The Lumberjacks' only loss came at Washington, a 81-59 defeat.
> Sophomore forward Khiarica Rasheed leads the team at 16.8 points per game, converting field goals at an outstanding 62.2 percent rate. Senior forward Kaleigh Paplow is averaging 16.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per contest, while sophomore guard Lauren Orndoff is also averaging double figures (11.0 PPG) and shooting 63.6 (7-11) percent from deep.
 
The Defense (Never) Rests
> Defense has been the Colonials' calling card over the last few seasons, and 2018-19 isn't shaping up to be any different. RMU held La Salle to just 39 points on Nov. 11 and Rhode Island to 46 on Nov. 13, the 24th and 25th times since 2016-17 that it has limited an opponent to 50 points or fewer. The Explorers converted at just a 22.2 percent (12-54 FG) rate from the floor, becoming the 16th different team to shoot under 30 percent against the Colonials during that timeframe.
> The Colonials forced 20 turnovers at Bowling Green, the second straight game they have made their opponent make 20 or more mistakes. Last season, RMU forced 20 or more turnovers on 15 occasions.
> Through four games, RMU currently paces the NEC in scoring defense by allowing 53.8 points per game. The Colonials have established a new school record two years running in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 57.0 PPG in 2016-17 and 54.1 PPG last season. Last season's mark also ranked eighth nationally.
 
Three, Trois, Tres, San
> RMU has done the majority of its offensive damage from three-point land in its first four games, averaging 10.0 makes per game at a 39.2 percent conversion rate.
> Esther Castedo and Honoka Ikematsu both lead the team with 11 makes from deep. Castedo is converting at a 50.0 percent clip on three-pointers, while Ikematsu is right behind at 47.8 percent. Megan Callahan has made eight of 20 attempts from beyond the arc, good for a 40.0 percent rate.
> 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 Colonials made double-digit three-pointers in both of their first two games, the first time that has happened in program history. Over the last three seasons, RMU had reached the double-figure mark for trifectas in just 11 contests.
 
Cleaning the Glass
> Spending her first two seasons as a key contributor off the bench, junior forward Nadège Pluviose has taken her predecessor's (Megan Smith '18) role as a relentless threat on the glass.
> Pluviose is averaging 8.5 rebounds per game, a mark that leads the team and is third in the NEC. An average of 4.3 caroms have come on the offensive glass, including five at Bowling Green last Saturday.
> The Montreal, Quebec product has posted her rebounding career standard in consecutive games now, pulling down 10 each against Rhode Island and Bowling Green.
 
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 are 1-0 in such situations this season and went 25-0 last season. All-time, RMU is 599-0 when holding the lead at the final whistle.

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