Moon Township, Pa. – Quick starts to both halves helped the Robert Morris University women's basketball team snap a six-game losing streak as it defeated Pitt-Johnstown, 73-53, this afternoon from the North Athletic Complex.
It was a wire-to-wire victory for Robert Morris (2-7, 0-0 NEC), who topped Pitt-Johnstown (4-5, 1-2 PSAC) in the teams' first meeting since the 1983-84 season. The Colonials jumped ahead with a 16-7 run to begin the game, and came out of the halftime break scoring 13 of the third quarter's opening 16 points to take control.
"We had some good performances today in some areas," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "I like how we played more free, that was a big focus in our week of practice. We made some changes and some tweaks, and I thought we handled it pretty well after a good week. We were sloppy at some points – the second quarter wasn't great – but I was happy with the 40-minute effort."
Making their first starts of the season, Isabella Posset and Honoka Ikematsu made immediate contributions. Ikematsu dashed inside to sink a layup to make it 6-0, then after an Alexis Hartwick trifecta made it a one-point game, Posset drilled a trey to put RMU ahead 11-7 with 6:10 left in the first.
That lead extended to 16-7 following two Ikematsu free throws and a Nia Adams three. Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu checked in for Nneka Ezeigbo soon after and went to work, scoring on three of four possessions to give the Colonials a 22-14 edge after 10 minutes of play.
The Mountain Cats slowly chipped away, pulling within four with two Gabrielle Smith free throws late in the half. Nina Augustin answered with a three-pointer on the other end however, making it 29-22 at halftime.
Buscaglia burned a timeout early in the second half following an Alli McGrath jumper that set the score at 31-24. After the break, Posset and Adams sank treys on back-to-back possessions, then Nadège Pluviose converted one of her own to stretch the gap to 40-25. It would reach as much as 54-33 in the frame, thanks to an Ezeigbo layup with 37 seconds on the clock.
RMU's largest lead came with 1:21 remaining as Esther Castedo found Posset on the baseline for a corner three. The trifecta gave the freshman 16 points on the afternoon, a career-high in her first start for the Colonials.
Posset's 16 paced the hosts, coming on 5-of-8 shooting and 4-of-7 from deep. Augustin added 13 off the bench, followed by Ozzy-Momodu's career-high 11 and 10 for Adams. Ozzy-Momodu also pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds to achieve the first double-double of her career. The 16 caroms were also the most for a RMU player since Dec. 14, 2014 when Judith Sole pulled down 17 against Duquesne.
"(Isabella) did great today," said Buscaglia. "She played free today and knocked shots down, didn't tighten herself up in big moments and played with no fear. She did some good stuff on defense too with tracing the ball. Today was a good all-around game for her and a step in the right direction. I'm really happy to see her respond with the new challenge."
Smith led UPJ with 19 points (6-13 FG, 7-8 FT), while McGrath added 15 in what was an exhibition contest for the Division II team.
The Mountain Cats became the Colonials' sixth opponent to turn the ball over 20 or more times, as they committed 25 mistakes in all. RMU swiped a season-high 19 steals in the win, four each coming from Ikematsu and Castedo.
Robert Morris continues its six-game home stand on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 10:00 a.m. against Delaware State. The Colonials will be hosting Career & Education Day at the North Athletic Complex, as students from seven different Pittsburgh-area elementary and middle schools will be attending the game.
Follow the Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
