Iowa City, Iowa – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team turned a 20-point first half deficit into a four-point one midway through the third quarter, but No. 14/15 Iowa withstood the pressure and took control shortly after as the Colonials fell to the Hawkeyes, 92-63, this afternoon from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Robert Morris (1-6, 0-0 NEC) was looking for its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent in its 15th try, and made a game out of it with a 17-of-30 performance from the field over the second and third quarters. The Colonials sank 9-of-15 three-pointers over that stretch, including a 6-of-8 effort in the second stanza.
"We battled hard for three quarters of the game," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "I was very proud of the effort for three quarters. We were doing some nice things, but we have to learn from it and know for 40 minutes we have to continue with that effort and always finish."
After an Alexis Sevillian three-pointer with 2:18 left in the half made it 48-28 in favor of Iowa (5-2, 0-0 Big Ten), Esther Castedo responded with a trifecta from the wing. Nadège Pluviose followed that up with a driving layup, then Nina Augustin drilled her own trey to turn a 20-point deficit into a 12-point one at halftime.
Nneka Ezeigbo traded baskets with Megan Gustafson to begin the third, then Nia Adams answered Gustafson's second bucket with a layup. Megan Callahan added a three-pointer after the RMU defense forced one of 17 Hawkeye turnovers, making it a single-digit affair for the first time since the 2:18 mark of the first.
Ezeigbo sank a foul line jumper after a Makenzie Meyer basket, keeping the gap at single digits. Adams followed that up by canning a three-pointer, forcing an Iowa timeout with the score 54-48.
Following two Hannah Stewart free throws, Ezeigbo went back to work with two layups underneath to trim the deficit to 56-52. The Hawkeyes responded with a 7-1 run to return the difference to 10 points, but Honoka Ikematsu found nothing but net from the top of the key to make it 63-56. After two layups from Monika Czinano, Isabella Posset raced in for a layup, making it a single-digit game heading into the fourth.
"It was kind of a chess match there for a while," said Buscaglia. "We went over some strategic things we saw that was affecting them on the offensive end, mixed some things up, and played with a really good pace. We stayed after it defensively and had it going pretty good for the second and third quarter."
Ezeigbo led the Colonials with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, adding four steals defensively. Pluviose and Adams each established season-highs with 11 points, with the latter connecting on 3-of-6 attempts from deep.
"(Nneka) played a good game today," said Buscaglia. "We've seen some good progress with her lately, and this was the ultimate test to go against a post player (Gustafson) like this – arguably the best post player in the country. When she was out there, she was our best chance to do some good things on both ends on the floor. She stayed out of foul trouble too, which was a big thing for us."
Gustafson, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, led all players with 32 points and 12 rebounds.
"(This road trip) showed us a lot of things we have to get better at," said Buscaglia. "Every team that we played over this road trip threw something different at us, had a little bit different of a style or played a different defense. We got this video now and this experience on the court, and now we have to utilize it and stay true to what we're doing. We have to be confident in who we are and our work ethic, and hopefully it'll make us better going forward."
Robert Morris returns to Moon Township to begin a six-game home stand, starting on Friday, Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m. against Kent State.
Follow the Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
