Smithfield, R.I. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team clinched its spot as one of the two Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament hosts this afternoon, using a season-high 12 three-pointers to defeat Bryant, 67-61, in NEC play from the Chace Athletic Center.
With its first regular-season victory at Bryant (9-17, 8-7 NEC) since Feb. 22, 2014, Robert Morris (20-6, 13-2 NEC) reached the 20-win mark for the 11th time in program history and the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Colonials converted on half of their three-point attempts, offsetting a rare off day on the glass as the Bulldogs owned a 40-22 edge in that department.
"I give a lot of credit to Bryant for working hard throughout the game," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "They played with a ton of fire and definitely challenged us. We played in spurts, which allowed us to come away with the win today. We have to tighten up some screws going forward to get better."
After a miss on its opening possession, RMU caught fire from beyond the arc, sinking its next six attempts to take a 22-12 lead into the second quarter. Honoka Ikematsu sank half of those three-pointers, while her classmate Megan Callahan added a pair. The two rookies entered this afternoon's slate ranked first and third, respectively, in the NEC for three-point percentage.
Bryant responded with a 9-0 run over the first and second quarters to pull within five, but two layups from Nneka Ezeigbo and a couple of foul shots pushed the gap to double-digits. The Bulldogs again cut the deficit to six points late in the first half; however, Ikematsu canned her fourth trifecta to make it 33-24 at the break.
The hosts wouldn't go away, trimming the gap to one point at 44-43 thanks to a Masey Zegarowski jumper in the closing minutes of the third quarter. Nina Augustin and Sydney Holloway traded buckets to keep the difference the same, then Augustin buried a trey as time expired to give RMU some momentum into the fourth.
That's where Mikalah Mulrain took over. After another Augustin three and Holloway layup, Mulrain would score the visitors' next four buckets – two coming on offensive rebounds – to set the score at 60-52. The lead again reached double-digits with 1:20 to go after an Ikematsu three-pointer, ultimately sealing the Colonials' 20th win.
"Mikalah (Mulrain) has had performances in the past where she gets into a zone and plays very passionately," said Buscaglia. "That's exactly what we saw from her today. She got after it, diving out of bounds and making the hustle plays. It was a great performance from her on both ends of the floor, and hopefully that's the kind of contagious passion that we can catch fire through the team."
Ikematsu led RMU with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Mulrain added 14 on 7-of-11 from the field to go along with four blocks, while Augustin tallied 10 points for her fourth career double-digit scoring outing. Megan Smith dished out a career-high seven assists.
Holloway scored a game-high 23 points in the defeat. Both her (23 points, 12 rebounds) and Brooke Bjelko (12 points, 11 rebounds) posted double-doubles for the hosts.
Mulrain now has 166 career blocks, needing just four more to break the program record set by Anna Gailite (169, 2009-13).
With the win, the Colonials have secured their spot as a host for the upcoming NEC Tournament. The top two teams in the conference will hold the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on March 7-8, with the highest remaining seed hosting the NEC Championship Game on Sunday, March 11.
Robert Morris plays its final road contest of the regular season on Monday, Feb. 26 at 7:00 p.m. against Central Connecticut.
