New Britain, Conn. – Strong play inside and an opportunistic defense helped the Robert Morris University women's basketball team close its road slate with a 67-51 victory at Central Connecticut this evening in Northeast Conference (NEC) action from Detrick Gymnasium.
Robert Morris (21-6, 14-2 NEC) scored 40 of its 67 points in the paint, and received double-digit scoring efforts from centers Nneka Ezeigbo and Mikalah Mulrain. Ezeigbo went for 13 points – 10 coming in the second half – and seven rebounds, while Mulrain scored all 10 of her points in the opening 20 minutes to go along with eight caroms. On the defensive end, the Colonials held Central Connecticut (6-21, 6-10 NEC) to just 18 points in the paint.
"I'm very proud of the team tonight," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "Not just for winning the game, but it was the effort to step up and give more when we had to give more as our rotation got short. I felt that we showed our heart in some key spots tonight and I'm proud of that."
"We got (our points in the paint) in different ways," added Buscaglia. "Some of it was great posting, and some of it was going after offensive rebounds. We had a good balance inside of being strong and relentless, and it definitely helped us out in terms of controlling the paint."
RMU began all four quarters with a run, starting with a 12-0 lead to start things off. The Colonials received a pair of Honoka Ikematsu three-pointers and buckets from Mulrain, Megan Smith, and Jocelynne Jones. The Blue Devils answered with a 12-0 run of their own to tie it, but RMU scored five of the next six points to regain the advantage at 17-13.
A 10-4 stretch to begin the second quarter pushed the Colonials' lead to double-digits at 29-17, but CCSU again had a response, scoring 13 of the next 19 points to make it a five-point game at the break.
RMU started the third frame just as well as the first two, scoring the first eight points to make it 47-30. Ezeigbo scored eight of her 13 points during that run after tallying just three in the first half. In the fourth, the visitors tallied the stanza's first 13 points to stretch their lead to a game-high 26 points at 65-39.
The Colonials received some big contributions from their bench. In addition to Ezeigbo's efforts, Nina Augustin scored 14 points (6-8 FG) in 29 minutes to lead all scorers, while Laura Carrasco tallied six points, five steals, and three rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
"Laura (Carrasco) brought a ton of energy and passion today, and did some great things defensively," said Buscaglia. "I'm very proud of how she stepped up and seized the moment. Nina (Augustin) had to play the entire second half for us battling an illness, and she showed a real big heart. When you get in these moments, your heart is exposed, and I felt she showed what she has in a tough spot."
RMU forced 25 turnovers and tallied 15 steals defensively. Emma McCamus led the Blue Devils with 13 points.
Robert Morris returns home for its final two games of the regular season, beginning with a 7:00 p.m. opening tip on Friday, March 2 against Wagner.
