Philadelphia, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team saw its season come to an end in the opening round of the Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) as it fell to Drexel, 57-44, this evening from the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
Robert Morris (25-8, 16-2 NEC) kept pace with Drexel (27-7, 16-2 CAA) for the opening nine minutes, before an 8-0 run gave the Dragons some breathing room. The hosts added nine points to their lead over the second and third quarters, but the Colonials refused to quit, closing the game with a 16-11 advantage in the final 10 minutes.
"We were fighting and close to cutting it to single digits," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "There was no quit in us and a lot of minutes on the floor with (Jocelynne Jones) not playing today with her thumb injury. Drexel was pressing and playing the entire time, they didn't lay down. We kept getting better with our fight and passion, and at the end of the day I was proud of that."
The season's conclusion saw the end of four RMU careers in Shakema Dashiell, Jocelynne Jones, Mikalah Mulrain, and Megan Smith. Mikalah Mulrain collected a pair of blocks to gain sole possession of the program's all-time block record, while Smith led the Colonials with nine points (4-8 FG) in her last hurrah.
"I've got some seniors in there that I'm really proud of," said Buscaglia. "They worked really hard – not just when they scored a lot of points – but every day at practice. This group was great at coming to work every day and wanting to get better. When you lose – which happens to about everybody – the people I want are the ones that work the next day and don't get selfish. They were great at responding, and to me that means everything."
Smith converted an early three-point play to give RMU a 3-1 lead, but Bailey Greenberg responded with a trifecta on the other end. Honoka Ikematsu then canned one from deep as a response, followed by a Kelsi Lidge layup before the media timeout. The teams traded two more layups to make it 8-8, then Aubree Brown sank a three as the shot clock expired. Nneka Ezeigbo answered with a bucket to cut the deficit to 11-10, but the Dragons then scored eight straight points to take control.
Down 19 with 5:12 remaining, the Colonials began chipping away even with Drexel continuing to press. Ezeigbo and Smith tallied back-to-back baskets, then the sophomore center split a pair of free throws to make it 51-37. After the Dragons expanded the gap to 17 points once more, RMU used a 7-1 stretch to pull within 11 at 55-44, but it was too late.
Smith leaves Moon Township as one of four players that collected 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 200 assists in a career. She owns the program record for career starts (126) and ranks fifth in games played (127) and seventh in rebounds (709).
In addition to the career block record, Mulrain also is RMU's career leader in games played at 130. Jones slots in right behind the fourth-year center at 129.
Robert Morris finishes the 2017-18 campaign with a school-record 25 victories. This was the Colonials' sixth postseason tournament appearance in the last nine seasons.
