Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University women's basketball team established a new program record for wins in a season and advanced to its fifth consecutive Northeast Conference (NEC) championship game with a 74-44 victory over sixth-seeded LIU Brooklyn this evening from the North Athletic Complex.
Robert Morris (25-6, 16-2 NEC) left little doubt in its record-breaking triumph, doubling up LIU Brooklyn (13-18, 8-10 NEC) over the opening 20 minutes, 40-20. The Blackbirds did manage to shoot 42.9 percent from the field in the first half, but committed 14 of their 22 turnovers during that stretch.
"It's funny because it's such a known saying, but we really take everything one game at a time," said head coach
Charlie Buscaglia about the Colonials making a fifth-straight title tilt. "We received some awards and stuff that we talked about before – and that's great – but we just stay in the moment about what the next challenge is. It's great to have that success and be able to accomplish such a feat, but we're only concerned about the next game."
Like yesterday's quarterfinal victory over Central Connecticut, RMU opened up a double-digit advantage on its opponent, with a Jeydah Johnson trey at the buzzer making it 19-9 after one. Despite the late defensive lapse, the Colonials pushed it aside in the second frame, using a 13-0 run over 6:16 to extend the lead to 32-11.
Nneka Ezeigbo scored on three straight trips down the floor to help break the game wide open, while
Megan Callahan added a three early in the stretch.
Another double-digit run in the third quarter made it 53-24 in favor of the hosts. This rally mostly came at the charity stripe, as Ezeigbo and
Nina Augustin scored six of RMU's 11 points on free throws. The Colonials' largest lead came with 8:43 remaining as a Callahan trifecta made it 67-31.
Ezeigbo led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, one shy of her career high. Callahan added 16 points (6-9 FG) for a RMU team that converted half of its 58 field goal attempts.
The Colonials defense collected 15 steals, with
Jocelynne Jones matching her season best of five.
Mikalah Mulrain collected a block in the closing seconds of the third quarter, tying the program record of 169 established by Anna Gailite (2009-13).
Denisha Petty-Evans paced LIU Brooklyn with 14 points.
Saint Francis U was the last team to compete in five straight NEC Tournament championship games as it competed in seven from 1994 to 2000.
This is RMU's 15th consecutive win over the Blackbirds and it moves to 21-2 all-time in home postseason contests.
Robert Morris plays for its third straight NEC Tournament crown on Sunday, March 11 against top-seeded and NEC regular-season co-champion Saint Francis U. The Colonials and Red Flash split the regular-season series, each winning on their own home floor. Opening tip is set for 2:00 p.m. and will be aired on ESPNU.
