GAME #14
Robert Morris Colonials (5-8, 2-0 NEC) @ St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (8-6, 2-0 NEC)
Saturday, January 12, 2019 // 1:00 p.m. // Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. – Pope Center (1,200)
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: SFCAthletics.com
Notes Package: Robert Morris
Hello Brooklyn
> The Robert Morris University women's basketball team begins a four-game road swing with its annual trip to the Big Apple, beginning with a tilt at St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday, Jan. 12. The Colonials and Terriers are two of four unbeaten teams after the first weekend of league contests, as St. Francis Brooklyn picked up wins over Wagner (76-61) and Bryant (60-55).
> RMU topped Mount St. Mary's (70-58) and Fairleigh Dickinson (71-49) to open its NEC campaign. This is the 11th time since the 2004-05 season that the Colonials have begun the league slate with a 2-0 record. In those 11 perfect starts, RMU has finished in the top half of the conference standings nine times, with four first-place performances in that group.
> Freshman guard Isabella Posset captured her third NEC Rookie of the Week award on Wednesday, tying her with LIU Brooklyn's Brandy Thomas for the league lead. Posset averaged 11.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.5 steals in the Colonials' two victories this past weekend.
> This four-game road trip is tied for the longest of the season, matching the team's swing through Bowling Green, Loyola Marymount, and Iowa. After this stretch, RMU will play no more than two consecutive home and road games for the remainder of the regular season.
The Blueprint w/ St. Francis Brooklyn
Overall: 43-21 | Home: 23-9 | Away: 19-12 | Neutral: 1-0 | Streak: L1
Last Meeting: Feb. 12, 2018; Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. – St. Francis Brooklyn 49, Robert Morris 47
> This will be the 65th meeting between Robert Morris and St. Francis Brooklyn. While the Colonials own a 43-21 edge in the series, the games have been more even as of late, with the teams splitting four of the last five seasons that have featured round robin scheduling. The lone year in that stretch where RMU swept the Terriers, it fell to St. Francis Brooklyn in the 2016 NEC Championship Game.
> Last season in Brooklyn Heights, the Terriers topped the Colonials, 49-47. RMU led at halftime, 30-24, but was outscored 25-17 over the final 20 minutes. Nadège Pluviose paced the visitors with 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-3 3PT) off the bench.
> In Moon Township, RMU held St. Francis Brooklyn to one point in the first quarter - establishing a school record - en route to a 59-36 triumph. Mikalah Mulrain '18 posted a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Friend or Foe
> Picked fifth in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, St. Francis Brooklyn enters this meeting with the league's lone winning record at 8-6. The Terriers are coached by Linda Cimino, who took over in May of 2018 following the retirement of John Thurston.
> Junior guard Jade Johnson ranks fourth in the NEC in scoring (18.1 PPG), converting at a 43.9 percent (43-98) rate beyond the arc and 90.4 percent (47-52) mark at the free throw stripe. Freshman guard Ebony Horton is also averaging double-figures scoring at 10.6 points per game, and has made 41.7 percent (15-36) of her three-point attempts. Senior guard Amy O'Neill is outclassing her conference peers in assists per game, averaging 7.9 to second-place's 4.3.
> St. Francis Brooklyn owns the league's top scoring offense (76.6 PPG), field goal percentage (.442), three-point percentage (.409), and free throw percentage (.727). The Terriers also lead the NEC in scoring margin (+ 4.4), rebounding margin (+ 3.6), and assists per game (15.9).
Run This Town
> Freshman guard and local product Isabella Posset was named NEC Rookie of the Week on Wednesday, picking up the award for the third time in the last four weeks.
> Posset averaged 11.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.5 steals over RMU's two-win weekend over Mount St. Mary's and Fairleigh Dickinson. She tallied 13 points (7-8 FT), seven assists, and a career-best seven rebounds against the Mountaineers, then followed that up with nine points, six caroms, and five helpers against the Knights.
> Previously capturing the award on Dec. 17 and Dec. 24, Posset moves into a tie for second most Rookie of the Week honors at RMU. Vega Gimeno-Martinez, Ashley Ravelli '16, and Megan Smith '18 all picked up the plaudits on three occasions, while Artemis Spanou '14 holds the school record with six in 2010-11.
> A graduate of Beaver High School, Posset is the first Pittsburgh-area player on RMU's roster since Britta Emberg '14 from Kittanning.
Feelin' It
> Robert Morris continued a unique trend against Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday, limiting the Knights to just two points in the first quarter. After FDU scored on its opening possession, the Colonials held the visitors scoreless, setting the tone in a 71-49 win.
> This marked the third consecutive season in which RMU held its opponent to three points or fewer in its first Monday home game of the conference slate. On Jan. 9, 2017, the Colonials opened their game against LIU Brooklyn with a 23-3 lead through 10 minutes, en route to an 83-42 triumph. The next year on Jan. 8, RMU held St. Francis Brooklyn to a single point and just eight points at halftime in a 59-36 victory.
Can't Knock The Hustle
> Defense has been the Colonials' calling card over the last few seasons, and 2018-19 isn't shaping up to be any different. Three times this season, RMU has held its opponent to 50 points or fewer - Nov. 11 against La Salle (39), Nov. 13 against Rhode Island (46), and Jan. 7 against Fairleigh Dickinson (49). On Dec. 7, the Colonials held Kent State to a 26.5 percent (13-49) clip from the floor, making the Golden Flashes the 17th different opponent to shoot under 30 percent since 2016-17.
> The Colonials forced 22 turnovers against Mount St. Mary's, the eighth game in which they have made their opponent make 20 or more mistakes. They're averaging 20.69 forced turnovers a game, a mark that leads the NEC and ranks 39th nationally. Last season, RMU forced 20 or more turnovers on 15 occasions.
> Through 13 games, RMU currently paces the NEC in scoring defense by allowing 58.8 points per game. The Colonials have established a new school record two years running in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 57.0 PPG in 2016-17 and 54.1 PPG last season. Last season's mark also ranked eighth nationally.
Coming of Age
> With Robert Morris' 64-63 victory over Delaware State, head coach Charlie Buscaglia became the third coach in program history to reach the 50 mark, and the fastest to do so. The Empire State native owns a .658 winning percentage through 79 contests, and has won 84.2 percent (32 of 38) of his NEC games. His 22 wins in 2016-17 established a new school record for a first-year head coach.
> After taking the reins from his father, Sal Buscaglia, prior to the 2016-17 season, Coach B, as he is respectfully called, has continued to raise the bar for the program. He's been named Brenda Reilly NEC Coach of the Year in each of his first two seasons, leading the Colonials two NEC regular-season titles, a NEC Tournament crown and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth, and a Postseason WNIT appearance during that span.
Public Service Announcement
> Robert Morris has never lost a game in which it has held the lead at the end of the second half. The Colonials are 5-0 in such situations this season and went 25-0 last season. All-time, RMU is 603-0 when holding the lead at the final whistle.
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