Brooklyn, N.Y. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team established a new program record for largest margin of victory on the road with an 89-37 victory over LIU Brooklyn this evening from the Steinberg Wellness Center.
Robert Morris' (7-8, 4-0 NEC) 52-point victory is the fifth largest in school history, with its previous road record being an 83-40 triumph at Mercyhurst in the 1983-84 season. This was also the Colonials' 50th triumph over LIU Brooklyn (1-14, 0-4 NEC) and their 16th straight in the series.
"I'm proud of the team for completing the road trip with two straight wins," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "That was a challenge for us early on in the season, as we were struggling with some close games. We came out and got the job done. We did a good job tonight at everyone being ready to play, whether we shot the ball well or not. The energy was there throughout."
For the third straight contest, RMU scored 40 or more points in the opening 20 minutes, previously tallying 40 against Fairleigh Dickinson and 42 at St. Francis Brooklyn. It started just 22 seconds in, when Honoka Ikematsu drilled a baseline trey to put the visitors on the board. Nadège Pluviose followed that up with two mid-range jumpers, then Ikematsu hit another three on the fastbreak to make it 10-0 after three minutes.
Pluviose would finish on a putback after a Blackbird timeout to make it 12-0, then Brandy Thomas sank two free throws to break the hosts' scoring drought with 5:32 left in the stanza. The Blackbirds would battle to keep it a 10-point game late in the frame before Esther Castedo beat the quarter buzzer with a runner in the paint.
The Colonials carried that momentum into the second stanza, starting it off with 12 unanswered points. Nia Adams went on a five-point run with two free throws and a trifecta, followed by three the hard way from Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu. Isabella Posset then drained a pair of foul shots, followed by a Natalie Villaflor layup to make it 34-10 with 3:35 left in the half. Castedo scored five straight to close the frame, setting the score at 43-17.
"Coming out and being ready to play can be misconstrued because people think it's about offense and shooting the ball well," said Buscaglia. "but you have to be able to execute on defense. (The first half start) had a lot to do with our defensive mentality and accountability, making sure we were communicating well on the floor."
In the third quarter, RMU extended its advantage to 64-21 with a 16-0 run. Nneka Ezeigbo began the stretch with two free throws, followed by a three-point play by Posset. Pluviose made a foul shot, then Ikematsu and Castedo buried back-to-back treys to force a Blackbirds timeout. Two more free throws from Posset and an Ozzy-Momodu layup made it 16 unanswered before Ryan Weise sank a three to stop the bleeding.
The lead grew to 53 on multiple occasions, beginning with a 13-0 run to start the fourth quarter. That stretch started with a Nina Augustin trifecta, followed by one from Adams. The senior added three more the old-fashioned way, along with two Ikematsu free throws and an Ezeigbo layup to make it 79-27. The gap last reached 53 with 1:03 to play as Castedo drilled a three to set a new career high in scoring.
Castedo's 17 points (7-12 FG, 3-7 3PT) led the way offensively for the Colonials, who had five players in double figures. Posset added 14 on 4-of-8 shooting and eight rebounds, while Ikematsu and Adams each scored 11.
The 89 points are a season-high for RMU, and its nine turnovers are a season-low.
The Colonials' four double-digit wins to begin NEC play was last accomplished by the 2009-10 team, who finished 17-1 in conference.
RMU is now 17-0 under Buscaglia when scoring 70 or more points.
Robert Morris is back in action on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 1:00 p.m. when it takes on Bryant in the third game of its four-game road swing.
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