New Britain, Conn. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team wrapped up a perfect four-game road trip with a 64-57 triumph over Central Connecticut this afternoon in Northeast Conference (NEC) play.
Powered by a season-high 19 points from Honoka Ikematsu, Robert Morris (9-8, 6-0 NEC) moved above the .500 mark for the first time this season. The victory also gave the Colonials six straight to begin the conference slate, the fourth season in which that has happened (2005-06, 2010-11, 2017-18).
"It was a great effort to go out there and play for 40 minutes," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "A lot of credit goes out to Central Connecticut for a hard-fought effort, they definitely came to play and was a great challenge for us. I was proud of our team to pull together and play for 40 minutes, even when times were tough."
Ikematsu caught fire off the opening tip, drilling a trey 1:15 in to make it 5-0. Central Connecticut (4-12, 1-5 NEC) answered with back-to-back threes by Andi Lydon and Kiana Patterson, but Ikematsu sank her second to put the visitors ahead. After a Lydon lay-in to tie it at 10-all, the Kumamoto, Japan product made a third trifecta to give RMU another advantage. The Blue Devils scored the next four points in a back-and-forth opening stanza, but Esther Castedo's putback made it 15-14 Colonials after one.
"(Honoka Ikematsu) did a great job setting the pace early on," said Buscaglia. "A lot of her shots were with someone right on her, and she had no fear knocking them down. It was great to see her come out with that kind of attitude and set the tone for us early, and continue with it throughout. She continued to have a better pace and led by example, not just with the outside shot but with some takes to the basket. It was nice to see her expand her game and not just be a shooter."
Even at 19-19, RMU went on an 11-0 run to help take a three-possession gap into halftime. Nneka Ezeigbo started the run with two free throws, then Ikematsu sank her fourth three-pointer of the first half. Nia Adams and Isabella Posset then combined to go 3-of-4 at the stripe, followed by the freshman hitting a deep three to make it 30-19. CCSU trimmed the gap with two straight buckets in the paint, courtesy of Carly Reynolds and Emma McCamus.
The Colonials grabbed their largest lead a handful of times in the fourth quarter, first meeting the mark with an Ikematsu trey and Ezeigbo layup that made it 50-38. The gap last reached 12 points at 56-44 with another Ezeigbo bucket, but that was followed by back-to-back Blue Devils threes to turn it into a two-possession contest. Patterson and Ezeigbo traded baskets to keep it 58-52, then Nina Augustin drove in for a tough layup that essentially sealed the game.
Ikematsu's 19-point effort came on 7-of-11 shooting and 5-of-7 from deep. Ezeigbo added 12 points for the second straight game, while Natalie Villaflor added seven points, four steals, and three rebounds off the bench.
"We have to continue to live by our pillars and be humble," said Buscaglia. "We didn't play any perfect games (on this road trip). We have to keep our routines strong and be ready to go back and have a great week of practice."
Robert Morris is back at home on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 1:00 p.m. when it hosts Wagner.
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