Women's Basketball | 11/12/2019 9:47:00 AM
Moon Township, Pa. – After splitting a pair of road games to open the 2019-20 season, the
Robert Morris University women's basketball team begins the UPMC Events Center era on Wednesday, Nov. 13 when it hosts Youngstown State. The Colonials will play five of their next six games at their new 4,000-seat facility, with a lone road tilt at Kent State on Nov. 24 being the outlier.
GAME #3
Youngstown State Penguins (1-1, 0-0 Horizon) @ Robert Morris Colonials (1-1, 0-0 NEC)
Wednesday, November 13, 2019 // 7:00 p.m. // Moon Township, Pa. – Peoples Court at UPMC Events Center (4,000)
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: RMUColonials.com // Tickets: Ticketmaster
Notes Package: Youngstown State // Robert Morris
History w/ Youngstown State
Overall: 5-17 | Home: 3-7 | Away: 2-9 | Neutral: 0-0 | Streak: L1
Last Game: Nov. 6, 2018 – Youngstown, Ohio – Youngstown State 69, Robert Morris 59 (OT)
Robert Morris is 5-17 all-time against Youngstown State, but won the last meeting in Moon Township in 2017. The Colonials' last two victories over the Penguins have been by a combined 62 points.
RMU put together a complete effort in its last home game against YSU, winning on Nov. 29, 2017 by a score of 84-52. The Colonials shot 57.9 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Penguins, 40-18.
Jocelynne Jones '18 led the way with 15 points, eight rebounds, and four steals, while
Mikalah Mulrain '18 (11),
Megan Callahan (10), and
Honoka Ikematsu (10) all reached double figures in scoring.
Last year in Youngstown, RMU fought back from a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime, but the Penguins prevailed in the extra frame, 69-59. Ikematsu drilled five three-pointers to finish with a team-high 15 points, while
Isabella Posset recorded eight assists and three steals in her collegiate debut.
Scouting the Penguins
Led by seventh-year head coach John Barnes, Youngstown State was picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, with senior forward Mary Dunn and junior forward Chelsea Olson receiving Preseason All-Horizon League recognition. The Penguins enter this matchup with a 1-1 record, defeating Canisius in their season opener, 87-59, before suffering a 82-73 overtime defeat against Kent State.
Olson posted YSU's first triple-double since 1986 against Canisius, tallying 13 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. Redshirt freshman guard Taylor Petit earned Horizon League Freshman of the Week accolades after the Penguins' opening two contests, averaging 16.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.
The Penguins have been efficient from the field offensively thus far, shooting at a 46.9 clip through two games. YSU is also averaging 19.0 assists and 10.5 three-point field goals per contest, and is holding its opponents to a 32.6 percent rate from the field.
New Season, New Home
Robert Morris opens play at its new 4,000-seat arena, Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center, with its home opener against Youngstown State on Wednesday. The Colonials hope that they find the same success at their new venue as they did at their two-year temporary home facility, the North Athletic Complex (2017-19). In two seasons at 'The NAC', RMU went 29-5 (.833) - a mark that included a perfect 22-0 (1.000) record against NEC opponents.
Both curtain-closers at 'The NAC' and the Charles L. Sewall Center (1985-2017) ended in the same fashion with an NEC Championship Game victory, but the Colonials hope Wednesday's debut will feature a different ending than the previous two arena openings. RMU lost both of its first games at the 'The NAC' and 'The Chuck', falling in overtime, 64-62, to Bowling Green on Nov. 16, 2017, and 78-60 to Youngstown State on Dec. 4, 1985.
Turn 'Em Over
In the Colonials' first win of the season this past Saturday, the defense was opportunistic against the Explorers, forcing 33 turnovers from the hosts. The 33 caused turnovers are the most for RMU since Nov. 15, 2011, when it forced 36 in a 78-44 win over Kent State.
The Colonials ranked 24th nationally in turnovers forced last season, averaging 20.18 per game. RMU forced 20 or more turnovers on 19 occasions in 2018-19, and kept all its opponents in double figures for that category.
The Magic Number
When Robert Morris reaches the 70-point barrier, it's been "Game Over" for its opponents under
Charlie Buscaglia. The Colonials are 21-0 when scoring 70 since Buscaglia took over in 2016-17.
RMU first reached the mark this season in its overtime victory at La Salle (71-68). Last season, the Colonials met the 70-point plateau in eight contests, all but one of those coming in NEC play.
Forbes Avenue
Accomplished junior college transfer
Holly Forbes has shown a quick adjustment to Division I basketball, averaging 11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in 27.5 minutes per game. Forbes, a two-time NJCA Division I All-America selection at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo., is shooting 70.0 percent from the floor, 87.5 percent at the free throw stripe, and has made one of her two three-point attempts.
Forbes provided the Colonials with 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-3 FT), four rebounds, two steals, and a block in her NCAA debut at TCU last Tuesday. In RMU's overtime victory at La Salle this past Saturday, the junior forward tallied 12 points, five rebounds, a pair of steals, and went a perfect 5-for-5 at the line.
Forbes was the fourth Colonial in the last six seasons to score in double figures in their team debut, joining current redshirt sophomore
Megan Callahan (14, Nov. 11, 2017 at Michigan State) and alumnae
Nia Adams '19 (11, Nov. 11, 2015 vs. West Virginia Wesleyan) and
Megan Smith '18 (11, Nov. 16, 2014 at Iowa). The Bonne Terre, Mo. is also the first RMU player to start their first game with the team since
Honoka Ikematsu did in 2017 at Michigan State.
Insurmountable Lead
Robert Morris has never lost a game in which it has held the lead at the end of the second half. The Colonials are 1-0 in such situations this season, and went 22-0 last season. All-time, RMU is 621-0 when holding the lead at the final whistle.
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