Moon Township, Pa. – Playing its first game at Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center, the Robert Morris University women's basketball rode its usual suffocating defense to a 58-43 victory over Youngstown State this evening.
After failing to open the Charles L. Sewall Center (Dec. 4, 1985 vs. Youngstown State) and the North Athletic Complex (Nov. 16, 2017 vs. Bowling Green) with victories, Robert Morris (2-1, 0-0 NEC) made no such mistake in its UPMC Events Center debut, using a 30-16 difference in the middle frames to come away with a comfortable win. The Colonials held an explosive Youngstown State (1-2, 0-0 Horizon) offense to 29.4 percent shooting – including a 23.1 percent mark from beyond the arc – and forced 25 turnovers as it felt right at home in its new venue.
"(Youngstown State) won 22 games last year and was really good in their first two games," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "We had to defend well, they came out flying. They're well-coached and have a lot of returners. They got to the basket and had some open layups, so we had to adjust early on, and we were able to tighten some screws up. Really proud of the defensive effort tonight by holding them to 43 points, especially against such a quality opponent."
RMU shot 38.5 percent from the field, but received a couple of big performances from Nneka Ezeigbo and Esther Castedo. Ezeigbo posted her second consecutive double-double and 19th of her career, tallying 17 points and 12 rebounds to go along with four steals and two blocks defensively. Castedo rebounded from a pair of poor shooting performances, connecting on half of her four three-point attempts to finish with a season-high 12 points.
The Penguins took a 12-11 lead after 10 minutes following a Mady Aulbach buzzer-beating trey, but that would be the last advantage the visitors would have. Castedo opened the second quarter with a pair of left-handed runners to put the Colonials back in front, then Holly Forbes finished inside to make it 17-12.
YSU pulled within one after a three-point play by Mary Dunn, but Castedo drilled a three to give RMU a 20-16 lead. Dahomée Forgues netted her first collegiate points on the fastbreak after a Penguins free throw trimmed the gap to three, and Ezeigbo sank a mid-range bucket that made it 24-19 at halftime.
RMU's lead would grow after the break, with Forbes, Ezeigbo, and Castedo all contributing buckets to turn a three-point game into a nine-point one at 30-21. Isabella Posset answered a three-point play by Chelsea Olson with a 5-0 personal run to make it an 11-point difference, and Nina Augustin made it 13 with a runner off the glass late in the frame.
Back-to-back trifectas by Castedo and Honoka Ikematsu stretched the lead to 17 points at 47-30, but YSU responded with an 8-0 run to pull within double-digits. The nine-point gap would be as close as the Penguins would get, as Ezeigbo, Posset, and Augustin provided a 9-0 run to put the game well out of reach.
Ezeigbo is now 17 points shy of becoming the 24th member of the program's 1,000 point club. The senior center also needs 14 more blocks to join Elise James '00, Maebeth Schalles '93, and Artemis Spanou '14 as the only players in school history to eclipse 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 steals, and 100 blocks in a career.
Dunn led the Penguins with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
"Starting off last night at the (men's basketball game against Pitt), this place is unbelievable," said Buscaglia of Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center. "This building is a blessing, it's awesome. We come to work every day very grateful for this building, and all the hard work and tradition that has been built here with this university and this athletic department, they went and built something so beautiful. We're going to enjoy it and keep working hard in here – it's a great environment."
Robert Morris plays its second game in its new home on Sunday, Nov. 17 at noon against Columbia. Tickets are available for the contest by calling the RMU Ticket Office at (412) 397-4949 or through Ticketmaster.
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