Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team saw its game-winning three-point attempt hit back iron this afternoon, as Columbia completed a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Colonials, 61-59, in non-conference play at Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center.
Robert Morris (2-2, 0-0 NEC) struggled from the floor, only shooting 32.9 percent on field goals and 21.9 percent from beyond the arc. The Colonials managed to turn Columbia (2-3, 0-0 Ivy League) 26 times – the third straight game they have forced 20 or more turnovers – but the Lions converted at a 46.5 percent clip from the field and made 8-of-17 three-point attempts.
"(Columbia) did a nice job switching things up on defense," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "Sometimes the ball bounces out for you, but you have to get those hustle plays around the basket. We didn't shoot the ball well from outside today … so obviously the zone hurt us a bit. Columbia worked really hard, I give them a lot of credit coming here and winning on the road. We have to learn from this and get better."
RMU came out of the gates slow, falling behind 28-23 after 15 minutes of play. The Colonials managed to pull even with 2:59 left in the first half thanks to buckets by Nneka Ezeigbo and Holly Forbes, along with a trifecta from Augustin. While that deadlock was short-lived and Columbia extended the gap back to five early in the third quarter, RMU responded quickly with two Castedo baskets and an Ezeigbo layup to take a 37-35 lead.
After the Lions used a Mikayla Markham trey to pull back in front, two Ezeigbo freebies and a Castedo trifecta made it 42-38 in favor of the Colonials. The gap grew to six with 2:40 left in the third frame after a five-point run by Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu, then reached its peak of seven with another Ezeigbo bucket in the paint.
Neither team could score for the first 2:24 of the fourth quarter, then after a pair of Ezeigbo free throws, Markham buried a three to bring Columbia within four at 53-49. Another trey, this one by Abbey Hsu, made it a one-point game, then Kaitlyn Davis sank two foul shots to put the visitors back in front.
Augustin answered with 2:58 to go, sinking a long three to send RMU back into the lead, 57-55. The gap remained at two after Sienna Durr and Castedo traded points, then four free throws over a span of 1:15 gave the Lions a 61-59 advantage. The Colonials called their last timeout with 1.6 seconds remaining to draw up a winning play, but Isabella Posset's three-point attempt caught the back of the rim as time expired.
Castedo led RMU with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, adding five rebounds and a pair of assists. Ezeigbo added 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds, three steals, and a block.
Three Columbia players were in double figures scoring, led by the duo of Hannah Pratt and Durr, who both had 13.
Ezeigbo is now three points shy of becoming the 24th player in program history with 1,000 career points.
Robert Morris returns to the court on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 1:00 p.m. when it travels to Kent State.
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