Women's Basketball | 11/26/2019 12:42:00 PM
Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University women's basketball begins a three-game home stand on Wednesday, Nov. 27 when it hosts its annual Career & Education Day morning matchup against Pitt-Johnstown. The Colonials also welcome Xavier and Delaware to Peoples Court at UPMC Events Center over this stretch, before embarking on a season-long five-game road trip that carries into the New Year.
GAME #6
Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats (6-1, 2-0 PSAC) @ Robert Morris Colonials (2-3, 0-0 NEC)
Wednesday, November 27, 2019 // 10:00 a.m. // Moon Township, Pa. – Peoples Court at UPMC Events Center (4,000)
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: RMUColonials.com
Notes Package: Robert Morris
History w/ Pitt-Johnstown
Overall: 2-9 | Home: 1-2 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 1-0 | Streak: W1
Last Game: Dec. 15, 2018 – Moon Township, Pa. – Robert Morris 73, Pitt-Johnstown 53
Once a regular fixture on the schedule in Robert Morris' early years as a program, Pitt-Johnstown carries a 9-2 edge in the all-time series. 10 of the previous 11 meetings came between 1977-84, with last year's contest being the first between the Colonials and Mountain Cats in 35 seasons.
RMU ended a six-game losing streak last December with a 73-53 victory over UPJ. The Colonials outscored the Mountain Cats, 47-25, over the first and third quarters to cruise to a comfortable win. Making her first career start,
Isabella Posset provided a team-high 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Nina Augustin added 13 points off the bench, while
Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu dominated in the post to the tune of 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Robert Morris' only other win in the series came in the 1983 IUP Tournament championship game, as it defeated UPJ by a narrow 72-68 margin. Kim Mong '85 nearly posted a double-double with 17 points and nine caroms in the triumph.
Scouting the Mountain Cats
Led by seventh-year head coach Mike Drahos, Pitt-Johnstown is enjoying a great start to its 2019-20 campaign, owning a 6-1 overall record and 2-0 mark in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play. The Mountain Cats are riding a four-game winning streak, capturing those victories by an average of 17.0 points per game. UPJ fell to Pitt in an exhibition on Nov. 1, 76-62.
The senior duo of Alli McGrath and Gabrielle Smith have lived up to their All-PSAC billing thus far. McGrath, a transfer from UMBC, averages 22.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 45.6 percent from the field. Smith tallies 20.6 points and 5.7 caroms per contest, and has gotten to the free throw stripe an average of nine times a night. She shoots 51.1 percent from the floor and 82.5 percent at the line.
McGrath has missed the last three games for UPJ, leaving her teammates to step up in her absence. One in particular is freshman guard Lindsay Shuke, who is fourth on the team in scoring (6.6) and has made 50.0 percent of her field goal attempts. The Everett, Pa. native has started the last three games for the Mountain Cats, recording double figures in the scoring column in two of them.
Nneka Hits 1,000
In her 100th appearance at Robert Morris, senior center
Nneka Ezeigbo became the 24th member of the 1,000 point club. Ezeigbo entered the Colonials' game at Kent State needing just three points to eclipse the milestone, and did it just 2:30 into the game with a jumper in the paint. She is the first RMU player since
Megan Smith '18 (Dec. 31, 2017 at Sacred Heart) to achieve the feat, and finished the afternoon with 18 points and nine rebounds in just 17 minutes.
It's been a steady climb in the scoring category for Ezeigbo in her collegiate career. Primarily a key reserve in her first two seasons, she averaged 6.8 points per game as a freshman before increasing that mark to 10.4 as a sophomore. Last season, the center averaged 12.5 points per contest and entered 2019-20 just 64 points shy of the milestone. Ezeigbo is currently averaging 15.3 points per game, thanks in part to three straight performances of 14 or more points.
Dunks & Donuts
An early tip hasn't bothered Robert Morris much since 2011-12, as it owns a 9-3 record in games that have begun before 11:30 AM local time. That includes a 7-2 mark at home, with wins over Akron (2011-12), Bryant (2012-13), Marshall (2013-14), Fairleigh Dickinson (2014-15), West Virginia Wesleyan (2015-16), Point Park (2016-17), and last year's thriller against Delaware State.
Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu finished a putback with seven seconds remaining to send a sold-out crowd of 1,016 home happy with a 64-63 triumph over the Hornets last December. The victory was the 50th in
Charlie Buscaglia's career, thanks in part to Ozzy-Momodu's 12-point, 11-rebound double-double off the bench.
Nneka Ezeigbo and
Megan Callahan have put forth some standout performances in these morning tips. As a sophomore, Ezeigbo provided 16 points (8-13 FG) and seven rebounds off the bench in a 59-50 victory at Northern Kentucky. Five days earlier, a then-freshman Callahan poured in 16 points (6-12 FG, 4-9 3PT) and three assists in a 64-62 overtime defeat against Bowling Green.
The End
For the first time under fourth-year head coach
Charlie Buscaglia, an offensive performance of 70 or more points did not result in a victory. When RMU fell to Kent State, 82-81, this past Sunday, it marked the first time in 22 instances since 2016-17 that the Colonials have lost when scoring 70 or more points.
The streak actually lasted a total of 27 games, dating back to the 2015-16 season. RMU's last loss when meeting the 70-point mark was a 72-70 defeat against Northern Kentucky on Nov. 29, 2015.
Turn 'Em Over
In the Colonials' first win of the season on Nov. 9, 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.
Robert Morris ranks 21st nationally in caused turnovers with a per-game average of 23.20. The Colonials have now turned their three of their last four opponents over at least 25 times. RMU ranked 24th in that category last season, averaging 20.18 per game. It forced 20 or more turnovers on 19 occasions in 2018-19, and kept all opponents in double figures.
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 2-0 in such situations this season, and went 22-0 last season. All-time, RMU is 622-0 when holding the lead at the final whistle.
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