Philadelphia, Pa. – In a contest that featured 29 lead changes, the Robert Morris University women's basketball team made up an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime and earned a 71-68 victory over La Salle this afternoon from Tom Gola Arena.
Robert Morris' (1-1, 0-0 NEC) opportunistic defense made up for a 30.6 percent shooting performance, as it forced 33 turnovers from La Salle (1-1, 0-0 A-10). The 33 caused turnovers are the most for the Colonials since Nov. 15, 2011, when they forced 36 in a 78-44 win over Kent State.
RMU's 71 points were spread across six players, with five finishing in double figures. Nneka Ezeigbo led the way with her 18th career double-double, recording 21 points (7-11 FT) and 12 rebounds, and adding four steals and two blocks defensively. Nina Augustin tallied 14 points (9-10 FT) and eight assists, while Laura Carrasco (12), Holly Forbes (12), and Isabella Posset (10) all reached the double-digit mark.
"The game was about our relentless and continuing to play even when moments got very difficult for us," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "I'm proud of the team to continue to fight to the end, and I give La Salle a lot of credit for how hard they played and how tough they were to handle today."
Carrying a one-point lead into the fourth quarter, the Colonials saw it slip away quickly as the Explorers rattled off nine straight points over 1:18. A pair of Augustin free throws stopped the bleeding to make it 48-42, and after a La Salle foul shot, Ezeigbo and Forbes both scores to pull the visitors within three.
Kayla Spruill finished inside to make it a two-possession game once again with 5:03 left in regulation, but Ezeigbo answered with a three-point play and layup to tie it at 51-51. After another swap of the lead, Carley Patton canned a fastbreak trey to put La Salle ahead by three, but Posset responded with a bucket to make it 56-55 with 1:01 on the clock.
After a stop defensively, Carrasco found just enough space to sink a jumper from the elbow, pushing RMU ahead by one with 38 seconds left. The Explorers responded with a bucket on their end to retake the lead, but Ezeigbo was fouled and calmly sank two free throws to make it 59-58 with nine seconds remaining in the fourth.
Deja King drew a foul on the next possession and made both to put La Salle ahead, then remained at the line after a foul was called off the ball. She sank the first of those to make it 61-59, but missed the second to allow the Colonials one more chance. Forbes pulled down the rebound and dished it to Posset, who went coast-to-coast and finished underneath with 0.9 left to force overtime.
"As a staff, we try to teach the team about not hanging their heads and have a relentless attitude to go all the way to the buzzer," said Buscaglia. "When the ball came off the rim, (Isabella Posset) knew to get the ball and attack and try to catch the defense matching up. Knowing the situation and keeping your head up to go hard to the rim, it wasn't an easy play but she made it look easy because she didn't hesitate. It shows her growth mentally and that's what I'm in this for – a higher purpose – to help them grow mentally and have them be at their best in those moments."
Carrasco carried RMU through the opening stages of overtime, scoring its first five points of the extra stanza to make it 66-65 with 1:37 on the clock. Shalina Miller answered with a jumper to put the hosts ahead, but Ezeigbo drew a foul and buried both foul shots to push the score to 68-67.
Ezeigbo pulled down an errant three-pointer with 26 seconds remaining and allowed Augustin to split a pair of free throws, making it 69-67. After Jordon Lewis made just one of two at the stripe, Augustin returned to the line and made both, extending the gap to three points with 18 seconds to play. La Salle put the ball in the hands of Spruill – who led the team with 19 points – in hopes of tying the game, but her three-point attempt was off the mark, sealing the Colonials' first victory of the season.
RMU is now 21-0 under Buscaglia when scoring 70 or more points.
Ezeigbo is now 34 points away from becoming the 24th player in program history to score 1,000 in their career.
"I thank everyone that made the trip to Philadelphia to support us," added Buscaglia. "We had a lot of alumni and parents that came out – Nina's (Augustin) came from Finland and Nneka's (Ezeigbo) mom was there – and just thank them for all their support."
Robert Morris returns home for a pair of home contests, beginning with its UPMC Events Center debut on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7:00 p.m. against Youngstown State. For tickets, call the RMU Ticket Office at (412) 397-4949 or order them on Ticketmaster.
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