Women's Basketball | 12/14/2019 10:20:00 AM
Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University women's basketball begins a season-long five-game road trip on Sunday, Dec. 15 at noon against Rhode Island. The Colonials will look to repay the Rams on their home floor after last year's meeting in Moon Township went to URI, 46-41. This swing carries into Virginia next at Norfolk State and James Madison, before the opening weekend of Northeast Conference (NEC) play at Central Connecticut and Merrimack.
GAME #9
Robert Morris Colonials (4-4, 0-0 NEC) @ Rhode Island Rams (6-3, 0-0 A-10)
Sunday, December 15, 2019 // Noon // Kingston, R.I. – Thomas M. Ryan Center (8,000)
Live Video: ESPN+ // Live Stats: GoRhody.com
Notes Package: Robert Morris // Rhode Island
History w/ Rhode Island
Overall: 0-2 | Home: 0-1 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 0-1 | Streak: L2
Last Game: Nov. 13, 2018 – Moon Township, Pa. – Rhode Island 46, Robert Morris 41
This will be the third time and the second consecutive year that Robert Morris and Rhode Island have faced each other, and the first meeting in the Ocean State. The Colonials are still searching for their first win against the Rams, having lost last November in Moon Township and at the 1989 Canisius Invitational.
RMU succumbed to a 19-9 fourth-quarter difference in the last meeting, ultimately falling to URI, 46-41. The Colonials received nine points off the bench from
Honoka Ikematsu on 3-of-5 from deep, while Nadége Pluviose '19 pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds from her forward spot. Elemy Colome finished with the evening's top scorer honors, tallying 17 for the Rams.
In their first meeting, RMU fell to URI, 72-55, in the consolation contest of the Canisius Invitational. Karen Donley '91 was one of three Colonials in double-digit scoring, leading the way with 14 points and seven rebounds. Dani Trio '92 and Laura Lindak '94 added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Scouting the Rams
Under the direction of first-year head coach Tammi Reiss, Rhode Island is off to a great start in 2019-20 with a 6-3 record. The Rams won four of their last five games, with a 58-51 blemish against Providence being the only loss during that stretch. URI owns victories over Long Island (79-56), Hartford (68-56), Vermont (77-74, OT), Fairfield (74-41), Holy Cross (73-58), and Brown (89-44).
Five Rams are averaging between 10.0 and 15.7 points per game, led by senior center Nicole Jorgensen. Jorgensen is shooting 50.5 percent from the field, pulls down 7.4 caroms per contest, and has tallied a team-high 11 blocks. Junior guard Marta Vargas is averaging 11.6 points per game with a team-best 17 three-pointers, while redshirt senior guard Davida Dale (10.9 PPG), freshman center Kassandra Brown (10.3 PPG), and redshirt junior guard Erin Jones (10.0 PPG) complete the five top scorers.
Rhode Island is strong on the defensive glass, ranking 11th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (31.7). The Rams also slot 28th in total rebounds per game (43.78) and 29th in field goal percentage defense (.343). The Rams struggle at the free throw stripe, ranking 260th nationally (.644), and only force 15.89 turnovers per game (230th in NCAA).
A BIG Win
For the first time in 38 tries, Robert Morris knocked off a BIG EAST opponent when it handled Xavier, 71-57, on Sunday, Dec. 1. The Colonials led by as many as 28 points in the third quarter, recorded an assist on 21 of their 26 field goals, forced 26 turnovers, and made a season-high 11 three-pointers.
RMU's signature victory over the Musketeers adds to a list that includes Power 5 opponents Virginia Tech in 2010 (66-52) and Purdue in 1982 (67-55). The Colonials also knocked off West Virginia in 1994 (88-80, OT) when the Mountaineers were a member of the Atlantic 10.
In the previous 37 matchups against BIG EAST foes, RMU fell to Cincinnati (0-1), Marquette (0-1), Pittsburgh (0-23), Rutgers (0-1), South Florida (0-1), West Virginia (0-9), and Xavier (0-1).
The Defense (Never) Rests
Robert Morris prides itself on its defense and this season is no different. The Colonials rank eighth nationally in turnovers forced (24.38), 10th in turnover margin (+9.00), 18th in steals (12.3), and 96th in scoring defense (60.0) - all of those numbers topping the conference circuit.
Last season, RMU slotted 12th in the NCAA in scoring defense (55.3), 24th in turnovers forced (20.18), 26th in turnover margin (+4.18), and 32nd in steals (9.9). The Colonials have posted a top-25 scoring defense in each of the last three seasons, coming in at 25th in 2016-17 (57.0), and eighth in 2017-18 (54.1). The 2017-18 mark in a school record, breaking the previous standard set the year prior.
RMU is in the midst of an impressive streak, causing double-digit turnovers in each of its last 139 games. In 63 of those contests, the Colonials have forced 20 or more turnovers from their opponent.
No Easy Outs
There hasn't been an easy out in the early stages of the Colonials' schedule, as their seven opponents have combined to post a 58-36 (.617) record thus far. TCU is 7-1 and just suffered its first loss of the season - a 70-68 defeat at No. 11 Texas A&M - while Pitt-Johnstown (7-2), Columbia (6-3), La Salle (6-4), Youngstown State (5-3), and Kent State (5-3) all have winning records.
Three of RMU's four losses this season have come by a combined eight points. The remainder of the non-conference slate features three more teams with winning records in Rhode Island (6-3), Norfolk State (6-3), and James Madison (6-2). At the moment, only Xavier (1-7) and Delaware (3-5) have losing records on the Colonials' schedule.
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 4-0 in such situations this season, and went 22-0 last season. All-time, RMU is 624-0 when holding the lead at the final whistle.
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