Women's Basketball | 12/17/2019 11:28:00 AM
Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University women's basketball continues a season-long five-game road trip on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 11:00 a.m. against Norfolk State. The Colonials opened the swing with a 71-59 loss at Rhode Island on Sunday, and still has James Madison, Central Connecticut, and Merrimack left on this stretch before returning to Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 against Wagner.
GAME #10
Robert Morris Colonials (4-5, 0-0 NEC) @ Norfolk State Spartans (6-4, 0-0 MEAC)
Wednesday, December 18, 2019 // 11:00 a.m. // Norfolk, Va. – Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (4,500)
Live Video: NSUSpartans.com // Live Stats: NSUSpartans.com
Notes Package: Robert Morris // Norfolk State
History w/ Norfolk State
Overall: 1-0 | Home: 1-0 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 0-0 | Streak: W1
Last Game: Dec. 4, 2005 – Moon Township, Pa. – Robert Morris 79, Norfolk State 69
This is just the second time that Robert Morris and Norfolk State have played in their histories. The Colonials were victorious in their first meeting, a 79-69 win on Dec. 4, 2005 at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
RMU was efficient from the floor in that 2005 matchup, converting at a 49.1 percent rate while making 12-of-29 attempts from deep. Five players reached double figures scoring, led by a 14-point effort from Psyche Butler '07. Le'Sheala Dawson '06 (13 pts), Jenna Burkett '07 (12 pts), Crystal Ahmed (11 pts), and Natasha Summerville '07 (10 pts) joined Butler in double figures, while Tess Cooley '06 flirted with a triple-double (9 pts, 10 reb, 7 blk).
Scouting the Spartans
Fifth-year head coach Larry Vickers has Norfolk State at 6-4 thus far, with victories over Virginia University of Lynchburg (123-48), High Point (72-58), North Florida (57-54), Jacksonville (71-64), Longwood (49-46), and Hampton (77-56). The Spartans were selected to finish fourth in the MEAC Preseason Poll.
Redshirt senior guard Chanette Hicks - a transfer from Virginia Tech - is NSU's leading scorer at 21.7 points per game and is fifth nationally in steals per game (5.20). Her and fellow fifth-year senior La'Deja James play over 30 minutes a game, coming in at 37.1 and 34.7, respectively. James is also in double-figures scoring at 12.4 points per contest, while graduate forward Blaire Thomas provides averages of 8.3 points and a team-best 5.7 rebounds.
Like Robert Morris, the Spartans are relentless on the defensive side of the ball. NSU ranks ninth nationally in steals per game (13.5), 12th in turnover margin (8.60), 13th in turnovers forced (23.50), and 88th in scoring defense (59.5). The Spartans struggle both offensively and defensively from three-point range, slotting 286th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.345) and three-point field goal percentage (26.7), and 296th in three-point field goals per game (4.4).
Dunks & Donuts
An early tip hasn't bothered Robert Morris much since 2011-12, as it owns a 10-3 record in games that have begun before 11:30 AM local time. That includes a 8-2 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), Delaware State (2018-19), and Pitt-Johnstown (2019-20).
The Defense (Never) Rests
Robert Morris prides itself on its defense and this season is no different. The Colonials rank sixth nationally turnover margin (+9.67), eighth in turnovers forced (24.00), and 20th in steals (12.0), and 125th in scoring defense (61.2) - 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 140 games. In 64 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 60-40 (.600) record thus far. TCU is 8-1 and just suffered its first loss of the season - a 70-68 defeat at No. 11 Texas A&M - while Pitt-Johnstown (7-2), Rhode Island (7-3), Columbia (6-3), La Salle (6-4), Kent State (5-3), and Youngstown State (5-4) all have winning records.
Three of RMU's five losses this season have come by a combined eight points. The remainder of the non-conference slate features two more teams with winning records in Norfolk State (6-4) 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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