Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team was clicking on all cylinders in the first half against St. Francis Brooklyn, racing out to a 42-20 halftime lead before a more even second half led to a 74-57 victory over the Terriers this afternoon in Northeast Conference (NEC) play at the North Athletic Complex.
Robert Morris (16-9, 13-1 NEC) shot 53.1 percent (17-32 FG) from the floor over the opening 20 minutes and forced St. Francis Brooklyn (15-11, 9-5 NEC) into 15 first-half turnovers. The Colonials' 42 points were their most at halftime since Jan. 14, when they posted 43 at the break in an 89-37 triumph at LIU Brooklyn.
"(St. Francis Brooklyn) plays extremely hard," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "They don't rotate a ton of players typically, but they're very competitive and intelligent. They're very well coached and didn't quit. I told the team in the locker room that they'll keep coming, their culture is not to quit. We had to adjust and tighten some screws in the second half, because they controlled the tempo in the third quarter. Ultimately we responded well after some tough times."
After trading the first four buckets of the contest, RMU grabbed ahold of a lead it wouldn't relinquish. The Colonials used an 11-0 rally to take control in the first quarter, beginning with a Nina Augustin jumper. Nneka Ezeigbo – who scored eight of her team-high 16 points in the frame – finished inside after pulling down an offensive rebound, followed by a trey by Augustin. Ezeigbo scored again to force a Terrier timeout, then Isabella Posset converted on the fastbreak to complete the run.
The Colonials used another double-digit stretch to build upon its first-half lead, scoring 15 of the final 17 points of the second stanza. Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu tallied six points over the period, Augustin added five, and both Ezeigbo and Esther Castedo provided a basket.
The lead reached its peak with an Ozzy-Momodu fastbreak layup from Honoka Ikematsu, making it 53-28 with 5:06 remaining in the third quarter. St. Francis Brooklyn responded with a 14-2 run to close the frame, pulling within 13 after an Ally Larsen layup from Ebony Horton. That would be as small the gap would get, however, as a quick 6-2 stretch to start the fourth quarter proved to be enough.
RMU scored 29 points off 23 Terrier turnovers and outscored the visiting bench, 23-6. Ezeigbo was a rebound shy of a double-double, while her post partner Ozzy-Momodu provided 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Augustin added 14 points on a 6-of-10 effort from the field, and Posset did a little bit of everything with 11 points, five steals, four assists, and a block.
Jade Johnson led all scorers with 22 points for St. Francis Brooklyn, marking the first time since Jan. 26 against Wagner that the Colonials have allowed the opponent's top scorer to reach double-figures – a stretch of six games.
RMU is now 18-0 under Buscaglia when scoring 70 points and has won its last 22 NEC home contests.
Prior to today's game, the Colonials recognized Nia Adams as a part of their Senior Day festivities.
Robert Morris – who clinched a first-round NEC Tournament home game with today's victory – concludes a two-game home stand on Monday, Feb. 25 at 7:00 p.m. against LIU Brooklyn.
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