(p/c: Sam Anthony / RMU Sentry Media)
Moon Township, Pa. – A career performance from Robert Morris University women's basketball junior Nneka Ezeigbo helped the Colonials clinch a share of their third consecutive Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season title with a 71-54 victory over LIU Brooklyn this evening from the North Athletic Complex.
Ezeigbo provided Robert Morris (17-9, 14-1 NEC) with a career-high 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting, adding 11 rebounds (6 offensive) to complete her sixth double-double of the season. The junior's previous scoring high was 23 points on Dec. 16, 2017 against Clarion, and she's the first Colonial to reach 30 points in a game since Anna Niki Stamolamprou tied the school record with 39 on Jan. 9, 2017.
"(Nneka) was very steady for us tonight," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "That's something that we really need. She did a good job at playing with a great pace, but being aggressively wise and not forcing it. She went up strong and did the things we work on with her every day, and it was great to see her have a night like tonight because a lot of work and development went into this. I'm really proud of her."
RMU opened up an 11-2 lead to start the contest on the back of Ezeigbo, who tallied eight points over the stretch. The advantage reached double-figures 24 seconds into the second quarter with another Ezeigbo bucket, but LIU Brooklyn (4-22, 3-12 NEC) responded with a 13-2 stretch to grab its only lead at 20-19 following a Brandy Thomas three-point play.
The Colonials answered by going back to Ezeigbo, as her 14th point of the half sparked a 9-0 rally that also featured four points from Nadège Pluviose. Johnson and Thomas both scored in the closing stages of the frame, making it a 31-25 game at the break.
Thomas scored on a putback to make it a five-point difference early in the third quarter, but before you could blink, Ezeigbo scored three straight layups to extend the gap to 11. The junior then sank two from the foul line to set a new career high, and after a Johnson jumper briefly halted the run, Esther Castedo canned a three from the wing to make it 43-29.
After another Johnson free throw, RMU went on a 9-0 run to put the game away. Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu finished a Natalie Villaflor pass inside, then Nina Augustin drilled a trey from an Isabella Posset feed. Villaflor buried a jumper after an Augustin offensive board, and Castedo capped the stretch off from the mid-range, extending the lead to a game-high 22 points at 52-30.
Augustin and Castedo added 11 points each for the Colonials. Johnson paced the Blackbirds with 17 points, while Thomas posted a 15-point, 17-rebound double-double.
Ezeigbo's 30-point evening also marked the first time this season a RMU player scored more than 20, with her 18-point performance against Kent State being the team's previous best in 2018-19.
The Colonials are now 19-0 under Buscaglia when scoring 70 points and have won their last 23 NEC home games.
This is the seventh time in program history that RMU has at least shared the NEC regular-season championship, previously accomplishing the feat in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2017, and 2018. The Colonials can win the title outright and clinch the top seed in next month's NEC Tournament with one win over their final three contests.
"We just keep working game by game," said Buscaglia of hearing. "We don't focus on what's down the road or the accomplishments of something that's clinched – we just value the next opportunity to play the game. Maybe that has to do with some of our success, but it's nice to see that we put ourselves in a good position. Now it's our job to stay hungry and keep getting better."
Robert Morris begins its final road trip of the regular season on Saturday, March 2 at 1:00 p.m. when it travels to Wagner.
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