Moon Township, Pa. – In its pursuit to become the first team in program history to open up Northeast Conference (NEC) play at 10-0, the Robert Morris University women's basketball team landed the final punch in an instant classic with Bryant this evening, as the Colonials defeated the Bulldogs, 59-56, at the North Athletic Complex.
A heavyweight bout that featured 12 lead changes and eight deadlocks, Robert Morris (13-8, 10-0 NEC) captured the final advantage with 38 seconds to go and established a new school record for best NEC start. The Colonials also ran their winning streak to 10 games, marking just the fourth time in program history they have strung together double-digit victories in a row.
"I was proud of the team of how we responded in the second half," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "I give Bryant a lot of credit for a battle, and they did a great job. We had to be really strong down the stretch to win the game. It was another hard-fought victory."
After falling by three in the first meeting, Bryant (6-15, 4-6 NEC) came out with some extra energy and grabbed a six-point lead midway through the opening frame. RMU would regain the edge to end the stanza, but a 6-0 run to close the half put the Bulldogs ahead by eight at 29-21.
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Buscaglia rallied the team at halftime, sparking the Colonials on a 13-0 start to begin the third quarter. Nia Adams and Isabella Posset traded fastbreak layups to make it 29-25, then Nneka Ezeigbo's spin and finish forced a Bryant timeout just 1:22 into the half. Another defensive stop led to a second Ezeigbo bucket, followed by a Honoka Ikematsu three from the wing to give RMU the lead. The hosts finished it off when Ezeigbo found Posset on a backdoor cut, extending the gap to 34-29.
"We had to really go over some things that we were missing, offensively especially," said Buscaglia of his halftime talk. "Our pace was really bad and we dwelled on turnovers. We had to get that out of our minds and go back to a 'next play' kind of mentality. We had some wake-up calls in the locker room, and I'm proud of how we responded."
Another Bulldog break seemed to settle the tide as Kierra Palmer's three from the top of the key kickstarted a 9-2 rally. Palmer's trifecta from the volleyball line banked swung the score in favor of the visitors, 37-36, but after a Naomi Ashley layup, Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu scored four straight points to put the Colonials ahead heading into the fourth, 40-39.
Natalie Villaflor scored on RMU's first possession of the closing stanza to make it a three-point game, but Macey Zegarowski tied it up with her fourth trey of the contest. After Palmer again freed herself for another trifecta to give Bryant the lead, Nina Augustin answered on the other end with her own three-pointer. The teams traded a pair of two-point possessions to keep it deadlocked, then Ashley finished with contact to make it 49-47 at the media timeout.
The Bulldog guard missed the plus-one, but Sydney Holloway pulled down one of the team's 13 offensive boards to reset the shot clock. Ashley again drew a foul and split a pair, pushing the gap to 50-47, but Ezeigbo buried an elbow jumper to pull the Colonials within one.
After empty possessions on both sides, Posset read a cross-court pass perfectly and raced to the other end for a go-ahead layup with 3:01 on the clock. Nadège Pluviose forced a steal on Bryant's next offensive trip, which turned into an Ezeigbo free throw to make it 52-50, but Hannah Scanlan sank a couple at the line to bring it back to a deadlock with 2:10 remaining.
Ashley was fouled by Ezeigbo with 53 seconds left and made the front end, putting the Bulldogs on top, 53-52. After RMU burned its 60-second timeout to advance the ball, Posset slipped free on the wing and banked home a layup to give the Colonials the lead.
"We have the confidence to go to (Isabella Posset)," said Buscaglia of his freshman. "She came up empty on a corner three, but she has that bulldog mentality and wanted the ball the next time. To go hard in the paint and finish – after having some problems going to the basket earlier in the game – that just shows that kind of mentality. As a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, whatever she is in her class, having that mentality to go to the next play is really awesome."
A defensive stop turned into two Augustin free throws to make it 56-53, then RMU forced a turnover to regain possession with 13 seconds remaining. Posset was fouled and hit the back end of two foul shots, which proved to be needed after Palmer drilled her fourth trey on the next possession. Villaflor was then sent to the line and made both, and Adams intercepted the desperation pass to seal the victory.
Augustin paced the Colonials with 12 points (4-7 FG, 2-4 3PT), followed by Posset's nine in the second half. RMU converted 42.6 percent (20-47) from the floor and 72.7 percent (16-22) at the free throw stripe.
Palmer led all scorers with 14 points on 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, as Bryant converted 75.0 percent (9-12) of its three-pointers on the evening.
The Colonials are the fifth team since 2000 to start NEC play with a 10-0 record. This is also the ninth time in the last 10 seasons that RMU has won double-digit contests in conference.
Last season against Bryant at home, the Colonials established the previous record for best NEC start with a 72-49 triumph.
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Robert Morris, winners of its last 20 home games in NEC play, will look to extend that number to 21 on Monday, Feb. 11 at 7:00 p.m. when it hosts Central Connecticut. With a win, the Colonials will be the first team to clinch their spot in the upcoming NEC Tournament.
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