Moon Township, Pa. – In a rematch of last season's Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship Game, the Robert Morris University women's basketball team reversed the outcome, earning its eighth NEC Tournament championship and sixth NCAA Tournament bid with a 65-54 victory over Saint Francis U this afternoon from a standing-room-only North Athletic Complex.
This is the third NEC Tournament title in four seasons for Robert Morris (22-10, 16-2 NEC), who fell to Saint Francis U (16-17, 11-7 NEC) in last year's championship game, 66-56. The Colonials completed their first three-game season sweep of the Red Flash since 2011-12, taking the lead with 1:23 remaining in the first quarter and never letting go from there.
"I've never been prouder," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "We're a young team – 70 percent of this team is freshmen and sophomores – and we definitely didn't play like it today. I give a lot of credit to Saint Francis, they played extremely hard and (SFU interim head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl) did an amazing job taking over their team – they gave us everything we could handle."
Similar to its semifinal matchup against Mount St. Mary's, RMU had to withstand a furious rally by the visitors to come away with the victory. Natalie Villaflor buried a runner a minute into the fourth quarter to make it 51-38, then banked in a mid-range jumper after the Red Flash cut it to single digits. SFU would respond with a 9-0 run, capped by a Karson Swogger jumper to trim the deficit to 53-51 at the media timeout.
The Red Flash had their chances to tie or take the lead after the break, pulling down three offensive rebounds on the next possession before RMU got a defensive stop. Nina Augustin then drilled a long three-pointer off a feed from Isabella Posset to make it a five-point game with 3:09 left. The Colonials defense took over from there, only allowing a Leah Morrow free throw and late Jessica Kovatch layup, while Esther Castedo buried a trifecta with 1:04 remaining to send the home fans into a frenzy.
"The most proud I am about this young team is that when the moments got tough, we responded," said Buscaglia. "Even when (SFU) made that big run and their energy was high, I had 100 percent faith that this team would pull through and do what we had to do to overcome the run that they made."
The North Athletic Complex was rocking, but it would be the SFU fans who'd cheer the loudest to start as they saw their team race out to a 10-6 lead. A Nneka Ezeigbo free throw and Honoka Ikematsu fastbreak layup pulled RMU within one, then Kovatch sank a step-back jumper to make it 12-9. Ikematsu followed her own miss on a long possession to trim the gap again, then Nadège Pluviose finished inside to give the Colonials their first lead.
Pluviose's bucket sparked an 11-0 run to close the quarter, with Posset shining over the stretch. Ikematsu set the All-NEC Rookie Team selection up for three, then Posset drew a foul with five seconds left. She made the first and missed the second, but Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu pulled down the miss and dished it to the freshman for a buzzer-beating three.
RMU also ended the second quarter with a three in the closing seconds, as Posset found Castedo to make it 32-26 at the halftime break. SFU previously pulled within three with a Morrow layup and two Sam Sabino free throws.
Augustin went a perfect 3-for-3 from deep in the second half, leading the Colonials with 14 points. Posset added 12 points (10 in the first quarter) and six assists, while Ezeigbo posted her eighth double-double of the season (11 pts, 12 reb) despite going 4-of-17 from the field.
Ezeigbo was named NEC Tournament MVP after averaging 15.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and 1.7 steals over the three games. Augustin also garnered postseason honors by making the All-Tournament Team, as the duo was joined by Kovatch, Candice Leatherwood of Sacred Heart, and Michaela Harrison of Mount St. Mary's.
RMU is now 10-1 as the top NEC Tournament seed and 24-2 in home postseason contests. The Colonials move to 8-4 all-time in the NEC Championship Game.
This was RMU's final game at the North Athletic Complex, which has served as the team's temporary home during construction of the UPMC Events Center. The Colonials end up 28-5 at the facility, including winning all 22 games against NEC foes.
Robert Morris will learn its NCAA Tournament opponent on Monday at 7:00 PM during the NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Special presented by Capital One on ESPN. The Colonials will be hosting a Selection Monday party at All Star Sports Bar & Grill in Robinson Township, starting at 6:00 PM, and encourage all fans to attend.
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