Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team completed its season-long four-game home stand in dominant fashion, blowing out Sacred Heart in a wire-to-wire 73-43 victory this afternoon in Northeast Conference (NEC) action from Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center.
Robert Morris (11-6, 6-0 NEC) has now won seven straight home matchups against Sacred heart (6-11, 3-3 NEC) by an average of 17.0 points per game. The win also extends the Colonials' streak of home victories against NEC opponents – regular season and tournament – to 36, dating back to Jan. 16, 2017.
"We have to be able to know the culture of a game, no matter what the score is," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "We had to stay in control. (Sacred Heart) made a run in the third quarter and I give them credit for playing so hard and continuing to battle. We responded well (in the fourth quarter) after they were outworking us (in the third quarter)."
RMU's third win of 30 or more points featured the team's top defensive performance by field goal percentage, as it held the Pioneers to 24.0 percent shooting. The Colonials forced 25 turnovers from SHU, the 11th time this season their opponent made 20 or more mistakes.
Nneka Ezeigbo tied a season-high with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting, adding eight rebounds, two blocks, and two steals in 23 minutes. The 24 points in 23 minutes mark the third time this season and eighth overall Ezeigbo has recorded the same or more points than minutes played.
Isabella Posset joined Ezeigbo in double-figures scoring with 11 points (3-5 FG, 4-5 FT) to go along with five rebounds, three assists, and a block. The sophomore also swiped a career-high eight steals, tied for the second most in program history and the most since Jasmine Tate met that number on Feb. 7, 2011 against Bryant.
The hosts jumped out to an early 11-2 lead in the first four minutes, thanks to six Ezeigbo points and five from Honoka Ikematsu. RMU finished the frame up 19-7 and used a 19-10 second-quarter difference to make it a Fetty Wap first half tally of 17-38.
The lead reached 28 points to begin the third stanza after four Ezeigbo points, an Esther Castedo trifecta, and free throws from Posset. SHU showed some fight over the remainder of the frame, outscoring the Colonials, 18-6, to make it a 16-point difference through 30 minutes.
All the momentum the Pioneers may have had disappeared quickly in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, as Ezeigbo opened the stanza with eight straight points to push the gap to 61-37 at the media timeout. Posset finished a three-point play out of the break, then Ikematsu buried a trey and mid-range jumper to give RMU its largest lead at 69-37.
Ikematsu tied her season high in scoring with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Castedo also reached double-digit points with 11 on 3-of-7 from deep.
Adrianne Hagood led SHU with 20 points, but converted just 6-of-20 attempts from the field and 3-of-13 from beyond the arc.
This is the third straight season and fifth overall that RMU has started 6-0 in NEC play.
Robert Morris can complete its third consecutive perfect January next weekend with a pair of matchups in the Big Apple. The Colonials take the newly-branded Long Island Sharks on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2:00 p.m., before finishing the month on Monday, Jan. 27 at 7:00 p.m. against St. Francis Brooklyn.
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