North Andover, Mass. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball withstood a furious comeback attempt in the fourth quarter to close a five-game road trip with a 68-62 victory at Merrimack this afternoon in Northeast Conference (NEC) play from Hammel Court.
Robert Morris (7-6, 2-0 NEC) led by as many as 19 points in the final frame before Merrimack (7-6, 0-2 NEC) staged its last push. The hosts pulled within as close as four in the final moments, but the Colonials used a pair of defensive stops and four free throws to seal the win.
RMU's center duo of Nneka Ezeigbo and Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu again dominated inside with both nearly posting double-doubles. Nneka Ezeigbo led the team with 18 points (7-14 FG, 4-6 FT), nine rebounds, and three steals in 24 minutes, while Ozzy-Momodu provided 10 points (5-9 FG), nine caroms, and a block in 16 minutes.
Isabella Posset continued her recent strong stretch of play, contributing 11 points (4-8 FG, 2-3 3PT), six rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals in 30 minutes. Natalie Villaflor came off the bench to add 11 points (4-7 FG, 1-1 3PT) in 22 minutes.
"We can take a lot of positives from this road trip," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "Outside of going 2-0, it was a great moment for our student-athletes to step up with missing Nina (Augustin) the last two games. It was a true testament to our servanthood to do whatever was asked and put others in front of ourselves. Today's game showed why Merrimack was so successful in the non-conference, because not only do they have talent, but they play hard for 40 minutes."
The Colonials and Warriors traded the lead in the first quarter before the visitors used a 9-1 surge to make it 16-12 after 10 minutes. Posset started it off with a trifecta, then added a steal and score to knot it at 12-all, while Ezeigbo and Villaflor finished the frame with back-to-back buckets.
Megan Callahan and Villaflor opened the second quarter with consecutive treys to make it a double-digit gap, followed by another Villaflor jumper that made it 24-12. The lead grew to 18 with 1:45 to go in the half after Posset found Villaflor, but a 7-1 run leading into the second half pulled Merrimack within 12 at 37-25.
Posset beat the buzzer from deep to end the third stanza, giving RMU a 52-35 advantage into the final 10 minutes. Ezeigbo scored on the opening possession of the fourth to push the Colonial gap to a game-high 19 points, and it sat at 61-48 at the last media timeout with 5:18 to go.
The Warriors swung back with an 11-0 surge to make it a two-possession game at 61-56, but Ezeigbo had an answer inside to restore a seven-point advantage. Although two Kaylee Thomas free throws with 22 seconds left made it a four-point game, foul shots from Posset, Villaflor, and Dahomée Forgues put the finishing touches on RMU's season-long road swing.
"We needed to know how defend (Merrimack) because they can attack you one through five," said Buscaglia of the hosts' comeback bid. "Any of their players have the capability of having a great game. We contested a lot of shots and limited a lot of paint touches, and they had to extend to shoot some threes over contested hands. Down the stretch, we need to do a better job at tightening some screws and get stops. I give Merrimack credit for that, because they fought hard down the stretch."
The Colonials outrebounded Merrimack, 45-31, and owned a 34-24 edge in points in the paint.
Denia Davis-Stewart led the Warriors with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks in 40 minutes.
Ezeigbo averaged 21.0 points on 65.4 percent shooting, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.5 steals in 23.5 minutes over RMU's opening two NEC contests.
Robert Morris returns to Peoples Court at UPMC Events Center for its longest home stand of the season of four games, beginning on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 4:00 p.m. against Wagner.
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