Milwaukee, Wisc. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team fell in its final game of the calendar year, dropping a 56-37 contest to Milwaukee earlier this afternoon. The Colonials drop to 0-4 on the season, while the Panthers improve to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in Horizon League play.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Down 11 in the early stages of the third quarter, RMU used an 11-2 surge to pull within two over a two-minute stretch. After Megan Walstad pushed the Milwaukee lead to double-digits with a putback in the paint, Esther Castedo answered with a trey off a Nina Augustin assist, then the roles were reversed on another trifecta. Augustin was fouled on her three and made it a four-point play to trim the gap to four, and after a McKaela Schmelzer layup, buckets from Sol Castro and Sydney Palermo on back-to-back possessions made it 24-22.
QUOTABLE
"Congrats to Milwaukee on their wins this weekend," said RMU head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "There are some definite positives to take away from this weekend. With all the missed practice time, we're still working on finding our pace. We had some moments where we got better playing together on both ends of the floor."
APPLE TURNOVERS
The Colonials forced 22 turnovers on the afternoon, which marked the second time this season that they have caused 20 or more mistakes from their opponent. RMU has now forced double-digit turnovers in 165 consecutive games, a stretch that includes 79 instances of its opponent committing 20 or more mistakes.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
After the Colonials pulled within two, the Panthers answered with 13 unanswered points to push the lead to 37-22. Natalie Villaflor briefly stopped the bleeding with an old-fashioned three-point play, but two free throws allowed Milwaukee to carry a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter. After a Megan Callahan trey opened the final stanza, the Panthers rattled off an 8-0 run to effectively seal the game.
QUOTABLE
"In this week's preparation we needed to do everything in our control to get our timing, get in shape, and do a great job on our final exams," added Buscaglia. "When we return from break, we will need to be ready to use much time to condition and to work on better execution."
DEFEND THE THREE
RMU did a good job keeping Milwaukee uncomfortable from beyond the arc, as the Panthers only converted 2-of-14 (14.3%) of their attempts this afternoon. This marks the first time the Colonials have held an opponent below 20 percent shooting on three-pointers in 2020-21 after accomplishing the feat seven different times last season.
UP NEXT
RMU returns to the court on New Year's Day as it opens the home slate of its schedule with a pair of contests against IUPUI. The Colonials and Jaguars will tipoff on Friday, Jan. 1, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. from the UPMC Events Center.
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