Moon Township, Pa. – After finishing January undefeated for the third consecutive year, the Robert Morris University women's basketball team kicked off February with its largest margin of victory of the season, defeating Central Connecticut, 80-42, this evening in Northeast Conference (NEC) play from Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center.
Robert Morris (14-6, 9-0 NEC) now has four 30-point wins under its belt this season, which is the first time it has accomplished that since the 2007-08 season. The 38-point difference is tied for the 18th largest margin of victory in program history, and is this season's new standard – topping the 63-30 triumph against Pitt-Johnstown on Nov. 27.
"It was a game where we needed to play for 40 minutes," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "Central (Connecticut) came out with a lot of energy and pushed us early on, and we had to find our pace. We missed from the outside early on, but were doing well around the basket and that set the culture of the game. On the defensive end, our backbone, we did really well in the second half."
The Colonials had four players reach double figures in scoring, led by Dahomée Forgues' second 15-point performance in as many Saturdays. Nneka Ezeigbo and Laura Carrasco added 14 points apiece, while Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu posted a 10-point, 14-rebound double-double.
RMU took control midway through the first quarter with a 12-2 run. Five different players scored during the stretch, with Nina Augustin providing the finishing touch to give the hosts a 21-10 advantage after 10 minutes.
Central Connecticut (2-19, 1-9 NEC) came back with a big surge of its own, outscoring the Colonials, 19-8, over the first nine minutes of the second frame. With its lead trimmed down to two, RMU extended its halftime lead to five with an Ozzy-Momodu three-point play on its last possession.
Out of the break, the Colonials snapped off a quick 10-0 rally to regain their hold on the game. Honoka Ikematsu opened the half with a trey, then Ezeigbo finished a put back. Holly Forbes grabbed an offensive carom and provided her own three-point play, and Forgues made two free throws to make it 44-29.
Megan Callahan finished the stanza with a mid-range jumper, then Forgues canned a three and Ezeigbo sank two foul shots to begin the fourth quarter. Carrasco then checked in after a Blue Devils bucket and went to work, sinking a three and two free throws. She added two more from the stripe following the media timeout, and buried another trey to extend the lead to 74-42.
Continuing her NBA Jam-esque run, Carrasco laid a pass off for Ozzy-Momodu to add two more to the scoreboard, then stole the ball from Taylor Goode at midcourt and finished on the fastbreak. On the next possession, the junior guard was fouled on a three-point attempt and sank two free throws to establish a new career-high of 14 points – all coming in the fourth quarter.
Carrasco finished a perfect 3-for-3 from the field, 2-for-2 on three-pointers, and 6-of-7 at the free throw stripe.
Ozzy-Momodu's double-double was the fifth of her career and second this season.
Forgues' 15-point performance matched her career high, set last Saturday at Long Island.
RMU received 39 points from its bench, surpassing its season best of 34. The Colonial reserves are now averaging 24.0 points per game and 11.3 more than their opponents'.
Robert Morris finishes off a two-game home stand on Monday, Feb. 3 at 7:00 p.m. against Bryant. Tickets can be purchased for a special rate of $3 as a part of a promotion for National Girls & Women in Sports Day by clicking the associated Ticketmaster link and using the code 'GIRLS'.
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