Women's Basketball | 2/20/2020 12:29:00 PM
Moon Township, Pa. – Off to its best Northeast Conference (NEC) start in program history at 14-0, the
Robert Morris University women's basketball team faces its toughest task yet as second-place Mount St. Mary's arrives at Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center on Friday, Feb. 21. The Colonials and Mountaineers will play twice over the next three contests, and a RMU win will give it a share of its fourth consecutive NEC regular-season championship.
GAME #26
Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (16-9, 11-2 NEC) @ Robert Morris Colonials (19-6, 14-0 NEC)
Friday, February 21, 2020 // 4:30 p.m. // Moon Township, Pa. – Peoples Court at the UPMC Events Center (4,000)
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: RMUColonials.com
Notes Package: Mount St. Mary's // Robert Morris
Tickets: Ticketmaster
History w/ Mount St. Mary's
Overall: 29-34 | Home: 17-14 | Away: 12-19 | Neutral: 0-1 | Streak: W1
Last Game: March 14, 2019 – Moon Township, Pa. – Robert Morris 69, Mount St. Mary's 65 [NEC Semifinals]
Robert Morris trails Mount St. Mary's in the all-time series, 34-29, but there has been two distinct eras to the rivalry. Since 2004-05, the Colonials are 26-4 against the Mountaineers, and The Mount went 30-3 to start the series on Dec. 29, 1989.
After seeing its 11-0 conference start dashed by the Mountaineers last season, RMU got its revenge in the NEC Tournament semifinals with a 69-65 victory. The visitors outscored the top-seeded Colonials, 26-18, over the final minutes, but could only pull within two.
Nneka Ezeigbo posted a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double with three blocks, while fellow NEC All-Tournament Team member
Nina Augustin added 12 points and five assists.
Mount St. Mary's snapped a 12-game losing streak in the series with a 61-55 win on its home court last February. The teams traded the lead twice in the final minute, with a Jatarrikah Settle three-point play putting the hosts ahead for good with 47 seconds to play. Ezeigbo finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds (9 offensive) to complete a double-double, and picked up the 100th steal of her career a minute into the contest.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Under third-year head coach Maria Marchesano, Mount St. Mary's has exceeded expectations this season with a 16-9 overall record and 11-2 mark in the NEC. The Mountaineers, who were selected to finish in a tie for third in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, own five double-digit conference wins and only suffered defeats against Merrimack (56-77) and Bryant (67-72).
The Mount have three players scoring in double figures, led by sophomore guard Michaela Harrison (12.6 PPG). Redshirt junior guard Kendall Bresee is at 10.8 points per game and owns team highs in rebounds (6.8) and assists (3.5), while junior forward Jatarrikah Settle averages 10.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and a team-best 2.2 steals per contest. Seven Mountaineers are averaging 6.1 points per game or better, and eight are playing nearly 20 minutes per game.
Mount St. Mary's leads the NEC in field goal percentage (.409), ranks second in scoring offense (67.64), three-point percentage (.342), steals (9.96), and turnover margin (+2.16), and slots third in scoring margin (+3.28), assists (13.92), and three-pointers made (8.48). The Mountaineers rank in the top half of the conference in almost every statistical category but three-point defense (.322), where they are eighth.
Oops, We Did It Again
For the third consecutive season, Robert Morris broke the program record for best conference start, opening up at 12-0 with a 77-35 win at Wagner on Feb. 10. Now at 14-0, the Colonials previously went 9-0 in 2017-18 to establish a new standard, then topped that in 2018-19 with an 11-0 start. In both seasons, RMU finished with a 16-2 record in the NEC.
The Colonials are the fourth team since 2000 to start 14-0 in the NEC, joining 2004 Saint Francis U, 2009 Sacred Heart, and 2013 Quinnipiac. All three of those teams finished unbeaten at 18-0. This current RMU squad has a larger average margin of victory (21.8 PPG) than the aforementioned three (SFU - 18.7, SHU - 14.7, QU - 17.2), and has 11 double-digit conference wins thus far.
With its next victory, Robert Morris will secure at least a share of its fourth straight NEC regular-season title. The last team to do that was Saint Francis U, who won four in a row from 2001-02 to 2004-05.
The Defense (Never) Rests
Robert Morris prides itself on its defense and this season is no different. The Colonials enters this meeting ranked seventh nationally in scoring defense (53.5), 12th in three-point field goal defense (.265), 13th in turnovers forced (21.32) and turnover margin (+6.36), 18th in steals (10.9), and 23rd in field goal percentage defense (.354).
Last season, RMU slotted 12th in the NCAA in scoring defense (55.3), 24th in turnovers forced (20.18), 26th in turnover margin (+4.18), and 32nd in steals (9.9). The Colonials have posted a top-25 scoring defense in each of the last three seasons, coming in at 25th in 2016-17 (57.0), and eighth in 2017-18 (54.1). The 2017-18 mark in a school record.
RMU is in the midst of an impressive streak, causing double-digit turnovers in each of its last 156 games. In 73 of those contests, the Colonials have forced 20 or more turnovers from their opponent - a number that includes 15 such instances this season.
Bench Brigade
The Colonial bench has produced all season long, averaging 24.5 points per game and 11.0 more than their opponents' reserves. The unit has tallied double-digit points in 22 consecutive games and 24 contests overall, while hitting the 20-point mark in 13 of the last 14.
Charlie Buscaglia has always had a strong bench since taking over as head coach prior to 2016-17. RMU received 23.5 points per game from its reserves in 2018-19 and 20.0 in 2017-18.
The Colonial bench has scored 30 or more points five times this season, highlighted by hitting a season-high 39 points on Feb. 1 against Central Connecticut. Since 2016-17, RMU is 18-1 when it receives 30 or more points from its reserves.
Share The Wealth
Senior center
Nneka Ezeigbo won her third NEC Player of the Week award of the season on Wednesday, as she was bestowed the honor after averaging 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game in wins against Fairleigh Dickinson and Saint Francis U.
Ezeigbo's third plaudit of 2019-20 is also the fifth of her career. She is one of three Colonials to win Player of the Week, alongside sophomore guard
Isabella Posset (Jan. 22) and
Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu (Feb. 12). No other school has had multiple players earn the recognition this season, and this is the first time in program history three different Colonials have been named Player of the Week in a campaign.
In February, We Wear Pink
It has been a tradition for Robert Morris to don pink alternate jerseys during select February games to raise breast cancer awareness. It has also been a tradition for the Colonials to win those contests. Since the 2013-14 season, RMU has accumulated a 29-1 record when wearing pink jerseys.
RMU has averaged 16.5 more points than its opponents in the tint, with 24 of its 29 triumphs coming by double figures. Last season, the Colonials went 6-0 in pink with a 13.8-point average margin of victory, and finished 3-0 in 2017-18 and 4-0 in 2016-17.
Insurmountable Lead
Robert Morris has never lost a game in which it has held the lead at the end of the second half. The Colonials are 19-0 in such situations this season, and went 22-0 last season. All-time, RMU is 639-0 when holding the lead at the final whistle.
Follow the Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
