Women's Basketball | 2/7/2020 11:20:00 AM
Moon Township, Pa. – Coming off back-to-back 30-point victories, the
Robert Morris University women's basketball team begins a two-game road swing on Saturday, Feb. 8 at noon against Sacred Heart. With a win, the Colonials would tie the program record for best Northeast Conference (NEC) start at 11-0, which was established last season. RMU knocked off the Pioneers, 73-43, on Jan. 20, and owns a 2.5-game lead in the NEC standings over Mount St. Mary's (7-2).
GAME #22
Robert Morris Colonials (15-6, 10-0 NEC) @ Sacred Heart Pioneers (8-13, 5-5 NEC)
Saturday, February 8, 2020 // Noon // Fairfield, Conn. – William H. Pitt Center (2,062)
TV: ESPN3 & AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh (2/9, 6:00 PM tape-delay) // Live Stats: SacredHeartPioneers.com
Notes Package: Robert Morris // Sacred Heart
History w/ Sacred Heart
Overall: 16-24 | Home: 11-8 | Away: 5-16 | Neutral: 0-0 | Streak: W1
Last Game: Jan. 20, 2020 – Moon Township, Pa. – Robert Morris 73, Sacred Heart 43
Sacred Heart owns the upper hand against Robert Morris in the all-time series, 24-16, but the Colonials have been victorious in five of the last six meetings.
Less than three weeks ago, RMU blew out Sacred Heart at the UPMC Events Center, 73-43. The defense held SHU to 24.0 percent shooting and forced 25 turnovers.
Nneka Ezeigbo tied a season-high with 24 points (9-17 FG) in 23 minutes, while
Isabella Posset provided 11 points and a career-high eight steals.
The Colonials' last win at the William H. Pitt Center was a historic one, a 91-57 throttling of the Pioneers on New Year's Eve in 2017. RMU shot 61.4 percent from the floor - its second highest mark of all-time - and received a career-high 25 points from
Honoka Ikematsu, who converted 7-of-10 attempts from distance.
Megan Smith '18 reached 1,000 career points in the second quarter.
Scouting the Pioneers
Led by seventh-year head coach Jessica Mannetti, Sacred Heart is 8-13 overall and 5-5 in the NEC, tied with Fairleigh Dickinson for fifth in the standings. The Pioneers have dropped consecutive games to Mount St. Mary's (67-58) and St. Francis Brooklyn (71-70), but won their previous two contests before that against the Knights (68-53) and Central Connecticut (54-52).
A trio of juniors average double-figures scoring for SHU, led by third-year guard Adrianne Hagood and her 16.8 points on per game on 42.4 percent shooting. Redshirt junior Nikki Johnson and third-year Jayla Davis are both at 10.3 points per game, though the former has only played in nine games this season. Two more juniors, Jessica Woods and Olivia Dabney, average 9.3 and 9.2 points per game, respectively, and share the team lead in blocks (1.6).
The Pioneers have been a solid defensive team, ranking second in the NEC in blocks (4.33) and fourth in scoring defense (66.24). They have struggled in certain areas offensively, however, slotting eighth in free throw percentage (.694), ninth in field goal percentage (.365), 10th in three-point percentage (.351), rebounding margin (-5.19), and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.60), and 11th in assists (9.95).
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 27-1 record when wearing pink jerseys.
RMU has averaged 15.5 more points than its opponents in the tint, with 22 of its 27 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.
Bench Brigade
The Colonial bench has produced all season long, averaging 24.0 points per game and 13.3 more than their opponents' reserves. The unit has tallied double-digit points in 18 consecutive games and 20 contests overall, while hitting the 20-point mark in 10 straight contests.
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 three times this season, highlighted by hitting a season-high 39 points this past Saturday against Central Connecticut. Since 2016-17, RMU is 16-1 when it receives 30 or more points from its reserves.
30 Rock
Robert Morris tied a single-season program record with its fifth 30-point victory this past Monday, a 69-39 decision against Bryant. The Colonials previously accomplished this on Nov. 27 against Pitt-Johnstown (63-30), Jan. 2 at Central Connecticut (86-56), Jan. 20 against Sacred Heart (73-43), and Feb. 1 against the Blue Devils (80-42).
RMU matched the 2006-07 side with five 30-point triumphs, and now has 59 wins of 30 points or more in its all-time history. The 38-point rout of Central Connecticut on Feb. 1 is tied for the 18th largest margin of victory in program annals.
The Defense (Never) Rests
Robert Morris prides itself on its defense and this season is no different. The Colonials entered the weekend ranked 13th nationally in turnovers forced (21.62), 19th in turnover margin (+5.86), 22nd in steals (11.0), 24th in scoring defense (55.9), 45th in field goal percentage defense (.363), and 49th in three-point field goal defense (.279) - the first four numbers also topping the conference circuit.
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, breaking the previous standard set the year prior.
RMU is in the midst of an impressive streak, causing double-digit turnovers in each of its last 152 games. In 71 of those contests, the Colonials have forced 20 or more turnovers from their opponent - a number that includes 13 such instances this season.
#NECNewYear
Robert Morris has opened the conference slate with a 10-0 record for the second consecutive season, and can tie a program record for best NEC start with a win at Sacred Heart on Saturday.
RMU is 15-1 in conference openers since 2004-05 after an 86-56 victory at Central Connecticut on Jan. 2. The lone blemish during that stretch came on Dec. 31, 2016, a 69-59 loss at Sacred Heart.
The margin of victory in those 15 lidlifter wins has been 16.5 points per game, with 11 of those triumphs coming by double-digits. The Colonials are now 22-13 all-time in ECAC Metro / NEC opening contests.
Eyes On Us
With its success on the court and the Northeast Conference television package, Robert Morris has often found itself on the ESPN family of networks recently. Since 2013-14, the Colonials have played 38 games on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN+, or SECN+, with their matchup Saturday at Sacred Heart increasing that total to 39.
RMU has featured most on ESPN2, owning a 16-5 record on the platform over the aforementioned timeframe. The Colonials have played twice on ESPN+ this season, splitting contests at La Salle (W) and Rhode Island (L), and will close the regular season on the network March 5 against Saint Francis U.
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 15-0 in such situations this season, and went 22-0 last season. All-time, RMU is 635-0 when holding the lead at the final whistle.
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