Women's Basketball | 3/1/2020 3:30:00 PM
Moon Township, Pa. – In what could decide the Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season championship and No. 1 seed in next week's tournament, the
Robert Morris University women's basketball team travels to Mount St. Mary's to square up with the Mountaineers for the second time in 10 days. The Mountaineers dealt the Colonials their first NEC loss on Friday, Feb. 21, snapping a 14-game winning streak and a run of 39 straight home wins against conference foes.
GAME #28
Robert Morris Colonials (20-7, 15-1 NEC) @ Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (19-9, 14-2 NEC)
Monday, March 2, 2020 // 7:00 p.m. // Emmitsburg, Md. – Knott Arena (3,500)
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: MountAthletics.com
Notes Package: Robert Morris // Mount St. Mary's
History w/ Mount St. Mary's
Overall: 29-35 | Home: 17-15 | Away: 12-19 | Neutral: 0-1 | Streak: L1
Last Game: Feb. 21, 2020 – Moon Township, Pa. – Mount St. Mary's 62, Robert Morris 59
Robert Morris trails Mount St. Mary's in the all-time series, 29-35, and has lost two of the last three meetings. There has been two distinct eras to this rivalry, as the Colonials are 26-5 against the Mountaineers since 2004-05, while The Mount went 30-3 to start the series on Dec. 29, 1989.
10 days ago, RMU fell to Mount St. Mary's, 62-59, ending a 14-game winning streak. The hosts struggled offensively, only converting 34.3 percent of their field goal attempts while going just 3-of-24 from deep.
Nneka Ezeigbo posted a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Dahomée Forgues (11) and
Esther Castedo (10) also reached double figures.
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
Picked to finish third in the NEC, Mount St. Mary's, under the direction of third-year head coach Maria Marchesano, has exceeded expectations, owning a 19-9 overall record and 14-2 mark in conference. With two more victories, the Mountaineers would capture their first NEC regular-season championship since 2000-01.
Mount is explosive and balanced offensively, with eight players averaging at least 4.9 points per game. Three players (Kendall Bresee, Michaela Harrison, Jatarrikah Settle) are scoring in double figures, led by Harrison's 12.5 mark. Bresee is the team's leading rebounder at 6.9 caroms per contest, while Settle is second in the NEC in steals at 2.0 per game.
The Mountaineers rank in the top three of the conference in scoring offense (67.18, 1st), field goal percentage (.412, 1st), three-point percentage (.338, 2nd), assists (14.04, 2nd), turnover margin (+2.29, 2nd), three-point field goals made (8.11, 2nd), scoring margin (+3.75, 3rd), steals (9.86, 3rd), and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.79, 3rd).
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 (53.1), eighth in three-point field goal defense (.262), 12th in turnovers forced (21.30), 13th in steals per game (10.9), 15th in turnover margin (+6.26), 22nd in field goal percentage defense (.355), and 33rd in scoring margin (+12.2).
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 158 games. In 75 of those contests, the Colonials have forced 20 or more turnovers from their opponent - a number that includes 17 such instances this season.
Oops, We Did It Again
For the third consecutive season Robert Morris broke the program record for best conference start, winning its first 14 games before suffering a defeat. 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. With its next victory, RMU 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.
20/20 Vision
Robert Morris picked up its 20th win of the season on Feb. 23 at Fairleigh Dickinson, reaching that milestone for 13th time in program history. The Colonials have now won 20 or more games in five straight campaigns, accumulating a record of 109-50 (.686) over that span.
RMU previously rattled off four straight 20-win seasons from 2004-05 to 2007-08, and has now won 20 or more contests in six of the last seven years. The current seven-year run has also included six consecutive NEC Championship Game appearances, where the Colonials have won four of (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019).
Bench Brigade
The Colonial bench has produced all season long, averaging 24.6 points per game and 11.4 more than their opponents' reserves. The unit has tallied double-digit points in 24 consecutive games and 26 contests overall, while hitting the 20-point mark in 15 of the last 16.
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.
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 20-0 in such situations this season, and went 22-0 last season. All-time, RMU is 640-0 when holding the lead at the final whistle.
Follow the Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
