Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball program has kept a consistent presence overseas at the professional level, and two of its current long-time pros in Artemis Spanou '14 and Ashley Ravelli '16 have joined new teams this summer for the upcoming 2020-21 season.
Entering her seventh professional season, Spanou will stay in Poland's Basket Liga Kobiet and join league regular-season champion Arka Gdynia, who went 21-0 and captured the Polish Cup in 2019-20. Ravelli, meanwhile, is starting her fifth professional campaign and first with Use Scotti Rosa Empoli, who went 8-11 last season in Italy's Serie A1.
"It's always joyful to know that our graduated student-athletes are continuing to compete at the highest level," said Robert Morris head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "Both Artemis (Spanou) and Ashley (Ravelli) are very talented, tough competitors who carry outstanding work ethics. Their passion to be great was very evident while they both grew on and off the court over their four years here. I'm very proud to have coached then, and will enjoy the continued blessing of rooting them both on while they continue their professional careers."
Coming off a historic career at Robert Morris, Spanou – a 2019 RMU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee – has enjoyed an impressive pro tenure. After narrowly missing the regular-season roster of the WNBA's Washington Mystics in 2014, the Rhodes, Greece product has since played in four EuroCups and two EuroLeagues, advancing to the 2015 EuroCup semifinals with Turkey's Istanbul Universitesi SK. She won the 2018 Basket Liga Kobiet championship with CCC Polkowice and the 2016 Spanish SuperCup with Spar Citylift Girona, and her jump to Arka Gdynia will mark the sixth different team she's played for over her career.
Ravelli has spent her entire pro career in Serie A1, beginning with a two-year run with Pallacanestro Femminile Broni from 2016-18. She then signed with Gesam Gas Le Mur Lucca and played two seasons there, ending the 2019-20 campaign with her best statistical performance of 7.9 points, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 rebounds per game, and a 43.2 percent conversion rate on three-pointers. The Milan, Italy product should eclipse the 100 career games milestone in 2020-21, having appeared in 92 contests over her first four seasons.
The duo were joined in the professional ranks this past Friday by Nneka Ezeigbo, who inked a deal with Unicaja Malaga of Spain's Liga Femenina 2. Nine former Colonials are currently set to play professionally in 2020-21, and a total of 22 has tested the pro waters under Buscaglia's tutelage.
RELATED: Ezeigbo Joins Pro Ranks, Signs Contract with Spain's Unicaja Malaga
RELATED: Colonials in the Pros (WBB)
Since 2013-14 among mid-major programs, Robert Morris – the newest member of the Horizon League – ranks second in conference tournament titles (4), third in NCAA Tournament appearances (4), fourth in conference regular-season titles (5), ninth in conference wins (101), 14th in conference winning percentage (.802), 15th in postseason appearances (5), 16th in overall wins (150), and 19th in overall winning percentage (.661). The Colonials are coming off a 2019-20 campaign where they went 23-7 and 17-1 in the NEC, capturing their fourth consecutive regular-season crown in the process.
Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Snapchat | YouTube
