Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team is still searching for its first win of the 2020-21 season as reigning Horizon League champion IUPUI completed a two-game sweep of the Colonials this afternoon, 74-53. The Jaguars improve to 8-1 overall and 6-0 in the league, while RMU falls to 0-6.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
IUPUI again flexed its offensive muscle over the first half, taking a 46-24 lead into the halftime break. RMU fared better for most of the third quarter however, ripping off a 14-4 run over the frame's first nine minutes. The Colonials started with three buckets in the paint from Holly Forbes, Sol Castro, and Megan Callahan before a pair of free throws by Macee Williams halted the Jaguars' scoring drought. After a jumper from Rachel McLimore, Trinity Papamandjaris provided a layup on the fastbreak to kick off an 8-0 blitz, followed by Dahomée Forgues adding two points of her own. Another Castro jumper and a pair of Laura Carrasco free throws kept the momentum in favor of the hosts, but with the score at 52-38, the Jaguars answered with a Katelyn O'Reilly jumper and five points from Williams in 1:11 to push the gap to 19 points.
QUOTABLE
"IUPUI is a very strong program and Coach (Austin) Parkinson has done a great job with them," said RMU head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "They have a veteran group that plays very hard, and they're rolling right now … This coaching staff has been here together for a while, and we've worked hard and taught our culture and what we do every day, and we can't question that. I don't know any other way to live, it's not just coaching but it's in everything I do. We keep working at what we do and master it the best we can. The last thing we're going to do is try to question or change who we are. We'll continue to study video and work hard, and try to find any answers we can, and then bring that to practice. Practice is the most important thing that we do, and when we're not able to practice, that really disrupted us because that's the kind of culture we have. We have to be thankful for those opportunities to practice and come to work every day."
YOU GOTTA HAVE SOL
A bright spot offensively for the Colonials was the play of freshman forward Sol Castro, who finished with a career-high and team-leading 14 points. Castro finished 7-of-15 from the field, adding four rebounds, an assist, block, and steal in 25 minutes. The Argentinian product eclipsed double-digit points for the second time this season, and is shooting a team-best 45.2 percent through six games.
QUOTABLE
"We've been really excited about Sol coming in and she's done well," said Buscaglia of Castro. "She really wants to work hard every day and get better, and when we have the opportunities at practice – we've had some considerable time taken away from us – she's worked really hard, listening, and trying to fix some bad habits so that she can help right away. She's taken on a big role as a freshman, which is great. It was nice for her to get a little bit better. She put a brick on her and the team's foundation today because she played with a great pace."
THE 100 CLUB
Senior guards Nina Augustin and Honoka Ikematsu both met a milestone this afternoon as they played in their 100th career game. Augustin, who has started 42 of those contests including today's, finished with three points and five rebounds in 24 minutes. Ikematsu, who leads all active players with 61 starts, came off the bench to provide a three-pointer and two assists in 11 minutes. Both Augustin (Finland) and Ikematsu (Japan) are the first players in program history from their respective home countries.
HIGH HONORS
Castro's aforementioned 14 points led the hosts, and Forbes paced the team on the glass with six rebounds. IUPUI's Macee Williams posted a 26-point, 15-rebound double-double for the visitors.
UP NEXT
RMU remains at home for another two-game set next weekend as it is set to welcome UIC to the UPMC Events Center. Friday's game is set to begin at 7:00 p.m., while Saturday is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. opening tip.
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