Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team saw an 11-point halftime lead and its three-game winning streak slip away this evening, as the Colonials were outscored by Youngstown State in the second half, 40-22, and fell 71-64 in Horizon League play from the UPMC Events center. RMU finishes its four-game home stand at 3-1 and is now 3-9 overall and in the league, while YSU improves to 6-4.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Colonials saw their lead trimmed to 38-31 near the end of the first half, but buckets by Megan Callahan and Natalie Villaflor before the buzzer pushed the gap to 11 at the break. RMU's advantage grew to a game-high 12 on an Esther Castedo trey early in the third quarter, but YSU responded with an 18-4 run to take a 53-51 lead with 1:59 left in the frame – its first advantage since 4-3. The Penguins never trailed again, as Castedo's jumper at 1:13 could only bring the hosts within one at 54-53.
QUOTABLE
"Congratulations to Youngstown State," said RMU head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "It was a very hard-fought effort by them, and I give a lot of credit to them for battling for four quarters today and working as hard as they did. They earned this win. We definitely have to get back to it again. We have to get back to the video and be ready to have a great week of practice, especially with our next two on the road."
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
Riding the momentum from last night's win, RMU came out hot on offense by shooting 54.5 percent (18-33) over the opening 20 minutes. The Colonials scored 25 points in the second quarter alone, finishing 10-of-16 (62.5%) from the floor and 3-of-6 from deep. However, like what the hosts did to YSU the night prior, RMU found points hard to come by over the final two minutes as it shot 25.0 percent (8-32) from the field and 15.4 percent (2-13) on three-pointers.
QUOTABLE
"We didn't shoot the ball poorly from the floor but we didn't shoot the ball particularly well from the three-point line," said Buscaglia. "On the defensive end as a unit, we needed to be better – especially in the second half. Youngstown State played really hard, and I give them a lot of credit coming back and continuing to play for four quarters. We didn't play for four quarters tonight."
SYD FROM THE BLOCK
Redshirt sophomore forward Sydney Palermo led the Colonials with four blocks this evening, collecting three of them on a single possession. With 6:34 left to play, Palermo got the better of Mary Dunn and sent her layup attempt out of bounds. She picked up her second block on a Mady Aublach attempt 12 seconds later, then sent back Dunn's jumper attempt as the shot clock expired. Palermo is the first RMU player to record four rejections since Nneka Ezeigbo did so at Norfolk State on Dec. 18, 2019, and her performance marks the fifth straight season the Colonials have had at least one individual with four or more blocks in a game.
YOU GOTTA HAVE SOL
Freshman forward Sol Castro posted her second straight double-double and third in four games, tallying 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting and 12 rebounds. Castro added two assists, two blocks, and a steal as she played a team-high 36 minutes. Castro – who leads RMU in scoring (9.5), rebounding (5.8), field goal percentage (.441), and minutes (29.3) – is averaging 16.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 blocks over the last four contests.
TAKE CARE
The Colonials entered the evening ranked second in the Horizon League in turnovers, averaging 14.7 per game – just 0.5 more than Green Bay. RMU stayed within single digits in that category for the third straight game, committing a season-low seven turnovers compared to YSU's 15.
DOUBLE FIGURES
In addition to Castro's double-double, RMU also had Esther Castedo (15) and Nina Augustin (12) in double-figures scoring. YSU also saw three players hit double-digits, led by Mary Dunn's 25-point, 11-rebound double-double on 8-of-16 shooting and 9-of-9 on free throws. Chelsea Olson added 18 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists for the visitors, while Nneka Obiazor tallied 15 points and nine caroms.
UP NEXT
RMU returns to the road next weekend when it makes its first trip to Oakland. The Colonials will clash with the Golden Grizzlies at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 5 and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 6. Both games can be seen on ESPN+.
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