GAME 3

RMU (0-2) vs. Detroit Mercy (0-2)

Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021 • 7:00 p.m.

Calihan Hall • Detroit, Mich.

TV: ESPN+

Talent: Denny Kapp (PxP)

Twitter: @RMUWBasketball • Instagram: RMUWBasketball

GAME 4

RMU (0-2) vs. Oakland (1-1)

Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021 • 2:00 p.m.

Athletic Center O'Rena • Rochester, Mich. 

TV: ESPN+

Twitter: @RMUWBasketball • Instagram: RMUWBasketball

 Opening Tip

- The RMU women's basketball team is looking to get into the win column for the first time in the still young 2021-22 campaign following losses against St. Bonaventure and Akron last week.

- The Colonials also start Horizon League play this week as they prepare for the Titans and Golden Grizzlies on the road, marking the earliest start to conference play for RMU in their history. Previously, RMU's earliest conference game came when they opened up NEC play against Saint Francis (Pa.) on December 1, 2001.

- The Colonials finished 4-12 against Horizon League competition a year ago, including a 1-10 mark against league opponents on the road.

- Led by the Charlie Buscaglia, in his sixth season as head coach of the Colonials in 2021-22 as well as his 19th year overall with the program, RMU returns three starters and five letterwinners from 2020-21.

- Esther Castedo (10) and Sol Castro (12) both scored in double digits in RMU's loss against Akron last week.  It was the second straight game scoring in double figures to start the season for Castro, who also grabbed a team-best six defensive rebounds.

- Returning as starters for the Colonials are fifth-year guard Nina Augustin, senior guard Esther Castedo and sophomore forward Sol Castro. The trio combined for 438 points and 177 rebounds during the abbreviated 2020-21 season.

- In a vote of Horizon League head coaches, RMU was picked to finish ninth in the league in 2021-22. Sophomore forward Sol Castro earned a spot on the 2021 Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team.

- Through two games, Castro leads RMU in both scoring average (11.0) and rebounding (5.0). She paced the Colonials in both categories during her rookie year in 2021, averaging  9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest, both of which led RMU. For her efforts Castro was named to the 2021 Horizon League All-Freshman Team.

- Fifth-year guard Nina Augustin is RMU's active leader in points with 704 and moved into 12th-place on the RMU All-Time career assists leader board with four earlier this season in RMU's 2021-22 opener.  She needs 32 more to crack the top-ten all-time, and has a shot to become the eighth player in school history to eclipse 300.

- Senior guard Esther Castedo is averaging 6.9 points per-game and is tied with Castro for the team lead in defensive rebounds with eight. She averaged 9.2 points per game during the 2020-21 campaign while also pulling down an average of 3.2 rebounds per contest. She has appeared in 81 career games, including 24 starts, 13 of which came last season.

- Junior center Ashya Klopfenstein continued to make an impact for RMU in her second game as a Colonial, going 3-4 from the field with four boards and a steal in 23 minutes against the Zips. She spent the 2020-21 season at Dawson Community College where she averaged 16.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 55.8 percent from the floor.

- The RMU freshman class features student-athletes from four different countries. Guard Rebecca Dwomoh is from London, England, while forward Phoenix Gedeon hails from Montreal, Quebec. Guard Alejandra Mastral is a native of Zaragoza, Spain, while the four rookies that are from the United States are from four different states, including California, Delaware, Ohio and Tennessee.

- The Colonials return to UPMC Events Center next week when they host Morehead State on Wednesday, November 24 at 1:00 PM.

DETROIT MERCY LINKS

- Live Stats

- RMU Athletics Gameday App

OAKLAND LINKS

- Live Stats

- RMU Athletics Gameday App

The All-Time Series (Detroit Mercy) – Thursday marks the first time the Colonials and Titans have ever squared off on the court against each other following the cancellation of their planned series last year during the 2020-21 campaign.  The Titans are an identical 0-2 heading into Thursday's clash following losses to Loyola (Chicago) and Eastern Michigan last week.  They finished 1-13 overall a season ago including a 1-9 mark in Conference Play.

The All-Time Series (Oakland) - The Colonials are looking for the first ever program win against the Golden Grizzlies this Saturday following back-to-back losses against Oakland in RMU's inaugural Horizon League season a year ago. It will also be the third straight game for RMU on the road against OU following their defeats in Rochester on February 5 and 6 last season, 83-71 and 84-77. Oakland will not make their UPMC Events Center debut until Friday, January, 28 2022. Oakland is 1-1 on the year following a los against Toledo and a win against Niagara last Friday. 

Triple Threat - RMU has gone 13-40 (.325) as a unit from beyond the arc through two games this season, averaging just over 6.5 threes per-game.  Senior Esther Castedo and freshman Simone Morris have each knocked down a team-best three, while eight of the ten Colonials that have seen the floor so far this season have made at least one.  The RMU perimeter defense on the other end has been solid as well, as the Colonials are currently holding opponents to four threes a game on just 25% shooting (8-32).

Helper Helper – Fifth-year guard Nina Augustin gives the Colonials a solid distributor as RMU gets set for its first full non-conference slate in two years. Following last week's game against Akron, Augustin has dished out 246 career assists in 113 games, an average of 2.17 per contest. She ranks 12th all-time in program history, and to crack the top 10 in her final season with the Colonials needs 32 more.  She is also looking to become the eighth player in school history to eclipse 300.

Free Is Me – In addition to her distribution skills, fifth-year guard Nina Augustin is nearly automatic when getting to the free-throw line. During her career, Augustin has converted 81.4 percent (140-for-173) of her attempts at the charity stripe, which ranks fourth in program history. The career school record is held by former guard Rebecca Navarro, who shot 84.8 percent (95-for-112) at the line from 2013 to 2017. Augustin, meanwhile, owns the RMU single-season record for free-throw percentage when she converted 89.4 percent (59-for-66) of her attempts during the 2019-20 campaign.

De La Sol – Despite a season both shortened and impacted by a global pandemic, forward Sol Castro shined in her first season with the Colonials in 2020-21, becoming the first freshman to lead RMU in scoring in almost 20 years. Castro averaged 9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, both team highs, and also recorded three double-doubles. One of three Colonials to start all 17 games last season, Castro reached double figures in scoring nine times, including a career-high 23 points in a 50-43 victory over Wright State (1/16/21) at the UPMC Events Center. In that same contest against the Raiders, Castro grabbed 11 boards, marking her first career double-double.

Making The Grade – RMU posted a 3.824 term grade point average (GPA) during the 2020-21 academic year and finished with the No. 3 ranking in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Division I Team Honor Roll. It marked the third consecutive year the Colonials finished third as well as the fifth straight year RMU finished in the top four. The Colonials are the only NCAA Division I school to rank in the top four in five consecutive years. Of RMU's three returning starters, guard Nina Augustin owns a 3.95 cumulative GPA as a finance major, guard Esther Castedo studies management and has maintained a 3.83 cumulative GPA and in her first academic year forward Sol Castro posted a 3.83 GPA while owning sport management as a major.

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