GAME 1
RMU (0-0) @ St. Bonaventure (0-0)
Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021 • 11:30 a.m.
Reilly Center (5,480) • Olean, N.Y.
 
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Ryan Bowlin (pxp) & Tom Siepp (color)
Twitter: @RMUWBasketball • Instagram: RMUWBasketball
 
Opening Tip
 
- The RMU women's basketball team opens its 2021-22 regular season and 46th campaign of NCAA Division I basketball Tuesday with an 11:30 a.m. tip in Olean, N.Y., against St. Bonaventure at the Reilly Center.
 
- Led by the Charlie Buscaglia, who enters 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.
 
- 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.
 
- During her freshman season in 2020-21, Castro paced the Colonials in both scoring and rebounding, producing averages of 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 697 and is coming off a 2020-21 campaign in which she averaged 6.7 points per game. She owns 123 career three-pointers, which ranks 12th in program history.
 
- Senior guard Esther Castedo 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 79 career games, including 22 starts, 13 of which came last season.
 
- A total of eight student-athletes are new to the roster for RMU in 2021-22, including seven rookies. Junior center Ashya Klopfenstein 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.
 
- RMU opens the home portion of its 2021-22 schedule Saturday, Nov. 13, with a 3:00 p.m. tip against Akron at the UPMC Events Center after taking on St. Bonaventure Tuesday.

ST. BONAVENTURE LINKS
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
 
The All-Time Series (St. Bonaventure) – The Colonials and Bonnies meet for the sixth time Tuesday but for the first time since 2010, with SBU owning a 4-1 (.800) advantage in the all-time series. The last meeting between the two programs came as part of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), with St. Bonaventure posting a 76-50 victory at the Reilly Center. In that contest former center Vega Gimeno-Martinez led the Colonials with 15 points while also registering six rebounds, two steals and a block. Tuesday's game marks the first of two between RMU and SBU during the 2021-22 season, as the Colonials will host the Bonnies Saturday, Dec. 18, in a 1:00 p.m. tip at the UPMC Events Center.
 
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. Entering Tuesday's season opener @ St. Bonaventure, Augustin has dished out 242 career assists in 111 games, an average of 2.18 per contest. She ranks 13th all-time in program history in dimes and is just four shy of moving into 12th place. To crack the top 10 in her final season with the Colonials, Augustin needs 36 assists, and 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-172) 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.

Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | RMU Athletics Gameday App

Tweet #BobbyMo