GAME 7
RMU (3-3) vs. Green Bay (3-3)
Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021 • 7:00 p.m.
UPMC Events Center • Moon Township, Pa.
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Adam Gusky (pxp) & Justin Pyles (color)
Twitter: @RMUWBasketball • Instagram: RMUWBasketball

GAME 8
RMU (3-3) vs. Milwaukee (3-4)
Saturday, December 4, 2021 • 1:00 p.m.
UPMC Events Center
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Adam Gusky (pxp) & Justin Pyles (color)
Twitter: @RMUWBasketball • Instagram: RMUWBasketball

Opening Tip

- The Colonials return home for a pair and are going for their first three-game win streak since January 22-29 of last season following wins against Morehead State and Canisius.

- The Colonials currently sit a 3-3 overall and 1-1 in Horizon League action, the first time the program has been at or above .500 in conference play since joining the HL at the onset of last season. Thursday marks the first HL home game for the Colonials following road trips to Detroit Mercy and Oakland earlier this year.

- Currently at 99 wins in his RMU career, head coach Charlie Buscaglia has a chance to earn career victory #100 Thursday when the Phoenix roll into town. Buscaglia would join predecessors Sal Buscaglia and Dan Swalga on the list of RMU WBB coaches to hit the century mark.

-RMU utilized a balanced offense in their win against Morehead State, as 12 of the 13 Colonials that saw the floor recorded at least two points. Led by a career-high from freshmen Phoenix Gedeon (12) as well as a double-digit effort from Alejandra Mastral (11), RMU earned its biggest win (24) since taking down Saint Francis (Pa.) 62-29 back on March 5, 2019. Saturday against Canisius saw another career best as Mackenzie Amalia led the charge, pouring in a career-high four threes for a season-best 12 points.

- Freshman Janeira Scott became the final member of the RMU freshman class to make her season debut last week against the Eagles, and the Bridgeville, Delaware native wasted no time making her presence felt on the floor.  Scott stepped up and buried a deep three on her first career shot with 3:02 left in the game before dishing a nice assist to Jazmyne Deshields a few minutes later. She finished with three points in three minutes of game time.

- 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 letter winners from 2020-21.

- The Colonials enjoyed their most efficient day from three against Canisius, going 8-17 (47.1%) while holding the Golden Griffins to just 15% (3-20) beyond the arc. RMU has held opponents to under 20% beyond the arc three times this season and are limiting teams to just 23.2% from three on the year, the lowest clip allowed by an RMU defense in program history.

- 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 six games, Castedo leads RMU in scoring average (11.7) and is second in assists (15), while Castro sits right behind her at 9.0 PPG. Castro 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 she was named to the 2021 Horizon League All-Freshman Team.

- Fifth-year guard Nina Augustin is RMU's active leader in points with 731 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 18 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 11.7 points per-game and is second on the team lead in defensive rebounds with 19. 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 85 career games, including 28 starts, 13 of which came last season.

- Junior center Ashya Klopfenstein currently leads all Colonials in rebounding average at 5.3 per-game. 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 are in action just once next week when they fly south for a showdown at Miami against the Hurricanes on Sunday, December 12 at 1:00 p.m.

GREEN BAY LINKS

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MILWAUKEE LINKS

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The All-Time Series (Green Bay) – Thursday will see the Colonials face off against another Horizon League opponent for the first time in program history when the Green Bay Phoenix make their first ever trip to Moon Township.  Preseason picks to finish third overall in the Horizon League, the Phoenix return five of their top seven minute-getters from the 2020-21 season including pre-season all second-team guard Meghan Pingel.

The All-Time Series (Milwaukee) - The Milwaukee Panthers also make their first ever appearance in Moon Township this weekend when they roll in for a Saturday matinee at UPMC Events Center. The Colonials played their first two games in program history against the Panthers last season in a two-game series in Milwaukee on December 19 and 20, both Panther victories.  Milwaukee was picked to finish second in 2022 after a 20-win campaign last year that saw them make a run to WNIT.

Hard In The Paint - The Colonials have finished with at least 20 points in the paint in five of six games this season, most recently out-pacing the Golden Griffins 22-10 from in close. Second-chance points have played a large role in their success so far as well, with the Colonials owning a 55-38 advantage in offensive boards through six games.

Helper Helper – Fifth-year guard Nina Augustin gives the Colonials a solid distributor heading into her final year with the program. Following last weekend's games, Augustin has dished out 260 career assists in 117 games, an average of 2.20 per contest. She ranks 12th all-time in program history, and to crack the top 10 in her final season with the Colonials needs 18 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 81.8 percent (144-for-176) 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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