Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University women's basketball team begins its Horizon League Tournament trek this Thursday, February 25 when it travels to eighth-seeded Northern Kentucky for its First Round game. The Colonials are the nine seed in their inaugural Horizon League postseason after going 4-12, though two of their wins happen to be against top-seeded Wright State. If RMU advances, it would play either the Raiders, second-seeded Milwaukee, or third-seeded Green Bay in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 2.
GAME #17
#9 Robert Morris Colonials (4-12, 4-12 HL) @ #8 Northern Kentucky Norse (7-10, 7-5 HL)
2021 Horizon League Tournament First Round
February 25, 2021 // 7:00 p.m. // Highland Heights, Ky. – BB&T Arena (9,400)
Live Video: ESPN+ // Live Stats: NKUNorse.com
On-Air Talent: Matt Sexton (play-by-play), Rich Hoyt (color commentary)
Game Notes: Robert Morris // Northern Kentucky
History w/ Northern Kentucky
Overall: 1-5 | Home: 0-2 | Away: 1-2 | Neutral: 0-1 | Streak: L2
Last Game: Dec. 13, 2020 – Highland Heights, Ky. – Northern Kentucky 62, Robert Morris 50
Robert Morris and Northern Kentucky have played each other six times in their histories, with four of those meetings happening prior to this season. The Norse own a 5-1 lead in the all-time series, tacking onto their gap with a pair of wins this past December in the Colonials' season-opening games.
In their most recent meeting, RMU briefly grabbed a 15-12 lead in the first quarter before NKU snatched it back and held on to win 62-50.
Nina Augustin led the Colonials with 10 points, converting 2-of-4 three-point attempts and both of her free throws, and
Megan Callahan went a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc off the bench. The Norse owned the Colonials on the glass, carrying a 43-19 advantage while having four of their starters in double figures scoring.
RMU's lone win in the series came in Highland Heights, a 59-50 triumph on Nov. 21, 2017.
Nneka Ezeigbo came off the bench to provide a game-high 16 points (8-13 FG) and seven rebounds in 24 minutes, while current seniors
Nina Augustin,
Megan Callahan,
Laura Carrasco, and
Honoka Ikematsu chipped in as freshmen by combining for 26 points. The Colonials defense locked down the NKU offense, holding the hosts to 26.1 percent shooting and forcing 17 turnovers.
Scouting the Norse
Fifth-year head coach Camryn Whitaker guided Northern Kentucky to an eighth-place finish in the Horizon League with a 7-5 mark in league games and 7-10 record overall. The Norse have been slipping as of late, losing five of its last six contests, though they closed the regular season with an 88-75 victory at Oakland this past Saturday. NKU had a pause of 28 days between games in January after falling to No. 2 Louisville, 74-64, on New Year's Day.
The Norse placed three players on All-League Teams with redshirt junior guard Lindsey Duvall, sophomore guard Ivy Turner, and senior center Grayson Rose all earning recognition. Duvall was selected to the Second Team and leads the team in scoring (16.1), rebounding (7.5), and three-pointers made (1.8 per game). Turner garnered Third Team designation by averaging 11.1 points and 2.9 assists in 31.9 minutes per game, the latter two numbers pacing her teammates. Rose was named to the Defensive Team after compiling 25 total blocks (1.5 per game), and also adds 8.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest.
NKU is one of the nation's best teams at avoiding fouls, ranking 75th at 15.5 per game, and also slots in the top 100 nationally in three-point field goal defense (.284, 65th) and rebounding margin (+3.8, 77th). The Norse struggle at causing their opponent to make mistakes, ranking 275th in turnover margin (-2.76), 301st in turnovers forced (13.18), and 324th in steals (4.9).
A New Season Begins
RMU always seems to bring its best in the postseason and it will look to continue that trend in its inaugural Horizon League Tournament trek. Since the 2013-14 season, the Colonials have gone 17-2 (.895) in league playoff contests with four Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament championships (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019) and two additional NEC Championship Game appearances (2015, 2018). RMU was on track to add to that ledger last year, advancing as the top seed to the NEC Tournament semifinals before the COVID-19 global pandemic brought a halt to its repeat hopes.
All-time, the Colonials are 37-16 (.698) in league postseason contests and have advanced at least one round in each of their last 11 playoff appearances. RMU is just 6-11 (.353) on the road however, and 0-1 (.000) as a nine seed with a 62-60 loss to St. Francis (N.Y.) in the 1994 NEC Tournament play-in round. Fifth-year head coach
Charlie Buscaglia has brought his best come playoff time, owning a 9-1 (.900) conference tournament mark with the only loss coming by a 66-56 score to top-seeded Saint Francis U in the 2018 NEC Championship Game.
You Gotta Have Sol
Rookie forward
Sol Castro was rewarded for her strong collegiate debut season on Tuesday, earning Horizon League All-Freshman Team honors. Castro is the 17th player in program history to garner All-Rookie Team accolades, and currently leads RMU in scoring (9.9), rebounding (5.4), and minutes played (28.6). She also slots second in field goal percentage (.457) and blocks (0.5), and third in assists (1.4) and steals (0.9).
Castro has a chance to become the first Colonial newcomer since Sugeiry Monsac in 2004-05 to lead the team in scoring and rebounding, and the first freshman to pace the team in points since Missy Spangler in 2001-02. The Rio Colorado, Argentina native could also become the first freshman in school history to top her teammates in rebounding and field goal percentage over a season.
The freshman forward has been terrific as of late, reaching double-figures scoring in seven of the last eight games with three double-doubles sprinkled in there. Castro is averaging 13.8 points on 50.0 percent shooting, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists over this eight-game stretch, and has established new single-game highs in points (23), rebounds (15), assists (4), and blocks (2). She was the first rookie since Anna Niki Stamolamprou to tally double-digit points in six straight contests, as Stamolamprou accomplished the feat twice during the 2013-14 campaign.
Starting Five, Scoring Five
This past Saturday at Purdue Fort Wayne, RMU received 10 or more points from each of its five starters as
Holly Forbes (16),
Sol Castro (15),
Esther Castedo (11),
Nina Augustin (10), and
Megan Callahan (10) all cracked double-digits. This marked the first time that has happened in 12 seasons, with the most previous instance coming on Nov. 21, 2008 against Ball State.
In that 2008 clash with the Cardinals, Monica Jones paced the team with 20 points. Kendra Williams added 18 points, while Monet Johnson (16), Angela Pace (13), and Grace Williams (10) all netted double figures. RMU has had six players score 10 or more points twice since 2013-14, though neither instance featured all five starters meeting the mark.
Take Care
One area where RMU has shined in the 2020-21 season is taking care of the basketball. The Colonials give the ball up at an average of 13.6 times per game, which is the best mark in the Horizon League and ranks 48th nationally. If RMU continues at this rate, it would establish a new record for fewest turnovers per game in a single season, which was originally established in the 2005-06 season at 14.5 turnovers per contest.
The Colonials committed single-digit turnovers in three consecutive contests over Jan. 23-30, giving it up eight times against Wright State, then nine and seven times respectively the following weekend versus Youngstown State. This is the first time that has ever happened in program history, with RMU's most only other two-game stretch of nine or fewer turnovers coming on Jan. 26-28, 2008 when it committed nine each against St. Francis Brooklyn and Central Connecticut.
Light It Up
RMU's offense has really taken off as of late, averaging 69.2 points over the last seven games with a 1.27 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Colonials established season highs in points (77) and field goal percentage (.500) on Feb. 6 at Oakland, with that kind of efficiency marking the first time since Jan. 2, 2020 at Central Connecticut that they converted at a 50 percent or better rate.
During this seven-game stretch, RMU has raised its scoring offense number by 9.8 points and have seen 24 different double-digit scoring performances. Over their first nine contests, the Colonials had just seven different efforts of 10 or more points.
Mack Attack
Freshman guard
Mackenzie Amalia put together a career performance last Friday at Purdue Fort Wayne, coming off the bench to score a career-high 22 points in 29 minutes. Amalia converted 8-of-12 field goal attempts overall, 4-of-7 three-pointers, and both of her free throws. The 22-point outburst surpassed her previous career high by 14 points, and is the second most for a Colonial this season behind classmate
Sol Castro's 23-point effort on Jan. 22, 2021 against Wright State.
Amalia has seen more playing time as the season grows older, averaging 15.3 minutes over the last 10 contests after playing a total of 22 minutes over RMU's first six games. The Blackhawk High School product has been one of the team's best three-point shooters since carving out a significant reserve role, shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc during this 10-game stretch.
Insurmountable Lead
Robert Morris has never lost a game in which it has held the lead at the end of the second half. The Colonials were 23-0 in such situations last season, and are 4-0 in 2020-21. All-time, RMU is 647-0 when holding the lead at the final whistle.
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