Highland Heights, Ky. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team was outscored in the second and third quarters by a 38-20 margin, ultimately falling to eighth-seeded Northern Kentucky, 64-50, this evening in the Horizon League Tournament first round from BB&T Arena. RMU ends its season at 4-13 (4-12 HL), while NKU advances to the quarterfinals with an 8-10 (7-5 HL) mark.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Ninth-seeded RMU carried an 11-10 lead into the second quarter, but that advantage evaporated four minutes into the next frame as NKU used a 13-2 run to go ahead 22-13. The Colonials responded by trimming the deficit to five twice on layups from Sol Castro and Esther Castedo, but a 7-0 stretch over the final 3:13 of the half allowed the Norse to go into the locker room with a 31-19 lead.
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"Coach (Camryn) Whitaker and Northern Kentucky have an amazing team," said RMU assistant coach Scott Schneider, who served as acting head coach with Charlie Buscaglia unable to travel due to COVID-19 protocols. "We knew it from the first time we played them back in December, and this was a team poised for a good postseason run. We were a little sluggish in the second quarter, and our defense didn't hold up. When you give a team like that a big lead, it's tough to make a comeback. We're proud of our team with how hard we fought and the resilience we showed down the stretch to keep clawing to get back into the game late."
START IT OFF
RMU had the upper hand over the first 10 minutes, leading for all but 1:54 of the opening frame. Castedo started it with a reverse layup, and after three points by Lindsey Duvall, Castro finished with her left to make it 4-3. The Colonials then forced a charge and blocked shot on back-to-back possessions, and Megan Callahan doubled the lead with a pair of free throws. RMU's advantage reached six at 11-5 after Sydney Palermo buried a trifecta, but two Duvall foul shots and a Grayson Rose trey made it 11-10 entering the second quarter.
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"(Northern Kentucky) was really spreading our gaps and finding opportunities to drive and create," said Schneider. "We were stopping their initial actions and play sets, and they hit a couple of tough shots – some late in the shot clock – that were deflating for our defense. We weren't hitting on our end, and when they started hitting on their end it kind of magnified and opened up the game a bit."
CAREER HIGH FOR CASTEDO
Junior guard Esther Castedo led the visitors offensively this evening, scoring a career-high 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Castedo made 4-of-5 free throw attempts as well, adding three rebounds, three steals, and two assists in 35 minutes of action. Her previous best came on Jan. 14, 2019 when she scored 17 points (7-12 FG, 3-7 3PT) off the bench at LIU Brooklyn. The Lugo, Spain saved some of her best basketball down the stretch, averaging 12.5 points on 44.3 percent shooting over the last seven games while bumping her points per game number from 6.8 to 9.2.
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"Esther stayed steady for the entire game," said Schneider. "She stayed dialed in and never hung her head, which was something we were focused on. With the adversity we faced this week finding out (head coach Charlie Buscaglia) wasn't able to travel with us, and me stepping in for my first collegiate head coaching game, we knew there were going to be some rocky patches and she was a massive bright spot."
YOU GOTTA HAVE SOL
Freshman forward Sol Castro finished her rookie season with nine points and seven rebounds, and became the first RMU newcomer since Sugeiry Monsac in 2004-05 to lead the team in scoring and rebounding over an entire season. Castro averaged 9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest, and also became the first freshman since Missy Spangler in 2001-02 to pace the Colonials in scoring. The Rio Colorado, Argentina native also led the team in minutes (29.1), and ranked second in field goal percentage (.475), assists (1.5), and blocks (0.5).
THE OPPONENT
NKU was led by Lindsey Duvall, who posted a 29-point, 14-rebound double-double with her point total being a career high. Ivy Turner and Kailey Coffey added 10 points each for the Norse, who advanced to play top-seeded Wright State next Tuesday, March 2 in the Horizon League Tournament quarterfinals.
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"There were plays that I wish I could have back and plays that I'm sure our players wish they'd have back," said Schneider. "But never once did the group hang their heads. It was a tough moment in our locker room as I was proud to be their coach. I'd never want to coach any other group but this group, because they made it really easy to coach them today."
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